torah – Tekoa Manning

The Coup and the King

Posted on January 19, 2021 by Tekoa

In this blog, we will meet a king who must flee his palace because his own son has planned a coup to overthrow his kingdom. David’s son Absalom has been quite successful in winning over the people with his charm. David and his men are not prepared with food and supplies to withstand such a battle. The King will have to go underground, and then he will have to operate using a secret informant to listen and give him the plans of his own son’s military tactics. The story seems remarkably close to our own situation in Washington.

In this blog, you will meet a man named Barzillai:

1. He can no longer discern what is good and what is not.

2. He can no longer taste.

3. He can no longer hear the voice of singing.

In 2nd Samuel 19, David learns that his son, Absalom, who tried to usurp the kingdom from him, is now dead. King David has already lost two sons. The son he had with Bathsheba and his son Amnon who raped Tamar, was killed by Absalom because David is not good at confronting situations concerning his seed. In chapter 19, word has come to the King concerning the death of Absalom. The King is weeping. Yes, David is crying out from the depths of his belly, “Oh, my son! My son, Absalom! How I wish I would have died instead of you. Oh, my son, Absalom!”

King David’s servants and all the people hide themselves in humiliation. But the king does not have time to weep or mourn; he, after all, is still the king. Joab comes to David bringing strong rebuke and correction.

“Today, you (David) have disgraced all your servants who have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, of your wives, and of your concubines. You love those who hate you and hate those who love you! For you have made it clear today that the commanders and soldiers mean nothing to you. I know today that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, it would have pleased you!

Now, therefore, get up! Go out and speak comfort to your servants, for I swear by the LORD that if you do not go out, not a man will remain with you tonight. This will be worse for you than all the adversity that has befallen you from your youth until now!” (II Samuel 19:5-7).

Have you ever loved those who hated you and hated those who loved you? We can often blindly do just that.

David straightens his crown and dries his eyes and sits at the gate. All the people come out to congratulate the king. Those who had left him to follow Absalom had fled to their tents, but with Joab’s wise advice, the king prevents possible anarchy. The text says all the people throughout Israel were arguing over whether David should still be the king. Does that sound familiar?

“And all the people throughout the tribes of Israel were arguing, “The king rescued us from the hand of our enemies and delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled the land because of Absalom. But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king?” (II Sam. 19:9-10).

Sometimes, we must restore the king, and sometimes the one usurping the kingdom hangs himself. Those who were deceived by Absalom’s charm are now in limbo.

In today’s news, with its unrest and deceit, it’s hard to know who is telling the truth at times. Who is supposed to be the king? Who has stolen the election, or who is trying to steal the election? Absalom won the people over with his charm. Absalom stole the hearts of the people. Before his death, he sent spies to all the tribes and told them as soon as they heard the shofar, then they were to say, Absalom is King! Today, in America, most of us are wondering who will be president. Regardless of who is placed in the White House as president, Yeshua is still our King. He is King of King’s. No man will get His glory. One day, He will set up His Kingdom, and it will be an everlasting kingdom. In the meantime, we have men who are flesh. The Judge and Maker of all the earth will appoint and remove which one He sees fit. These men of flesh put pants on to cover their private parts and squat on commodes to rid their waste. They get snotty noses, runny eyes, and skin that sags toward the dust. Adonai knows who He will place on a throne and who He will remove. He knows if civil war is coming.

white concrete building during night time

David’s son, who tried to take the kingdom from him, ends up hanging from a tree by his thick hair (pride). Joab, David’s commander in chief, took three darts and thrust them through Absalom’s heart, killing him. Absalom was usurping something that was not his. Absalom’s name means “My Father is peace.” Adonai does bring peace after this horrific situation that He allowed. David’s sins and the repercussions of them are coming forth just as Nathan warned him. His son slept with his concubines on the roof in broad daylight. We reap what we sow.

“Nathan then said to David, “You yourself are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘It is I who anointed you as king over Israel, and it is I who rescued you from the hand of Saul. I also gave you your master’s house and put your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! Why have you despised the word of the LORD, by doing evil in His sight? You have struck and killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, you have taken his wife as your wife, and you have slaughtered him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. Now then, the sword shall never leave your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. This is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am going to raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed, you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and in open daylight.’” Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has allowed your sin to pass; you shall not die. However, since by this deed you have shown utter disrespect for the LORD, the child himself who is born to you shall certainly die.” Then Nathan went to his house.” (II Samuel 12:7-15).

By the time we get to II Samuel, this word given to David is coming forth in broad daylight. David, who has been in hiding from his seed, is going to cross back over the Jordan and take back what is rightfully his. He has been cursed and pelted with rocks. He has lost another son. He is a broken man who no doubt is replaying Nathan’s words from Adonai in his head. Weeping and repenting as he goes.

Before David approaches the Jordan, something peculiar happens. A man who is 80 years old comes out to meet king David as he is getting ready to cross over from exile. His name was Barzillai. Chapter 17 gives us a description of this man:

Barzillai: “A wealthy Gileadite noble of Rogelim (meaning fullers), who, together with two other prominent chieftains of the east-Jordanic territory, met David at Mahanaim, when he was fleeing with only a few followers from Absalom, and provided the king and his weary men with food” (2 Samuel 17:27).

He was a noble from Rogelim (meaning fullers). Fullers were men who treaded on clothing to cleanse the garments. Fuller’s soap is used to scrub the wool of sheep. Think righteous garments. Rogelim also means feet, and feet represent our walk. He meets David (Beloved) at Mahanaim.

Mahanaim is an interesting place.

“Right before Jacob names the region Mahanaim, he is met by angels of God that motivates him to say, מחנה אלהים וה (“This is God’s camp”), using the word מחנה (mananeh)”(Abarim publications).

It is interesting to note that a man with crippled feet is also mentioned right before Barzillai. This man was Mephibosheth, meaning “one who DESTROYS SHAME. When he was five years old, a report came that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle, and when the boy’s nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, the nurse dropped Mephibosheth, and he became crippled (II Samuel 4).

Oh, the misfortune of it all. We do not hear much more about this young man again until II Samuel. David decides to bless anyone left of Saul’s house, the greatest enemy he ever had. David approaches Mephibosheth, and Mephibosheth says, “What is your servant that you take an interest in a dead dog like me?” How ironic that the name “Mephibosheth” means destroyer of shame, yet his crippled-up legs had brought him just that, shame. When Mephibosheth walked into a room, he was noticed, not for his beauty or even his heritage as the grandson of a king and the son of a mighty warrior, Jonathan. No, that is not what people noticed; they noticed his hobbling bent up legs.

When David searched for Jonathan’s son, and brought him to the palace, and placed him at his table, the King’s table covered his twisted legs that would not work right. The king’s table hid all his infirmities. He was under the shade of that table, and he was fed delicacies. One day, Mephibosheth went from thinking he was a dead dog to eating at the king’s table. One day we shall, too, eat at His Table if we do not lose heart and faint.

Barzillai had the same opportunity to go with David and be fed by the king, but he does not. He is prepared to die and be buried with his parents. However, this very wealthy 80-year-old man wants to escort the King over the Jordan. Meditate on the number 80 and the crossing of the Jordan.

“The Hebrew number 80 is Pey and represents the mouth. The Hebrew number 8: “Shemoni [f.], shemonah [m.] Literally to “make fat.” New beginnings, not just complete (like seven), but satiated. Becoming “fat” is having more than enough. Full to overflowing. Moves from natural to supernatural. Transcends natural time and space to supernatural realm. Figuratively, eight takes one through a full cycle of seven, and begins anew – the One Day – Yom Echad – of creation.” (Grace in Torah)

Moses is 80 years old when he is sent to lead the Children of Israel to cross over the Reed Sea. Barzillai is 80 years old when he comes to escort David over the Jordan.

In our story from II Samuel, David tells Barzillai that he will provide for him and give him a place in Jerusalem if he crosses over with him. His name means man of iron. Barzillai teaches us how to die, and there is quite a contranym in his message and age. Remember, the Jordon is the place Yeshua was immersed in by John. It means to descend downward, and after we descend into the waters of the Jordan, we are cleansed just like Naaman from his leprosy. Naaman had to dip seven times, the number of completions. But Barzillai is 80 years old, and he tells David something I have been meditating on all week.

“But Barzillai replied, “How many years of my life remain, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king? I am now eighty years old. Can I discern what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

Your servant could go with the king only a short distance past the Jordan; why should the king repay me with such a reward? Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.” (II Samuel 19:34-37).

He can no longer discern what is good and what is not.

He can no longer taste.

He can no longer hear the voice of singing.

Barzillai sends his servant—his son ChimHam instead. Chimham means to thirst, pinning, and having a great desire. “The verb כמה (kama) means to thirst but specifically expresses a desire for liquidity in the exchange of knowledge and wisdom (rather than the light of wisdom itself, or the eventual productivity that results from having wisdom). This verb also resembles the particle of comparison כמו (kemo), “as if” or “like.” (Abarim Publications). Chimham is mention in Jeremiah. It is the name of a town near Bethlehem, from which it would seem that David gave Barzillai’s son some land that was passed on to his descendants in his name. Barzillai sends his son over to Jerusalem, the one whose name means desire and thirst, a pinning to be in the Land. The man of iron cannot go. The man who can no longer discern what is good and what is not. The man who can no longer taste and see. The man who can no longer hear the voice of singing will remain on the other side of the Jordan. Jerusalem means rain of peace and a foundation of peace. Oh, how we need this today!

I pray this has blessed you. May we continue to keep our eyes on the King of Kings and the Lord of All. Please click subscribe for future updates.

$refraction of red glass vase on wall$

prophetic, Tekoa Manning, TM, torah

Them Bones, Them Bones

Posted on December 23, 2020January 10, 2021 by Tekoa

A note to my readers: Obadiah’s Cave will be closing soon, and I will be moving many of these writings over to my Tekoa Manning site. The blog below was originally written in 2019 at Obadiah’s Cave.

One of my favorite songs is by Jim Croce, “I got a Name.” When I was newly divorced, I would sing this song and think of my maiden name, My father and mother, and all those who went before me. Joseph went to Egypt before his family did. Like the shmita year of redemption, he would be delivered from Egypt by a prophet like Yeshua, Moses. In one part of the song’s lyrics, he says, “I got a name, and I carry it with me like my daddy did.” Those of us who keep His commandments and walk in His ways carry our Father’s Name. Bones are interesting.

David writes concerning Yeshua Messiah, “I can count all my bones.” Psalms 22:17.

The title of the passage is: For the choir director; upon Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.

Aijeleth Hashshahar means “Deer/hind of the dawn,” and is said to be about Esther as well as our Messiah. Esther would have to enter a throne room and stand before a King. She was counting the bones of her people too.

Yeshua counts his bones. Isreal is counted throughout scripture. Each tribe and people numbered. Dry, dusty bones come to life and take on flesh. We are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. He is fashioning us and preparing us. We will leap like a doe at dawn, but we must come fitly joined together. We need unity, honor, and respect. The children of Isreal went out of Egypt in 50’s. Many are afraid of the 5-fold structure, but it is the very structure that brings unity and maturity to all the Body–all the bones. Without it in place, we are off balance and prone to witchcraft.

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels” (Psalm 22:14, NKJV).

Out of joint. . .

When my children were small, we rented a humble house in a subdivision. One night, one of my sons knocked a lamp over that had no shade, and it fell on the comforter. The lightbulb smoldered and caught fire. I awoke in the wee hours of the morning to the scent of smoke and was thankful to find all three sons asleep in front of the television. I shut the door to the burning bedroom, grabbed them, and took them outside to my mini-van. Then called the fire department and proceeded to snatch my Bible and a photo album close by. When we exit a place, and we have little time, we grab our most treasured possessions.

Moses grabbed bones!

“And Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath and said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” (Genesis 50:25, NASB).

“All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like You, Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?” (Psalm 35:10, NASB).

Our bones speak! They have a voice.

white skeleton figurine in tilt shift lens

Bones are a funny thing. Without them, we would be a puddle on the floor. Yes, I’ve written about bones before, and the “Luz” bone that cannot be burned, crushed, or destroyed, and how it relates to the resurrection of the dead. I want to pick a bone with you, not as in grievance but more like a crisply fried chicken bone, delicious bone broth—and how deep into every cell His Word is hidden if we hide it.

What are we soaking up in our bones?

Sunlight (Yeshua is the LIGHT) is the best natural source of Vitamin D– and is essential for healthy bones. The letter D in Hebrew is dalet and is a picture of a door. Yeshua stands at the door of our hearts and knocks.

From the very beginning in Genesis (Bereshit), we read of bones.

Adam said of Eve (Chavah), his wife,

“This is now bone of my bones, (The animals were not bone of his bones)

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman,

Because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23-24, NASB).

“According to the opinion of Rashi and many other medieval commentators, “woman” was created from one side of Adam, not from his rib bone. His side.

Abarbanel states that Chava (Eve) was not created from Adam’s foot so that he would not consider her a lowly maidservant, nor from his head so that she would lord over him. Instead, she was created from his side so that she would be equal to him.”

“For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

Chavah (Eve) was in a deep sleep, resting while the Maker of All fashioned her. He is fashioning us, His Bride! And He will wake us up.

The second man Adam, Yeshua, will come with a voice of triumph, and the dead in Messiah will come forth out of the grave.

The Sages say that the seed of the body is in the bone marrow. One Hebrew word for ‘bone’ is (etzem) and also means self or essence. Our bones represent wisdom.

What exactly is bone marrow? How much does it weigh?

Adults have an average of 5.7 pounds of bone marrow. Five is the 5th feast, Yom Teruah, or Feast of Trumpets, a time when all our bones rise up, and seven is the number of completion. Five added to seven is 12, the number of the tribes.

Human marrow produces approximately 500 billion blood cells per day. This is how we get oxygen.

Other interesting tips:

Red blood cells don’t last long in your bloodstream, so they need to be replaced continuously by new cells, which originate in your bone marrow. The next time you have a rich bowl of bone broth, think on this.

The Word of Yah pierces our bone marrow.

Our bones hold resurrection glory. A crime scene can look at bones and tell if they were male or female, their age, if they suffered trauma, and much about their lives.

Yes, all our bones will say, “Who is like YOU? Oh, YAH!

“And it has been explained by the Masters of the Mishna that a wicked person has his sins (black) engraved on his bones. And so it is with a righteous person, his merits are engraved on his bones. Since his actions were connected with higher wisdom, the bones would be engraved as a bright light on white.”

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:12-13, NASB)

What can our bones tell us? It seems such an intricate Creator, who forms life in the womb and causes our very bones to grow, might have a massive plan for them. Joseph’s bones are his last request at death. Can you imagine? People prepare for death all the time. They buy caskets and plots, erect stones, and pick out clothing. Others say, cremate me. I’m dead. Who cares. They may even say, “I’m not going to be in there anymore; I’m floating to heaven.” But Joseph said carry my bones out of Egypt.

“Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” And Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath and said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones up from this place” (Genesis 50:24, NASB).

Joseph, the dreamer–his brother’s hatred and jealousy sent him to Egypt, but his brothers would have to make sure he was carried out–later, their bones will come forth too. A whole army of bones will stand dressed in righteousness. Judah and Levi need Joseph too.

And 300 years later, Moses must carry up Joseph’s bones. Think about that. Ponder each generation discussing these bones and crying out for freedom. Ephraim had a name of doubly fruitful.

Think about a King on a cross whose bones could not be broken. If Adonai can raise the dead, can He not knit bones together again? Yes, but no flaw of any kind was in the spotless Passover Lamb, and no bone would be broken in His pre-resurrected body. May there be no brokenness between His people, just oneness. Make them one, Yeshua cries out to His Father–Make them one, as we are one.

Moses’s name means ‘he who draws out’ and ‘he who extracts.’ He was drawn out of the water, but he also drew the people out of Egypt. He extracted some special bones, those of Joseph, and carried them with him. Where is Joseph in the Body? What bread does he have during a famine? What bread did Elijah have? May the apostles, prophets and teachers all come together as one and learn from one another.

“And Jacob went down to Egypt, and there he and our fathers died. “From there they were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem” (Acts 7:15-16, NASB). The name Shechem is identical to the noun שכם (shekem), meaning shoulder.

Joseph’s Tomb” by David Roberts, 1839.

“Since it would be 40 years or more before those bones finally were re-interred at their resting place in Sh’chem, it could also be reasoned that the same bones (or the merit of the man behind them) were responsible for other miracles that occurred in the wilderness. Indeed the oral tradition records that two arks were carried throughout Israel’s wilderness wanderings; one the Ark of the Covenant containing the tablets of the 10 Commandments; and the other, the coffin of Joseph. The same Hebrew word, ARON, is used to describe both.” Torah Voice in Exile.

Joseph, of course, is a picture of Yeshua in many ways. Both had very much in common. So carrying his bones up out of Egypt seems to display a broader picture.

There are some famous bones mentioned throughout scripture, but do they speak? Let’s look at this deeper.

“As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood up on his feet” (II Kings 13:21, NASB).

Oh, OUR BONES HAVE POWER! Even the bones of sick people.

“When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” (II Kings 13:14).

selective focus photography of wood with fire

Jeremiah had to give a very stern word to a priest.

“When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the LORD.”

Afterward, Jeremiah spoke of having this ‘fire’ shut up in his bones and how he had to release it. The prophets have to release things to the Body. Many times they are misunderstood.

” LORD, You have deceived me, and I was deceived;

You have overcome me and prevailed.

I have become a laughingstock all day long;

Everyone mocks me.

For each time I speak, I cry aloud;

I proclaim violence and destruction,

Because for me, the word of the LORD has resulted

In reproach and derision all day long.

But if I say, “I will not remember Him.

Or speak anymore in His name,”

Then in my heart, it becomes like a burning fire.

Shut up in my bones;

And I am weary of holding it in,

And I cannot endure it” (Jeremiah 20:7-9, NASB).

This fire is shut up in his very being.

Yeshua is like a refiner and a fuller’ that washes and engraves our bones.

Hebrew word ‘atsemot’ bones) comes from the verb ‘atsom, to be strong and mighty. There is a television show called Good Bones, where a team of people demolition abandoned houses and keep the skeleton of each to rebuild it. They often find the homes have mold (infection), bad foundations, plumbing issues, and electrical issues, but the skeleton is good so that they can rebuild it new.

“He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’ “Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. ‘I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 37:3-6, NASB).

“Your dead will live;

Their corpses will rise.

You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy,

For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,

And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.” (Isaiah 26:19, NASB).

Our bones speak, they rattle, and they even have the power to resurrect the dead.

How’s your vitamin D levels? What are your bones absorbing? May we absorb His Word and power.

The Whole House of Israel:

“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” (Ezekiel 37:1-).

Sources:

Strongs: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6106.htm

Bone marrow–https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/bone_marrow.htm

Bone and seeds, binah, and engraving: https://www.inner.org/healing/healing11.htm

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/tractate-shabbat-chapter-23

Photos: Unsplash

Fire–Vadym Lebedych

Broth–bluebirds provision

Hand skeleton–Owen Beard

Number 1–Jon Tyson

Skeleton–Phil Hearing

prophetic, Tekoa Manning, TM, torah

Prophetic Word for Elul–(Is it Evening?)

Posted on September 9, 2020October 14, 2020 by Tekoa

For shorter podcast/Video click the link below.

While studying and meditating during the month of Elul, I heard in my spirit that evening was here—that darkness comes before light.
Now, this is something most know if they have ever read Genesis/ Bereshit Chapter one. “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). It is after this sentence that Adonai said, “Let there be light and there was light. This light came before the sun, moon, and the stars. The sages call it as Ohr Ha-Ganuz, “the Hidden Light.” This light will shine again at a future time.
“And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there)” Rev. 21:23-25.
Our Messiah is light. The Torah is light. The Torah is a lamp for our feet, but this is not what the Father was directing me to search out. It was evening. Then it was dark.
The evening comes before darkness. Darkness before light. When will it be pitch black? When will the earth and the people feel such darkness? “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt” (Exodus 10:21). There are multiple ways to feel darkness. Anyone who has lived very long upon this earth has felt some form of darkness.
One of my favorite books is called Night by Elie Wiesel. In one portion of the book, Wiesel tells a story that has never left me. This story makes all the darkness I’ve experienced seem lighter in comparison. One portion of his account of the holocaust recounts the hanging of a young child. Wiesel hears a man asking, “Where is God? For God’s sake, where is God?” Elie Wiesel writes:
“And from within me, I heard a voice answer: “Where is He? This is where—hanging here from this gallows.” His most potent passage paints a scene so black one can see the chimneys’ blackened smoke and smell the horrors of death.
“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.
Never shall I forget the smoke.
Never shall I forget the small faces of children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky. Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes. Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself.
Never.”
Elie Wiesel, Night
During this darkness, a few in the camp put God on trial. Elie said, “It happened at night; there were just three people. At the end of the trial, they used the word chayav, rather than ‘guilty’. It means ‘He owes us something’. Then we went to pray.”

Elie continued to pray to HaShem His God there in the camps. He continued to keep the Sabbath as best as he could. He risked his life to put on tefillin that were smuggled in. In the “night,” he still prayed the Shema. Jesus/ Yeshua said this was the greatest commandment.
“Which commandment is the most important of all?”
Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ h No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31—Deut. 6:1-19).
Elie Wiesel experienced evening before night. It was gradual. The sun was setting, but he could still see light. Things got a little darker before too long and a little more until he was crammed in a cattle car with dead bodies and a bucket for waste. Evening is something I want you to meditate on. Evening means “the mixing.” It is a mixing of darkness and light often used to describe people. Our prayers begin in the evening. (Psalm 55:17) “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”
When Noah landed and let the black raven out, it flew back and forth. Much flesh was awaiting its beak, not so with the dove.
“And behold, the dove returned to him in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth” (Genesis 8:11).
May we return to Him in the evening like the dove–to the Ark of His covenant. Returning with Israel freshly plucked and in our beaks (mouths), white (pure), and hovering over the waters. The dove returned in the evening. Evening can cause many to return to Him. Evening comes before darkness, and darkness comes before the Messiah. The day of the Lord Adonai is said to be a day of darkness and not light.
“Blow the ram’s horn in Zion;

Sound the alarm on My holy mountain!

Let all who dwell in the land tremble,

for the Day of the LORD is coming;

indeed, it is near—

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and blackness” (Joel 2:1-2).
Evening has its own mysteries. Many things in scripture happened in the evening, not in the morning.
(Gen.19:1) And there came two angels to Sodom in the evening. . .
Violent men came out in the evening in Sodom, but so did Abba’s two messengers who may also represent the (Torah/prophets—Moses and Elijah).
Wicked men who wanted to sodomize the messengers came forth in the evening. Then something happens that is very prophetic in nature. “But the men (messengers/ angels) inside reached out, pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men at the entrance, young and old, with blindness, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the door” (Gen. 19:10). Yeshua is the door. These wicked men cannot find the door due to their darkness. Yeshua said, “But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:23). The Father shut the door of the Ark during the flood. “Then the LORD shut him in” (Gen. 7:16). The Father did not remove Noah and his family from the storm; he protected them in the darkness. But what was happening at evening? What did evening look like for Noah and his family? Was he busy working even in the dim light?
“…the righteous Noah rebuked them, urging, ‘Repent; for if not, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring a deluge upon you and cause your bodies to float upon the water like gourds, as it is written, He is light [i.e., floats] upon the waters. Moreover, ye shall be taken as a curse for all future generations, as it is written, their portion is cursed’ in the earth.” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 108a).
Not only was it evening during Noah’s day, but it was evening during Abraham’s day in one location, Sodom and Gomorrah.
“But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (Matt. 17:29-30).
There is a woman that comes out in pitch darkness.
“For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, And I saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man lacking heart, Passing through the street near her corner; And he went the way to her house. In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night. And look, a woman met him, Dressed like a whore, With a hidden heart” (Proverbs 7:6-9, ISR).

The fall feasts are upon us. They come just as it gets darker outside. Not only does evening come swiftly, but the darkness in our streets filled with unrest also seems to grow more significant with darkness.
Darkness is also a word used to describe protection and beauty, as magnificent as a black stallion—a black panther slinking through the jungle, A black butterfly, or a black sapphire ring. Darkness is a womb protected by water. Darkness represents being hidden. Darkness is when the beast comes out of the jungle, the fields, the forest, stalking, and searching to devour something in the darkness. When someone is robbed, shot, or sexually assaulted, if it happens in the daytime, we proclaim, “They did it in broad daylight!” Yet, Adonai dwells in thick darkness.
“The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness” (I Kings 8:12).
“He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies” (Psalm 18:11).
`araphel is Strong’s H6205: thick darkness (8x), darkness (3x), gross darkness (2x), dark cloud (1x), dark (1x). (Exo 20:21) “And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness H6205 where God was.”
“He bowed the heavens also, and came down.

With thick darkness under His feet.

“And He rode on a cherub and flew;
And He appeared on the wings of the wind.

“And He made darkness canopies around Him,
A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.

“From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.

“The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.

“And He sent out arrows, and scattered them,
Lightning, and routed them” (II Samuel 22:10-15).

Could the evening be approaching our timeline spiritually? Evening comes before the Son/ sun. Evening comes bringing Jacob’s trouble and great tribulation before we see the sign of the Son of Man. Evening comes before wars, rumors of wars, before pestilence, and famine. Evening and “mourning” come before death and destruction. Evening comes, and the world grows cold and dark. Thieves break in and steal in the evening. They wear black. Death is draped in black clothing, black scarves, and black caskets driven in black hearses. But evening is not pitch black. Evening still has some light to work with. We are told to work while it is still light because the fall feasts represent the time of our Messiah’s return, and this occurs before winter brings death.

“It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord GOD,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon
And make the earth dark in broad daylight.

“Then I will turn your festivals into mourning
And all your songs into lamentation;
And I will bring sackcloth on everyone’s loins
And baldness on every head.
And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day” (Amos 8:9-10).

In Zechariah 7, we see a glimpse of the return of the Messiah. All the nations will gather against Jerusalem to battle. On that day, the Lord Adonai will fight against those nations, and the Messiah’s feet will stand on the mount of olives, and the mount of olives will be split in half. Please meditate on the last passage, verse 7 below.
“In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!
In that day, there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light” (Zechariah 7:4-7).
In the evening, there will be LIGHT.

Back in March, before Pesach/ Passover, the Father spoke to me and said the Spirit of Elijah is here. Invite him in and open the door for he is here.
Now, He is telling me it’s evening. The evening can last a long time–years even in Adonai’s timeframe since a day to the Lord is a 1,000 years and 1,000 years is a day (2 Peter 3:8). It takes anywhere from 70 to 1,000 minutes to become dark after evening. 7 is completion. 1,000-year reign with our King. Symbols are everywhere.
Evening may be swiftly approaching when things get darker on the earth. I’m not date setting, but even the people in Noah’s day had a timeline.
A few years ago, I had a dream. During this time, my husband and I led up meetings and Feast gatherings at a city building. In my dream, we were in the building, and a couple came in with a baby in a car seat. A blanket partially covered the baby, and it was a boy. I greeted the mother and asked her what she had named her son. She said Methuselah. I just looked at her with large eyes. His name means, “When He Is Dead It Shall Be Sent, Man Of A Javelin.” When he died, the flood came and destroyed the earth. His name and life were a warning. Man doesn’t live as long these days as they did in his day. I am thinking it is evening, but evening also has its powerful symbols.
I want to shift this message to an uplifting one and close with powerful verses that are beautifully filled with His Holy Spirit that hovered over the water in the darkness, just like the dove Noah released.
“As evening approached, he made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town at the time when the women went out to draw water” (Genesis 24:11). Women are drawing water right now. This is Abraham’s servant Eliezer. He is a foreigner and younger. He is going to find a bride for Isaac (laughter) at evening, and his name means Yah is my help or helper. The Holy Spirit is called a helper. Eliezer also means Yahweh’s ten. Can you see the Holy Spirit coming in the evening and women drinking from the wellsprings of life? “The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host: (Psalm 68:11, ESV).
Eliezer came for Rebbeca and adorned her with jewels/ gifts. This is the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). He is the giver of gifts and fine jewels, not Tiffany and Co.

In John 8:12, Yeshua spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Ephesians 5:8-9 says, “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.”

There is a Kingdom of darkness and a Kingdom of Light. (Isa 60:2). Darkness may cover the earth, but Adonai shall arise, and His glory will be upon us. Can you picture it?
“For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness ( ערפל araphel -H6205) the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.”
“HEBREW WORD OF THE DAY: Darkness (ערפל araphel, Strong’s #6205): There are two words in the Hebrew translated as darkness. The most common is the word hhoshekh [str:2822] and means “darkness.” The other word is “araphel” and has a meaning that is something more than just darkness. In Exodus 20:21, we read, “And Moses approached the “araphel” where God was.” This darkness is a different type of darkness. It may be alluded to in Exodus 10:21, which mentions the “plague of darkness” (hhoshekh) that could be felt. We often associate darkness with evil, and light with good, but, interestingly, most of the times when God appears, it is in this araphel, such as we saw in Exodus 20:21 but also in 2 Samuel 22:10, 1 Kings 8:12, Job 22:13, Psalm 97:2 and other places.” Jeff Benner.

Jeff Benner has one more nugget that I found worth sharing. It’s the definition of the word shine.

Shine–The word ‘or, as a noun means “light” and as a verb, it means to “give light” or “shine.” It is also related to the idea of bringing order, in the same way, that you bring about order in the darkness when you turn on the lights.

Strong’s: #216

May He appear, and may His Spirit hover over the water. May light spring forth out of the darkness and heal His people. May we be pockets of light all over this earth, shining.

authority, Five-Fold and Torah, Tekoa Manning, TM, torah

Dismembered Body Part 3–Government in His House

Posted on June 22, 2020October 13, 2020 by Tekoa

Welcome to my blog. Today, I am going to be focusing on lawlessness in the Body of Yeshua versus our nation, and the 5-fold ministry. Also, social media—what are the rules? Please click the subscribe button on the podcast/ Youtube channel. A big shout out to James Block for allowing his beautiful music to be featured. We love you and your worship ministry. Now, let’s dig into the message I have prepared.

Is there lawlessness in the Messianic structure? Even the United States has three branches of government. Who are you held accountable to? You may be thinking, I am accountable to God, but also He and His Son set up positions of authority such as Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. We are told to have a five-fold structure set up by Yeshua. Why?

If I am driving 20 miles over the speed limit and a police officer is behind me, I am going to slow down. Right now, in the Body of Yeshua, who is it that we are held accountable to? Even Donald Trump is held accountable. Why hasn’t leadership set up a Five-fold to be held accountable to? Could it be that deep down, we do not want to be held liable?

I want to present you with some questions to ponder, and I am eager to hear your responses. Can we judge our governors and authorities placed in offices across this land to bring justice and mercy when our own structure is lacking basic authority set up in the manner commanded by our Father and Yeshua?

Love and Hate, have we been looking at this wrong? Have we been taught an accurate definition of these words?

Leadership in the Bible often used harsh words—people were removed outside the camp and outside the congregations, and everyone knew it. It wasn’t hushed, hush. It was “turn this one over to satan for the destruction of the flesh.” No one gossiped about those being correction. They had a different type of fear and honor. Can you imagine going to a congregation today and becoming part of a family and being told to leave until you get your fleshly beast nature under control? Your gossip That’s how they rolled in Moses’ day and Paul’s day. Can you imagine watching your tables being turned over and everything flying through the air?

We have children of all ages who curse their parents or parent and do not obey any type of authority. “There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.” (Proverbs 30:11). A generation with no honor for a teacher or principal. We have teachers sleeping with their students. We have people of all colors who refuse to allow the authority to handcuff them for breaking the law today, and we have authority in all types of positions of power who have no regard for human life, not from the baby in the womb or a convict crying for his very breath.

Today there is no Five-fold in place because the leadership has removed the prophets and apostles and the Elders and when I say ‘elders,’ I don’t mean a person who carries an offering plate, or one who takes care of one’s online videos, comments, and keeps your website updated. I’m talking about teachers who know the Torah, which doesn’t mean they have to know the Hebrew language. Plenty of teachers are teaching well without speaking fluent Hebrew, but men do not want to share their “spotlight” with others who have the light. “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.” (Acts 14:23). “The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.” (Titus 1:5).

To listen to the latest podcast, click the link here.

So back to rebukes and correction. Many today would consider the words of the prophets and apostles in Acts quite stern and unloving. They spoke with authoritative admonitions when needed. Where are those men and women today in the Father’s House? I will continue to sound the alarm that we are not keeping His Torah when we have no government in place. We need the five-fold. If we are pointing at the world’s leadership right now in judgment, and the lawlessness we see on our television/computer screens, we should look inward because He starts with us first. We are to be an example—a light. I’m taking a more in-depth look in the mirror at what things I may be doing due to no authority. No Messianic communities or Christian communities want to elect or be held accountable to a five-fold. This is the same message I presented to the Body when people were getting very upset about homosexual marriage rights, and the very ones pointing the fingers, the church, has countless acts of adultery and divorce rates higher than the world. However, the world doesn’t marry as much, as shacking up has become the norm. The Messianic community is now promoting polygamy in some circles as a way of life, and no one corrects them because we have no power in leadership. We have huge ministries spreading fear-based hate about the Jewish people, Yeshua’s own tribe, and ignorance about the Talmud, which Yeshua quoted. We have fear being spread to the point we look like Cnn versus Fox news. Everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Even significant, influential teachers who have huge platforms and media followers in large numbers, do not have a structured body of individuals in place. Paul said that we need this until we become mature and unified.

“And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things, grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. 16From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.” (Ephesians 4:11-16).

Since Hollywood and the world tries to paint a false picture of what love and hate are, we have to redefine this through the truth of God’s Word.

Gentler speech and keeping silent was not what the apostles or prophets did. As a matter a fact, the words they spoke caused them to be stoned to death, beheaded, flogged, thrown in jail or crucified, and they spoke those words in front of kings, leadership, the High priest, and the people. They even gave speeches in front of statues of unknown gods—to men who were swept up in Greek thought. There was no Facebook or social media, this was their social media, and it was face to face. They were also at times speaking to people who were not of like mind or like kind. They were told to spread the gospel.

Paul said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. 25Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.” (Acts 17:22-26)

Paul continued speaking repentance as many mocked him.

These men and women spoke with authority. When John the Baptist corrected Herod for sleeping with his brother’s wife, do you think he said, “Now, now, it is not right what you are doing? You should stop this. No, he said, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. You are breaking the Torah!” But men don’t want to hear the truth. They have exchanged the truth for a lie. We call evil good today and good evil. Some would even say that John just needed to shine his light and not say anything. No need to correct the blind.

How would you like to hear this message from your favorite Pastor or Torah teacher?

Ezekiel speaks for the Father, and he says, “You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, you’re [lustful neighbors) ( your neighbor’s penis), and multiplied your harlotry to make Me angry. (Ezekiel 16:26 NASB)

What about Jeremiah’s words below? How loving are they?

“You are a swift young she-camel

galloping here and there,

a wild donkey at home in the wilderness,

sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire.

Who can restrain her passion?

All who seek her need not weary themselves;

In mating season they will find her.

You should have kept your feet from going bare

and your throat from being thirsty.

But you said, ‘It is hopeless!

For I love foreign gods,

and I must go after them.’” (Jeremiah 2:23-26).

But back to the definition of love and hate.”

What if a husband and wife fell dead before your eyes after being rebuked by your pastor or Torah teacher’s correction? It happened in Acts. What type of honor would the body have for authority if that were the case today? Where are men and women who speak with authority?

Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened. Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

About three hours later, his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened. “Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?”

“Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”

“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

At that instant, she fell down at his feet and died. (Acts 5:3-10)

Great fear fell on those who heard of this. We need great fear and bold men and women who are not afraid to call out deceit, anarchy, and lawlessness.

Later, the Father gives Paul a dream to stay in Corinth and preach.

There is a time to speak and a time to remain silent.

Yes, Silence, to has its place. How do we use wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent?

(The sages valued silence. They called it “a fence to wisdom.”[6] If words are worth a coin, silence is worth two.[7] R. Shimon ben Gamliel said, “All my days I have grown up among the wise, and I have found nothing better than silence.”[8]) (The office of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks).

But the Father told Jeremiah, “Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them” (Jeremiah 1:17).

He told Ezekiel, “Ezekiel 2:6

“But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.”

After Jeremiah cries that he is too young, the Father tells him not to say that. “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.” (Jeremiah 1:7-8).

Peace and love movements are often giving one a warm fuzzy feeling, but there is usually no order. A place called Chaz and then Chop is an occupied Protest zone in Seattle. The CHAZ name (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) was changed to CHOP for (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest). This name had to change because, as a person who is very interested in the meaning of words, Chaz means a free man, and CHOP is anything but free. What does chop mean?

Cut (something) into pieces with repeated sharp blows of an ax or knife.

2. abolish or reduce the size of (something) in a way regarded as ruthless.

It is ruthless what the governor has allowed to happen in Seattle. Ruthless means without law, for Ruth, took on Torah as a garment and wore mercy and righteousness. The city of Chop has spray-painted hate on the buildings and other profanities. Waste and feces line the streets, and one video depicted a man peeing and another defecating in the street. Other videos show drug addicts, drunk half-naked people fighting and armed gunmen. The businesses people have worked for are boarded up or vandalized. There is no order. No authority. Can you smell the urine? What does His House look like? Can a house have walls with no foundation poured? Does a home need a roof? What about plumbing to make sure the stench isn’t freely flowing in open view. What about electricity? The Ark of the Covenant with His Torah in the heart. All His House needs all His Body working together in order. He is a Father/ Creator of order. He created the whole universe in order.

Hopefully, the many who were raised with no honor and learned to disrespect authority or usurp authority will begin to see that we need change. Yes, guilty people of all skin color need accountability. A husband and wife dropping dead in front of a congregation would undoubtedly cause people to fear an authority higher than High, an authority that sits on the ultimate throne in the heavens. Money is the root of all evil and this couple held back money and tried to hide that they did so. What are we hiding or hiding from?

Blessings, Tekoa Manning.

#Heart Matters, America, Tekoa, TM, torah

A Dismembered Body/Nation Part #2

Posted on June 11, 2020June 13, 2020 by Tekoa

Part # 1 Here

Part #2

This story of the concubine is strangely familiar to a story in Genesis with Lot and his daughters. The chain of events with the Levite and his wife/concubine is interesting. Firstly, it was the Levites who did all the work connected with the temple. Aaron’s descendants were the priests, but we also learn that the Levites were described as angry.

“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their swords are implements of violence.
“Let my soul not enter into their council;
Let not my glory be united with their assembly;
Because in their anger they slew men,
And in their self-will they lamed oxen.
“Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it, is cruel.” (Genesis 49:5-7).

The woman in the story invites the angry husband she’s left into her father’s house. Her father, like our heavenly Father, serves bread and wine. He wants to keep them safe. He is from the House of Bread. Stay in my House, He says. Stay protected under my roof. But on the 5th day, the son-in-law decides to leave while it is getting dark outside.
“Then the man arose to go, but his father-in-law urged him so that he spent the night there again. On the fifth day, he arose to go early in the morning, and the girl’s father said, “Please sustain yourself, and wait until the afternoon,” so both of them ate. When the man arose to go along with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold now, the day has drawn to a close; please spend the night. Lo, the day is coming to an end; spend the night here that your heart may be merry. Then tomorrow, you may arise early for your journey so that you may go home.”
The father tries to keep the man there. He tells him it’s getting dark outside. And we do attest to this present hour of darkness over our nation. Day five or the 5th feast is the feast of trumpets. This is described as a day of darkness.
“Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD,
For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?
It will be darkness and not light;

As when a man flees from a lion
And a bear meets him,
Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him.

Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?” (Amos 5:18-20).

The father said to the son and daughter, “Please agree to stay all night, and let your heart be glad.”
This should remind you of another story where Abraham has three visitors. “Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that, you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” (Genesis 18:4-5).
The man and his concubine, donkeys, and servant leave the safety of her father’s house, and the servant tries to get them to spend the night in Jebus, which is Jerusalem.
“One of the nicknames of Jerusalem is Jebus (Judges 19:10, 1 Chronicles 11:4), and the Jebusites are listed among the nations descending from Canaan, one of the sons of Ham, who is the youngest son of Noah (Genesis 10:16). The name Jebus means He will trample down or trodden underfoot.” (Abarim Publications).
The man in our story doesn’t want to stay in Jerusalem. Jerusalem means a foundation of peace. He wants to get to a place he feels will be safe, Gibeah, but this place is anything but safe. (To the Hebrews, a hill country resembled humanity that consisted of separate and rivaling tribes, clans and families, while a plain resembled humanity at peace). (Abarim Publication).
Gibeah is where the tribe of Benjamin resided. They were not in Sodom. They were not spending the night among people who had no knowledge of the Torah.
An old man from Ephraim took them into his home. Isn’t it interesting that the “old man” is supposed to serve the younger? The beastly nature is supposed to submit to the spirit and walk uprightly. Genesis 25:23 says, “The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, And two peoples will be separated from your body, And one people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”
The older man, Esau, was hairy like a beast. He sold his honor and birthright because his beastly nature was needing a bowl of red stuff right then! Now, these folks have gone to spend the night in the “old flesh man’s house.”
Benjaminites began to bang on the door, demanding that the old man would give them his guest for them to rape (reminiscent of the goings-on in Sodom; Genesis 19:5). The Levite’s concubine got shoved out the door. The Benjaminites raped her all night. Can you say wolves? Can you say sex trafficking? At dawn, they let go of what was left of her. We are now on the sixth day. This is the day man and beast were created. Remember, we are created in the image of Elohim, and we are to make sure our beastly nature is not erupting.

“The rabbis of traditional Judaism understand that the God of Israel gave the seven days of creation in the book of Genesis as Torah/instruction to teach His people that there are 7,000 years of time from the creation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the end of the Messianic Age. In Psalm 90:4, it is written: “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”
In our story, it is the sixth day, and each day in creation represents 1,000 years of time. We are waiting for the Sabbath rest, the 7th day when we rule and reign with Yeshua. The people in our story have some clues we can see. The woman is not a bride like Sarah but a concubine. Paul said,
“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But, the son by the bondwoman, was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.

For it is written,
“REJOICE, BARREN WOMAN WHO DOES NOT BEAR;
BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR;
FOR MORE NUMEROUS ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DESOLATE
THAN OF THE ONE WHO HAS A HUSBAND.”

And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.

But what does the Scripture say?
“CAST OUT THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON,
FOR THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN.”

So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.” Galatians 4:22-31.

However, the concubine’s father is from Bethlehem, the city of Obadiah, Ruth, Naomi, Obed, Jesse, King David, and Yeshua, Messiah. They do not stay in the safety of the father’s house. It is getting dark outside, and they leave on the 5th day. The man will not listen to the servant and stay in Jebus. The woman is raped and mistreated all night, and what is her husband/ Master doing while this is happening to her? He is asleep!! Oh, beloved, we must WAKE UP and stay right there with Abba Daddy in His house with His bread and His wine and not open the door for the enemy and not allow the old man to rise up and our beastly nature to rule us because we will be defiled. The story in Genesis is very similar. The men wanted to sodomize the men.
“Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” (Genesis 19:4).
What does Yeshua tell us? “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28-30).
What does the man in our story do? He cuts his concubine in 12 pieces. The twelve tribes scattered. A picture of the United States at this time—cut up, divided, bloody, and defiled. Where else have we seen a story such as this? It was in 1st Samuel chapter 11.
“But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel.” (What does Nahash mean? Serpent, bronze oracle) What does Oracle mean? “a priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity.” Oxford dictionary.

Before we finish our story concerning Saul and the ox, let’s continue with this cloudy vision and witchcraft. How does witchcraft blind the eyes? As a nation, we have blinders on as many in positions of power are full of deceit, fraud, and are enemies of righteousness. We need men and women like Sha’ul, who was an apostle and prophet put back into leadership to expose the fraud. We need healing and love for all colors of skin. This sickness is rooted in fear. Perfect love cast out fear! How does witchcraft get healed?
“But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? “Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately, a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. Then, the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord” (Acts 13:8-12).

Yeshua told those in authority if they were blind they could see. We need to become blind to what we think is right and seek His instructions. One day our nation and we as a people, will longer see through a dark glass. We will say, “Oh, now I see clearly!” But in this story concerning Nahash, the people are considering eyes gouged out. How’s our eyesight? Our we as a nation seeing with His Eyes or with what the media feeds us?
The elders of Jabesh speak to Nahash and request seven days. They want to send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If no one will deliver them, then they will allow this gouging of the eyes. What? The messengers approach Saul and tell him of the plans of the Ammonites, and all the people lift up their voices and weep. Who wouldn’t?

“Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh. Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry. He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” (I Samuel 11:1-7).

Oh, Saul, what are you trying to do? He seems to be using fear tactics. Is this righteous anger, or is this his beastly nature? He is reminding the people of the concubine who was cut up into 12 parts. The tribe, his tribe, Benjamin, was almost wiped out completely. Interestingly, 600 men of Benjamin were left. There’s that 6th day. So what happens next?
The next morning Saul put the people in three companies, and they struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
The Nahash’s in leadership long to gouge out our right eyes. They use witchcraft and speak bronze words with the forked tongues of serpents. Can you see them, or is your vision cloudy? Dip in the blue crystal waters that spring from His well and His Torah. If we are hot and full of anger, we have no eyesight. May our land heal. May we weep in anguish for both George and Derek. May we pray so that the Father of glory will heal our land. A house divided and cut up into parts cannot stand. Adonia is the One who says that if His people, called by His Name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways; then He will hear from heaven, and will forgive our sin, and will heal our land, but every prophecy will come forth. We were warned long ago that we would be hated, handed over, placed in prison, and killed. We are told that all Israel will be surrounded by every nation, yes, included in “every” is perhaps even our great nation, America. What’s the good news? “On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.” “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with BLINDNESS. “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn (Zechariah 12:3-10). How does the book of Zechariah end? “And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one” (Zechariah 14:9).

And after this, a great kingdom with a Holy King who will not judge by what his eyes see. This King will rule and reign and all men, all skin color, all nations, will bow before the Lamb that was slain. Can we begin practicing now? I pray so!

If you haven’t subscribed to my Youtube channel or Podcast, please subscribe and click the bell. (Elijah’s Prophetic Cup)

prophetic, repentance, TM, torah

A Dismembered Body/Nation Part #1

Posted on June 10, 2020June 13, 2020 by Tekoa

This is Part #1 in a series about our nation and authority.

What does a story in Judges about a woman cut up into 12 pieces have to do with our nation? This Biblical account is often passed over due to its horrific violence. Out of curiosity, I opened a Google search bar for bodies found dismembered recently in the U.S and found three quickly. On March 26th of this year, a 27-year-old man faced multiple charges after law enforcement officials say he used a circular saw to cut up his father’s body, then placed the parts in a dumpster outside a Flint, Michigan business. A 38-year-old woman’s body was found dismembered in an unplugged refrigerator in an apartment in April of this year. She was a mother of 4 children from Philadelphia. Eleven hours ago, yes, just 11, a man’s body was found dismembered in the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. What does the Creator of life, the One who sits in the heavenly abode, think as He looks down upon His creation fighting and using baseless hatred as a garment?
After months of dealing with a pandemic, it seemed like we were getting back to a place of normality, then suddenly outrage, protest, riots, and vandalism filled our streets due to a man in authority taking another life. While he pleaded for help, no one came to his rescue.
The Father often speaks to me using names and the meanings behind them in dream interpretation and biblical interpretation. My heart and the hearts of many all over this nation are broken, grieving, and praying for healing throughout our land. I wanted to look at the meaning of the names of the officer and the man who died horrifically– not to cause discord but to see what might be revealed.
Derek Chauvin’s name means “Derek–the people’s ruler.” “Chauvin–means a bald man.” The Midrash links the name Korach with the Hebrew word, which means “baldness.” Korach was in authority, but he usurped higher authority, and the earth swallowed him up. A person in authority can cause much harm to others. Not only did the earth swallow Korach but 250 men. A completely bald kohen (priest) is considered to have a blemish, which disqualifies him from service. What about leprosy on the head? The person was to be shaven. He was unclean. Derek comes from Theodoric, the great who was also called Flavius. Flavius means “Yellow-haired,” which is also a symbol for leprosy.
Does this man represent leadership? A foot on the neck while other bystanders are wearing uniforms of authority keep silent. They use no action to intervene and save his life. I don’t know this man, Derek. I don’t know what trauma he has faced, what PTSD or life situations led him to this moment that I pray he truly regrets. We need to pray for the families of all involved.
When we serve Babylon, we end up “assisting in” Babylon. We end up bowing to Babylon’s beastly empire. We end up with iron bars around our necks.
What can we learn from the name of the man who died horrifically? George means earth, soil, the farmer. Aww, the Garden and the assignment from the beginning to Adam was to tend the soil and to produce fruit. (And YHWH Elohim took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and to keep it) Genesis 2:15. His last name, Floyd, means grey-haired. Grey hair represents wisdom, someone who has lived long and has learned from looking back at their mistakes to not make the same ones over again. George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill. (To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value than the real thing)—Wiki def.
They deceive the weak and blind into believing the fake is greater than the real thing. All of us can be walking in the garden in the cool of the day and acting fake. Snatching fig leaves and trying to hide. Killing our brother Abel as sin crouches at our hearts. We all, at one time or another, have been guilty of replacing YHVH’s original design with a counterfeit. But as Marvin Gaye sang, “There aint nothing like the real thing, Baby!”
We must find the one to bow to and get to bending! Every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Yeshua is the Messiah, The King of Kings.
Where did the crime occur? “Minnesota comes from the Dakota name for the Minnesota River, which got its name from one of two words in Dakota: “mní sóta,” which means “clear blue water,” or “Mníssota,” which means “cloudy water.” We need His Heavenly blue waters to wash us clean and open our vision.
The Mayor, Jacob Frey, means Israel free—free Israel. Oh, Abba, save us, please. Free us from our own deceit, our lawlessness, our lack of honor, and love. Yeshua explains the problem clearly. He said, “And because of the prevalent disregard of God’s law (Torah/instructions), the love of the great majority will grow cold;” (Matthew 24:12). Yes, the Torah, or disregard of it, rather, is why love has grown ice cold. Why does David weep? “My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law (Instructions for a blessed life) is not obeyed” (Psalm 119:136). The Psalms continues to explain what His Torah (Instructions) does when kept. It makes one wiser than all their enemies. It gives a young man more wisdom and insight than the aged. It is sweeter than honey to the mouth. But let’s get back to division—body parts. I have written much on Body parts and the five-fold ministry, but usually, my goal is to bring wholeness, unity, and life to His people. Today I am going to write about division and a body dismembered. Hopefully, it will strike my readers’ hearts to pray for healing–to weep in anguish over our condition, but first, let’s look at anger and what it entails because many at this time, our outraged over multiple situations.
What is anger? In Hebrew thought it is the covering of the eyes. A person angry cannot see. Anger is said to rot the bones. James warns that we are to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and reluctant to become angry, but even Adonai becomes angry. Psalms inform us that He is merciful and compassionate and slow to anger, but He became so angry with Moses, He was going to slay him. After the golden calf, He was going to destroy them and spare Moses. “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” (Exodus 32:10, NASB).
His Son, Yeshua, became angry. He flips the tables of the money changers over. We are told to be angry and not sin.
There has been a lot of anger of late. Erupting anger. Emotions are burning like a volcano. Anger that rots the bones and destroys lives. Anger that flares the nostrils and raises the fist and the blood pressure. Anger can be useful if it is righteous anger, but anger leading to the death of a human soul, or destruction of another’s property is not healthy anger.
“A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back” (Proverbs 29:11).
When people do not have honor or respect for authority, they fight authority. When men in power act cruelly and do not respond to cries for life, more and more people have a bad taste for those in authoritative positions. They slander and mock any type of authority. And those in authority who are lied to daily or put in harm’s way daily, often become numb or desensitized and have trust issues.
Years ago, I noticed more and more “family” shows being aired on t.v that had children with smart mouths. Bart Simpson comes to mind. Or the television shows depicted parents like the Bundy’s who also had children who mocked them. Everything is out of order. Anytime the order isn’t properly in place, we get disorder, and disorder is chaos. It happens on the simplest level.
Yeshua is supposed to be the head and then the man and woman. Yeshua was the Word. We should not see parents putting children or parents ahead of their spouse. Parents are to be parents, but today they are often buddies with no authority. Today we have leadership in all areas, including His Body, out of order. I’ve been discussing the need for the five-fold for some time now, and I recently heard a Messianic Rabbi speaking of its importance, but I have yet to see it taking place in His congregations or other gathering places. What I see is men guarding their platforms and not praying and asking the Father who among them is gifted in an office that is lacking among them. They feel they have to protect sheep from those who may not have as much knowledge as them, but at the end of the day, this attitude is causing unbalance and a lack of accountability.
We have leadership in government out of order. In Biblical times, Kings were commanded to write a copy of the Torah. “When [the king] sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write a copy of this Torah… It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life” (Deut. 17:18-19).
But something has happened in our day that occurred in the days of the judges.
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6, BSB).
“In those days Israel had no king” (Judges 19:1, NIV).
“And it cometh to pass, in the days of the judging of the judges, that there is a famine in the land…” (Ruth 1:1, YLT).
The judging of the judges caused famine. The people judged their judges and would not listen to their words or rebukes. (Bava Basra 15b).
People judge the leadership, whether it’s black or white, republican, or democrat. When I was a child, I remember a young friend who told me her parents thought mine were ignorant because they voted for Ford and not Carter. I was ten years old, but when I told my mother, she responded with words that implied we do not speak badly of the president of the United States no matter who it is, but instead pray for our leaders. The very word “United” States is something we do not have right now. We have a dismembered body. We speak with words that mirror dragon breath. Talk about bad breath. We need a fire to light on our tongues and cleanse our lips.
Tucked away in Judges 19 and 20 is a story so horrifying, we wish not to read it or acknowledge that it is right there resting between Samson and our beloved Ruth. It is a tale so ghastly that we don’t like to discuss the woman in it, but she could represent many today. She could describe the Body of Yeshua or a nation that’s been defiled.
“Now, in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.” (Judges 19:1)
“The Levite is referred to as the “husband” of the woman (19:3; 20:4) and the “son-in-law” of the woman’s father (19:5), who, in turn, is referred to as the Levite’s “father-in-law” (19:4, 7, 9). The uncertain nature of the differences between a wife and a concubine reveals the complexities involved in understanding notions of kinship and marriage presupposed by biblical narratives.” (Jewish women’s archive).
The next verse implies she cheated on him, although many of the Greek text suggests, she was “angry” with him. “But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and was there for a period of four months” (19:2). Four months. We recently celebrated the 4th feast, Shavuot and four is authority, His heavenly clock, and more. Why four months? What happened in the 4th month, the month of Tammuz?
The tablets [of the Ten Commandments] were broken. The offering of the daily sacrifice ceased. The walls of Jerusalem were breached. Agrippa Apostumus, the wicked, burnt a Torah scroll, and he erected an idol in the Sanctuary.
“Some time afterward, namely at the end of four months (הדשׁים ארבּעה is in apposition to ימים, and defines more precisely the ימים, or days), her husband went after her, “to speak to her to the heart,” i.e., to talk to her in a friendly manner (see Genesis 34:3), and to reconcile her to himself again, so that she might return; taking with him his attendant and a couple of asses, for himself and his wife to ride upon.” (Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary).
What happened at the end of four months? What happened on the 9th of Av? The destruction of the temple. Baseless hatred.

prophetic, Tekoa Manning, TM, torah

The Voice of Hosea

Posted on June 2, 2020June 13, 2020 by Tekoa

I heard the men whispering in the market. Suddenly one of them with piercing eyes was standing before me.
“What is your daughter’s name, he asked?”
I glance down at her angelic face before answering him.
Lo-Ruhammah, (low—Rue-hay-ma)
I whisper.
“So it is true?” He says, his eyes intently staring at me.
I stood up straighter, returning his gaze before answering.
“Yes, her name is an example of what is coming on our people because we have left our first love!”
The man’s face flashed with disgust. He placed his loaf of bread back into the basket of my shop.
“Who would do such a thing as name their daughter this! He raised his hands up to the heavens in disbelief. “Disgusting,” He said before he spat on the ground—the other men in the marketplace gawk. I continue wrapping a fresh loaf of challah for the customer in front of me and then speak.
“What was I to do? HaShem told me to name my daughter “no mercy.”
I then tell him, we would do well to return—to do Teshuvah. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry Father.”
The man shakes his head and walks away from me. I embrace my daughter and tell her I love her. She is still too young to know or understand.
Oh, the grief I feel to speak over my own seed a name as no mercy. My second son is named Lo-Ammi (low-am-eye), which means “not my people.” His name, too, was ordained by HaShem, who spoke to me, saying, “You are not my people, and I am not your God.” He tells me that at a later time, He will proclaim that we are His people again, but things are very somber for now.
My mother hates the names of her grandchildren. Who can blame her? I look at them and am reminded to weep and mourn over my people and to fast for us. I warn and explain what I am hearing, but no one seems to pay much attention to a man whose wife continues to love another. Abba tells me that my wife that I love so much is like His people. Even though she looks at me with her dark eyes and raven hair and speaks such lovely words to me, I know her heart is far from me. Abba tells me that His people draw near with their mouth, and with their lips honor Him, but they have removed their hearts far away. My heart breaks daily.
Before I go any further, Shalom, My name is Hosea. My father was the prince of Rueben’s tribe, and he, too, was a prophet. His name, Beeri (bee-ee-rye), means Adonai’s well, and his writings were incorporated in the book of Isaiah, chapter eight.
I, Hosea, wanted to speak to you and your people. I am aware that it is 2020 there, but my writings were not just given to me for my people, but for future generations as well. I pray you will listen.
Where to begin? The Father told me, “Hosea, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking Me. It is difficult, but I have a deep passionate love for my wife. It’s as if the Father has given me more compassion and love for Gomer than anyone I’ve ever met. Oh, how I love her even though she has eyes that lust after other gods and other men. So many nights, I walk the streets and corner brothels looking for my beloved. I search the red-light districts weeping and praying.
HaShem told me to Go show love to my wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as I love my people Israel, though they turn to other gods and offer raisin cakes to idols. My wife Gomer was like a slave standing there in public at the auction. She may as well have been naked. Men were looking her over. I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley. The silver and the barley – amounted to thirty shekels, or three pounds and ten or fifteen shillings. Thirty shekels is the estimated value of a manservant or maidservant; for it is stated in our Torah that “if an ox pushes a manservant or a maidservant, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver.” In Numbers chapter 5, Barley is an offering for a woman suspected of adultery. I paid the highest bid for my bride because even though she has been unfaithful, my love for her is unending. Possibly you are remembering that thirty pieces of silver were paid to Judas to betray the Messiah, Yeshua? Yeshua came to pay the price to redeem us from the slave market of sin and clothe our shame with His righteousness. He was the One who was sold, for 30 pieces of silver.
The Father’s sorrow has become my sorrow. If only I did not love her so, then perhaps my heart would not be so broken. Every day I picture Gomer holy, pure, dressed in robes of righteousness, smiling at our children and teaching them the Father’s Word.
Possibly you’ve never heard of me? My prophetic ministry began during the prosperous time of Jeroboam II, but after he died, his son, Zachariah, took the throne. He was assassinated after six months by Shallum. Shallum, too, was assassinated, not even a month into his reign.
Things have become grave. We’ve had five Kings, and three have seized the throne through violence. Manahem shed much blood to get his position, yes, he took the throne after Shallum, and he began paying tribute to Assyria. The amount of silver he paid was almost 40 tons. The Father called him a vulture and said, “Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord Adonai because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my Torah” (Hosea 8:1). It seems wickedness brings such leaders to a nation.
I tend to refer to the Northern kingdom of Israel as Ephraim. It’s become complete anarchy here. Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria. They bargain and carry oil to Egypt. Whoever heard of such a thing? They seek leaders to save them, but not HaShem. Some trust in chariots and horses, but we must trust in our Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They think the leaders give them oil, grain, new wine, and lavish them with silver and gold, but it is HaShem.
Baal worship is strong here, but it is strong there where you are sitting in the 21st century. Baal means Lord or master. Baal Peor was and is a god of sexual appetites. We have fertility goddess worship. We have idols that are enlarged sex organs. Orgies and temple prostitutes are common. The people seem to have a license for perversions, and even child sacrifices to Molech.
I have viewed some of your movies there and even commercials promoting drugs for sexual arousal. I have been looking at the number of sacrifices to Molech and the number of abortions in your nation. It may be packaged differently, but I fear your nation and others have even surpassed my people Israel. During the reign of Jeroboam II, we had economic prosperity. The people were extremely wealthy, overfed, and self-consumed. We, of course, cannot take selfies on iPhones, but we are self-seeking.
Friendly relations with the Phoenicians have brought many things of beauty and luxury to my people, just as many nations have brought luxury to your people. They recline on beds of ivory while their morals collapse. Ephraim says, “Surely I have become rich,
I have found wealth for myself, In all my labors they will find in me No iniquity.”
Things creep in slowly, desensitizing us. I have seen your hoarders and the bridal television shows there where the bride’s gowns are so sheer, see-through even. The brides expose their breasts and dress like a harlot on their wedding day. Oh, how His bride needs clothing. The Father says He will uncover our lewdness In the sight of our lovers, And no one will rescue us out of His Hand. HaShem told me, He will be like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
He will tear to pieces and go away, and there will be none to deliver us.
The people seek Him at their festivals, but He has pulled back Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek His face. He tells me that in our affliction, we will earnestly seek Him. But people do not want to speak of affliction or suffering. They say, tells us smooth things. Give us prosperity.
Although my heart is tender and sore concerning Gomer, I am not without hope. HaShem tells me that after the affliction, He will lead us into the wilderness and speak tenderly to us.
A marriage to Baal is nothing but ownership, slavery, dominance, and it leaves one very empty. But HaShem says He is our maker and our husband. He has given us a wedding ring and a marriage covenant. He wants a bride who is searching for Him like the woman in Song of Songs. She says, Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you– if you find my beloved, what will you tell him? Tell him I am faint with love.
Like the Father, I married Gomer. She is my bride, but she is often straying after other lovers. Her name means “to come to an end.” Her name, like my children, pierce my heart. The Father often uses my wife and my children to speak to me. The things He shares are very sorrowful, but still, He offers mercy. Some days my grief seems to weigh more than the sand of the seashore. Yet, He tells me, one day, the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to us, ‘You are not My people,’ that we will be called ‘sons of the living God. I cling to this.
I continue to warn my people, but my voice is often used in mockery. The people are in a hurry. They are busy, and they continue to run to and fro.
People are eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage just like the days of Noah. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. They do not know what is coming upon them. Remember when your towers fell? It seemed like a Hollywood production, but there is was on your news channels. It came unexpectantly. It came in the blink of an eye. The number 911 is remembered each year.
It is the Father who told me to “Go, take a prostitute as my wife and have children of adultery because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the Him.”
I, Hosea, wanted to bring this message to you and plead with you during this season, to fall in love again. The Messiah speaks to one particular body of believers in the book of Revelations, and he says,
“I have this against you that you have left your first love. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. May we all renew our vows this Shavuot and be like a bride who is working on her bridal garments to become without spots or wrinkles.
I wish to leave you with the last words from my writings. The Father is speaking here as He pleads for all of us to bring Him Words and return.

Return O Israel, to Adonai your God,
for you have stumbled in your iniquity.
3 Take words with you and return to Adonai.
Say to Him: “Take away all iniquity,
and accept what is good,
so we may repay with offerings of our lips:
4 ‘Assyria will not save us.
We will not ride on horses,
and we will never again say, “Our god,”
to the work of our hands,
for with You, orphans find mercy.'”

5 “I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely,
for My anger will turn away from him.
6 I will be like the dew for Israel.
He will blossom like a lily,
and thrust out his roots like Lebanon.
7 His tender shoots will spread out.
His beauty will be like an olive tree
and his fragrance will be like Lebanon.
8 Those dwelling in his shadow will return.
They will grow grain and bud like a vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

9 Ephraim: “What more are idols to me?
I have responded and observed Him.
I will be like a luxuriant cypress tree.
From me will be found Your fruit.”

10 Who is wise? Let him discern these things.
Who is intelligent? Let him know them.[c]
For the ways of Adonai are straight,
and then just walk in them,
but the wicked stumble in them. Hosea 14
This is Hosea signing off, shalom!

unrecognizable mountaineer climbing on cliff

Tekoa, TM, torah

“So he was left hanging between heaven and earth”—II Samuel 18:9.

Posted on October 29, 2019January 10, 2021 by Tekoa

“So he was left hanging between heaven and earth”—II Samuel 18:9.

A man suspended between two points– do you know who this passage was written about? It is David’s son, Absalom. He is his third son. Not only will he hang from a tree, but his advisor will kill himself in Judas fashion.

Grab a rope and hold on tight as we look at one of the most dysfunctional families listed in the Bible.

David, a man after Adonai’s own heart has multiple children by multiple women. After his father in law, King Saul, chases him over hills with an army of thousands hunting him like a wild animal, he eventually takes the crown. Saul is wounded in battle, stripped of his honor and beheaded in more ways than one. Flash forward in time, and David is king. David is a great warrior, mighty in battle, but he lacks skills dealing with those in his own household. He doesn’t take care of issues. He acts as if nothing happened when his daughter, Tamar is raped by his firstborn son, Amnon. There is no healing or validation for his daughter. Tamar wearing her royal robe rips her ornate coat from her soiled body. She cries out wailing the loss of multiple things. Her tears get stored in bottles. A note is written in ink and the exact number of salty droplets are counted from heavens throne.

But Tamar’s father will never comfort her. He will never make the guilty party pay. Tamar, like most rape victims, will be isolated. She probably felt dirty even though she was kind and innocent. Many times the women blame themselves.

After Amnon fulfills his lust for her, he has her thrown out and the door bolted. Tamar warns her half-brother before this saying, “No, my brother; for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me” (2 Samuel 13:15-16). This response refers to Deuteronomy 22:28 which states that a man who rapes a virgin must marry her. Ouch! Why would a woman want to marry a man who rapes her? The victim is not required to marry the rapist; the rapist is required to marry his victim (if she consents), after paying her a very heavy fine.

Something happens after we love someone with the kind of love Amnon had for Tamar. It doesn’t have to be a person of the opposite sex, it doesn’t need be lustful—it can be anyone in our lives that we love in an unhealthy manner. They become a false idol of worship. Through fear of rejection or coveting their gifts, positions, and more, we can fall into sin. Amnon is pretending to be physically sick but he is far more spiritually sick than we can imagine. He wants his sister to bake him cakes and feed him out of her own hands. He wants his cake and to eat it too. Something dreadful arises out of the place where he imagined love lingered—it’s called hatred.

“Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.”

His love for her was a love to fulfill his desires and fleshly appetites. It was not a holy love. Love is defined as patient, kind, long-suffering. He has none of these qualities. We can have a false love for people. We can love the idea of them. Love has rules. The Father of Glory set up each rule for love carefully.

“You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home” (Lev 18:9).

There is an order to His Love. We place the Father and His commandments first, then our spouses, then our children and honoring our parents/ family. We love our neighbor as ourselves. Anything out of this order causes chaos. If your brother hates your sister yet calls you brother and says he loves you, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

One does not have to be literally raped to be assaulted and defiled in such a manner. We, humans, are capable of doing this with our tongues and our actions. We can defile people and bolt doors shut that should remain open. We can harm others through ignorance, gossip, and harmful words that are far greater than murder. If I shoot you, I take your life—you cease to exist, but if I shoot you with my mouth, and my fingers type out curses, I can cause people to shame you, isolate you and destroy your character. You end up living in pain daily. I know it sounds rather bizarre, but many of the wisest Sages say this can be far worse than murder.

What does all of this have to do with a man hanging between heaven and earth? A lot actually!

One event, one moment, one decision, yes, just one choice can change a person’s path forever and even change the dynamics of a whole family. Amnon did just that.

What happens to rape victims? Isn’t the victim often shamed? Of course, they are. The very ones who rape, sodomize, and destroy people’s lives often go living with no conscious or need felt to repent, meanwhile the victim is treated like a leprous outcast. Let’s look at the advice given to Tamar.

“But now keep silent, my sister, he is your brother; do not take this matter to heart.” So Tamar remained and was desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.” (II Sam. 13:20).

They are hushed. They are desolate–abandoned. The victim is often treated like the criminal or whispered about in certain circles as deserving it.

Tamar’s brother Absalom takes his sister to live in his house. King David is angry but he never punishes his son. Absalom waits for his father, the king, to do what kings do–penalize those who break the Torah and cause harm and especially to someone of a gentle nature as his beloved virgin sister. But his father is weak in this area. The man who can clean sever the head of a giant and circumcise a 100 philistines cannot do justice in his own household. He loves his oldest son more than he loves justice, mercy, and covering his daughter. He acts passive-aggressive. The silent treatment—simmering and brooding with intense anger, and yet acting as if nothing is unfolding before his eyes.

Years go by–A father, daughter, and son is separated by the sins of their very own flesh and blood. Is blood thicker than water? The blood of His covenant is thicker than any family tragedy. There is a family in Him that nothing can come in-between because the people in that family keep His commandments and they address issues right then. They go directly to the person to settle disputes. The sin of silence can’t live. Amnon is David’s oldest son, but even Dinah’s rapist wanted to marry her and make it right. Even he circumcised himself, but the circumcised son of a man after God’s own heart will act more wickedly with each action. He has her thrown out after he takes her virginity, even bolting the door.

If someone sees his fellow sinning, it is a commandment to make him return to the good and to make known to him that he is sinning, as it is said, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him” (Lev. 19:17). Are we bearing sin? Are we holding on to hatred and bitterness until its a putrid rancid aroma that we have grown used to like a dead skunk in the attic?

Katy bar the door! Yes, there’s trouble ahead.

In order to serve justice that was never served, Absalom comes up with a plan to invite his brothers during sheep shearing season and have Amnon killed. When we shear sheep, we remove the outer layer and get straight to the heart. Sheep shearing happened in the spring and it was considered a great festival with much drunkenness.

Author, Jeffrey C. Geoghegan, has a fascinating blog titled, “Israelite Sheep shearing and David’s Rise to Power,” where he states:

“As a final observation: both sheep shearing’s in Samuel involve the demise of drunken participants whose deaths aid the protagonists in their ascent to the throne: David gains land and livestock in Hebron, his future capital, and Absalom eliminates the heir to his father’s throne, placing himself next in line.”

Not only do we have these stories, but we also have another woman named Tamar, Judah’s daughter-n-law, who disguises herself as a harlot and sleeps with her father-n-law during sheep shearing season.

“Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry. 22But Absalom did not speak to Amnon either good or bad; for Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar. Now it came about after two full years that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons” (II Sam 13:21-23).

Two years of hatred in his heart. He doesn’t speak good or bad. Ironically, this is the same thing Adonai warns Laban concerning Jacob and at the very season of sheep shearing. “When Laban chases after Jacob, God warns him not to speak to Jacob “from good to bad” (Gen 31:24).

Don’t speak anything good (tov) or bad (ra). Don’t say anything with intent to act or not act. Don’t act overly nice or overly cruel. But Absalom has hatred in his heart and for two years the seed has birthed murder.

Have you ever been in a room with people plotting your destruction and planning your death, but they are careful with their words. All the while, they strategically are planning your assault. Absalom is acting low key. He is giving his enemy no warning of his intentions.

Soon King David will experience what Tamar felt in a moment. He too will tear his royal robes and fall on the ground. Not once, but twice. Death. It comes in multiple colors. Sometimes we can be standing upright walking around and be deader than any corpse six feet under. This family full of dysfunction takes it to a greater level. Before the story ends there is suicide, secret messages, advisers who are said to have more wisdom than the greatest of men yet end up dangling by ropes. Kingdoms and concubines, adultery and treason, honor and shame and why such unrest? Ironically, Absalom’s name means The Father is Peace.

Finally, years go by and Absalom returns to his father. He now seeks to usurp the kingdom for himself and kill his own father. Once you’ve shed blood, it’s easier to do it again– with your hands or your words.

(II Samuel 15:10-14) Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’ (11) Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. (12) While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing. (13) A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” (14) Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword.”

The knowledge that your son is your number #1 enemy is enough to crush the hearts of most men.

When Absalom starts his rebellion he wants to get Ahithophel on his side. Ahithophel was thought to be the grandfather of Bathsheba, so that would make him possibly a grand-father in law to David. He was his first appointed counselor and confidant.

“The advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one inquired of the word of God; so was all the advice of Ahithophel regarded by both David and Absalom.” (II Sam. 16:23).

Tragedy, betrayal, and destruction are not with a foreign nation or military leader, no, it started right where it did in the garden with Cain and Abel. It’s the members of their own households.

Let’s backtrack:

Amnon rapes Tamar. Tamar is shamed and not taken as a wife. Absalom is angry and confronts his father. David does nothing. Two years go by and Absalom has his half-brother killed. Three years go by and the silent treatment between the father and son are brought to reconciliation by a wise woman from Tekoa. The next thing we see is Absalom trying to usurp the kingdom from his father and have him killed. One adviser, Ahithophel has him sleep with all his father’s concubines on the roof for all to see. Absalom pitches his tent-like Lot and his eyes are towards sin, his heart is now consumed with victory—a victory of his father and the kingdom given to his father by Adonai. Absalom is handsome and his hair is dark and long. He cuts it every year and it weighs it. It’s his pride and glory. He wins the hearts of the people and deceives them. He appears to be someone he is not.

Both Yeshua and Absalom have followers who hang themselves (Judas and Ahithophel). Both rode on a donkey. Absalom’s donkey will keep going as his thick tresses wrap around a branch. Absalom’s hair was caught in a thicket. Yeshua was adorned in a crown of thorns. Absalom will hang suspended between two points, the heavens and the earth.

“(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)” (Ephesians 4:9-10). Yeshua will fill the whole universe with His Glory!

“In Rabbinical Literature:

The life and death of Absalom offered to the rabbis a welcome theme wherewith to warn the people against false ambition, vainglory, and unfilial conduct. The vanity with which he displayed his beautiful hair, the rabbis say, became his snare and his stumbling-block. “By his long hair the Nazarite entangled the people to rebel against his father, and by it he himself became entangled, to fall a victim to his pursuers” (Mishnah Soṭah, i. 8). And again, elsewhere: “By his vile stratagem he deceived and stole three hearts, that of his father, of the elders, and finally of the whole nation of Israel, and for this reason three darts were thrust into his heart to end his treacherous life” (Tosef., Soṭah, iii. 17). More striking is the following: “Did one ever hear of an oak-tree having a heart? And yet in the oak-tree in whose branches Absalom was caught, we read that upon its heart he was held up still alive while the darts were thrust through him [Mek., Shirah, § 6]. This is to show that when a man becomes so heartless as to make war against his own father, nature itself takes on a heart to avenge the deed.”

Notice that when sin is not dealt with it causes more sin. Dysfunction can be found in all families. Many people hope that the sins will evaporate and dissipate and eventually disappear, but sadly, these things usually get passed down. We need the blood of Yeshua and His Torah to become greater than any fleshly desires to be king. Let us place Yeshua Messiah as King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s. Let us cut our hair and cover our nakedness less we hang ourselves.

Could this story have had a different outcome? What if the king would have punished his firstborn son right when he raped his daughter? Could this type of authority along with action make someone like Absalom think twice before usurping authority? Our choices and actions do cause a ripple effect. What are your thoughts on this story?

“For the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Ruach is life and shalom.

For the mindset of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not submit itself to the law of God—for it cannot.

So those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Ruach—if indeed the Ruach Elohim dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Ruach of Messiah, he does not belong to Him.

But if Messiah is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.

And if the Ruach of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Ruach who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:6-11, TLV).

Blessings,

Tekoa.

Photos–unsplash

Tekoa Manning, TM, torah

Leadership and Titles– Part I

Posted on June 21, 2019January 9, 2021 by Tekoa

Leadership bears great accountability. No man or woman, when called, seemed to feel worthy of the calling. They knew the cost and said things like, “I can’t speak, I am but a child–did I give birth to all these people?”

Anarchy is a state of disorder due to the absence or nonrecognition of authority.

Do we have anarchy in the Body of Yeshua?

John Cougar bellows in his 1984 hit; I Fight Authority, Authority Always Wins. People do not like authority. People fought against the leadership in the Bible, and they still do today.

We often become rebellious when we are placed under authority. In our immaturity, we look for things wrong. We grumble and complain like a two-year-old who didn’t get the crust cut off our PBJ sandwich. We envision how a meeting or service should go and are quickly disappointed when it’s not how we pictured it. After all, isn’t it all about us and how we feel? (Sarcasm). We say things like, “the music was too old fashioned, too rock/pop sounding, too Jewish, too Pentecostal. The prayers were too rabbinical, too Christian, or the message was not what we would have spoken.” Even in the Messianic circles, folks do not feel the need to honor the leadership and ponder the person Abba has placed in front of them.

What is a teachable spirit? Often it isn’t even knowledge; we are lacking. We have a grace deficiency. We don’t know how to treat one another–how to have empathy for those who are broken–how to handle conflict–how to nurture babes. When we sit quietly for a season under someone, we can learn manners and ways of doing things differently, even if it’s uncomfortable and unfamiliar. But can we sit with an ear eager to hear, eyes keen to see, instead of a mouth biting at the bit to get out our opinion or eyes looking for fault? Like a hungry child.

Titles in all forms have been a problem for many. Even arguments over how to pronounce The Name has come forth. Yeshua, in Revelations, is said to have a name written that no man knew, but Him. Others rise up against the title of Rabbi.

Ron Warren presents some interesting questions to ponder in his blog titled “Call No Man Rabbi.”

According to Matthew 23:8, there is only One Teacher (Rabbi), which is the Messiah. Why did He give teachers to His body as part of the 5-fold Ministry?

Q: If Yeshua (Jesus) seems to prohibit the use of the term “teacher,” Why, in Matthew 28:19–20, does the Messiah himself appoint certain men to be teachers in his Church: It reads, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Paul speaks of his commission as an apostle and teacher. It is written in I Timothy 2:7 “Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith. . .You can read the entirety of his message HERE.

As you read this blog, please pray and ask Abba, who He has placed in your life, to ‘make for yourself a teacher.’ If you are in leadership, ask yourself who among you is gifted or called to a particular office and how you can help them begin using their gifts and talents. I know a woman who is very gifted in the apostolic ministry. She has connected some amazing ministries in the Messianic movement. My husband has an apostolic anointing. Several of the ministries/departments he started are still flourishing.

Let’s dig into His word to understand leadership in a more significant measure.

Now at this time, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. (Acts 11:27-28).

And after this verse, prophets and apostles disappeared and were no longer needed in the body? WHAT?

Today, it seems we need one man behind the pulpit, and for some, that’s even too much leadership. You won’t find them sitting and being a part of the community unless they are in front. I have heard both men and women in leadership mock the office of the prophet. There is mocking for most titles and leaders today, but the prophet gets more ridicule than any other office. Perhaps the word office isn’t the right choice of wording?

In the book of Acts, prophets were gathering at schools, and they were telling and foreseeing events. Prophets were warning Paul about his forthcoming imprisonment. They were warning of famine coming just as Joseph did, but no one seems to take them seriously today. Mostly, due to the false ones.

Women are prophesying in Acts. Women, who in one verse are told, “I suffer not a woman to teach,” by Paul, are now being highlighted as teachers. Four daughters prophesied.

“Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea, and we went to stay at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. After we had been there several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea” (Acts 21:9-10, BSB).

We have women disciples and apostles in the Book of Acts and women who had house churches, but no one seems to meditate on this. Meanwhile, many in the body place duct tape over His mouthpieces.

Paul could have just said a man named Agabus came down from Judea, but his title of prophet is essential to the rest of the chapter. If Sha’ul (Paul) had just said ‘Agabus told us a famine was coming,’ we would wonder how he knew this, but with his title, there is no confusion. Paul could have just said he was staying at Philip’s home without letting the reader know what type of gifting or title Philip held. Philip was one of seven evangelists. I don’t think Philip had a business card bearing the name ‘evangelist’ in gold, but Paul felt his title was worthy of note in his writing. I have a dear friend who is a professor. When we are out to eat or at a function, I introduce her as Dr. Jo __. A person who has worked hard to receive a doctorate should be honored. It tells others about their desire to be a GREAT teacher. If I call her Doctor Jo __, no one knows if she is a doctor of medicine, psychology, English, etc. Explaining what her knowledge of study is, gives others an understanding, but does a prophet need to announce that he or she is one? I stay clear of those who are telling everyone they are a prophet. No need to tell anyone, for the Body of Messiah will know if you are the real deal, and they will speak it, or as in Paul’s case, write about it. They may also stone you like they did Stephen. Pastors/ teachers and others in leadership announce their titles daily without any ‘harm.’

“Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” (Psalm 105:15, NASB).

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!” Matthew 23:37.

And the next verses are relevant because they give the reader an idea of what it’s like to be a prophet. Everyone in the body can and should prophesy. Moses said this after two men in the camp were prophesying, and Joshua was ready to forbid them. “I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:29).

The Lord’s Spirit was alive and well at the beginning of the Book.

(Acts 7:52) “Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One.”

“Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” (Mark 6:4).

To be a prophet or apostle is not without mocking and scorn. You have to have the tenacity of Nehemiah to build with one hand and carry a sword in the other.

We often describe a person by their gifts. We say things like, “He is an amazing carpenter. She paints in many mediums. He writes intriguing novels. Etc. The Body has gifts! Plural.
It is my wish to bring the prophets of Adonai together in unity and have a school for the prophets where they can learn His Torah and how to use their gift of prophecy to help equip the body, but how can this be done if no one even feels comfortable about their calling? If stating their gift causes harm, mocking, slander, and labels. Why would they want to tell anyone? To tell the body of a dream you had, a vision, a word you heard in your spiritual ear seems quite coo coo for cocoa puffs to many. To tell the body of things that pop off the pages of your Bible, mysteries, well, this is often not very well received. Can you hear Joseph’s brothers screaming, “Are we to bow down before you?” Young prophets need training, but not just prophets, every type of gifting needs training. Remember when you first learned to ride a bike? When you first tried to drive a car? Hopefully, after time, you became better at this. It’s the same way. At some point, the training wheels come off, and the state issues you a license to drive.

I long for a place where the doctrines of men are removed, and the impurities that have crept in and tainted the gifts are done away with. Please pray for the vision He has given me to come forth because the body needs the prophets to bring Jerusalem (Foundations or peace/raining Shalom) down to Antioch (resistance).

“Now there were at Antioch, in the church (ecclesia) that was there, prophets and teachers:” (Acts 13:1).

Does your gatherings or congregation have both prophets and teachers, and does the community know who they are?

“Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.” (Acts 15:32).

Do you have a Silas on board?

And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:28).

(Ephesians 4:11) “And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.”

To mature any gift, you need disciples, teachers, and leaders, and yes, prophets. There are many different gifts but one body.

Dr. Skip Moen gives a great example of who God calls in his blog titled, Buried by Desire: He says, “God calls reluctant leaders; those men and women who are quite certain that they are not qualified and who would rather not have the job. Why? Because they know that their usefulness depends entirely on God’s grace. Woe to the throng that follows the man who desires to lead. His ego will bury them all.”

I hope you have enjoyed part I of this teaching.

You can read Part II HERE.

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Blessings and Shalom,

Tekoa

Tekoa Manning, TM, torah

Avi, avi, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!

Posted on June 19, 2019January 8, 2021 by Tekoa

After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. (I Kings 19:12).

In this blog portion, I will ask multiple questions. I pray the questions are thought-provoking, and that you will share some of your thoughts. First picture the heart of someone who wandered about in sheepskin, and camel skin. Men of flesh described in the book of Hebrews as men the world was not worthy of. Ponder a world not worthy of such men as these. Do men like these exist today? What kind of power does a man or woman like that have? It’s a power that doesn’t come from men. No amount of money or titles can purchase it.

“They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.” (Hebrew 11:37-38).

MEN OF WHO THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY!

These men like Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and others were acquainted with fire before Acts chapter two ever happened.

Pour kerosene on a heart and strike a match. Got a visual? These were men who had fire in their souls. These men like Jeremiah, Ezra, Samuel, and Moses were a different breed. These men had zeal, and His Word shut up tightly in their bone marrow.

Jeremiah said, “But if I say, “I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.”

‘Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out. (Leviticus, 6:13). The lamps of the Menorah were to have fresh oil every morning. Only pure, new olive oil of the highest quality was suitable to light the Menorah. Yeshua informs us that we are lamps—a city set on a hill. A light shining in the darkness.

How can we kindle a flame daily that never burns out?

And how can we refrain from offering strange fire like Aaron’s sons?

How can we burn like a burning tree that is on fire but not consumed?

Fire and chariots of fire have always interested me. Elijah was a man who called fire down from heaven. He was a man who watched fire lick up water. We read later of this blazing prophet going up in a whirlwind. Yeshua went up to the Heavenly abode, where he sat down at the Right Hand of the Father. “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50-51). The Book of Acts explains that a cloud hid him from their sight. He was the cloud by day and the fire by night. But even more interesting is the place—Bethany. Yochanan (John the immerser) was said to have ministered there. Bethany has multiple meanings. Abarim states it is a House of Answer, Business, Affliction, and Singing. Different circumstances happened at this place. Not only was Lazarus brought forth from the grave, but Yeshua was anointed for burial here. Lazarus was sick for two days and resurrected on the 4th day. This is a picture of the 6,000-year timeline we see concerning the flood as well. Eddie Chumney has an amazing teaching on this. He explains:

“Noah was 600 years old when the flood (judgment) came upon the earth. In Genesis (Bereishit) 7:11-12, it is written:

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month,

the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the

fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven

were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and

forty nights.”

This is a spiritual picture/blueprint given to us by the G-d of Israel that after 6,000 years (the end of the Olam Hazeh), judgment (the tribulation/birth pangs of the Messiah/Chevlai shel Mashiach) will come upon the earth.” For more, click here.

We see the ravens coming to the ark, and we see the ravens feeding the prophet Elijah. Many symbols have deeper meanings. The raven did not have the olive leaf. He was not white like the dove that ascended on Yeshua as he came up out of the waters. The raven left and didn’t return.

Could the resurrection of the dead be hidden in Elijah and Elisha’s lives and their deaths, as well? Elisha and Elijah were both prophets and both powerful. They part waters, raise the dead, cure leprosy, and make an ax head float. If Elijah went up into the heavens in a whirlwind and Elisha’s bones raised the dead, shouldn’t we dig deeper and see what may be hidden? The prophet, Elisha, who died in his disease, had enough anointing in his bones to spark a fire and cause a dead man, deader than a doorknob, to stand upright.

“Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. And when he touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and stood up on his feet.” (II Kings 13:31). Can you picture the scene? Dead bones bring life. Oh, friends, one day, we will stand up on our feet and come forth out of the grave. Yah is our salvation. This is Elisha’s name. Yeshua will save us from death, he who took the keys to death and the grave.

“When Elisha got sick with his illness from which he would die, King Joash of Israel came down to him, wept over him, and cried, “Avi, Avi, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” (II Kings 13:14, TLV).

Why would this king say, “The chariot and its horsemen?” We see angelic messengers on horses in Zechariah. We even read about King Yeshua on a white horse in the book of Revelations. The Father and His Heavenly abode are often described as a chariot of fire, and like the whirlwind, we read concerning Elijah.

“Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad,

And your bones will flourish like the new grass;

And the hand of the LORD will be made known to His servants,

But He will be indignant toward His enemies.

For behold, the LORD will come in fire

And His chariots like the whirlwind,

To render His anger with fury,

And His rebuke with flames of fire.

For the LORD will execute judgment by fire

And by His sword on all flesh,

And those slain by the LORD will be many.

“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens,

Following one in the center,

Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things, and mice,

Will come to an end altogether,” declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 66:14-17, NASB).

“Behold, he goes up like clouds, And his chariots like the whirlwind; His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!” (Jeremiah 4:13).

“Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?’ (Habakkuk, 3:8).

Chariots and horses are entirely unique to use as a description of the Holy One. Wouldn’t you agree? If you read Ezekiel chapter one, you get an even greater picture of chariots of fire and a throne room of fire, although the word chariot is not mentioned. Here are a couple of verses, but if you have time, look at Ezekiel and his heavenly visions.

“I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber, 5and within it was the form of four living creatures.” 1:4-5.

Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man. From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him.

The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.” 1:26-28.

When we fall face-down, we have seen unspeakable things. Such matters Paul described as too wondrous to speak of. He said he was caught up in Paradise and heard things that are not to be told that no mortal is permitted to repeat. Can you imagine? The Bible has a well of water, treasures hidden inside that cause one to meditate on a Creator so powerful no words are found in dictionaries to describe the glory of HaShem. Who are we that He is mindful of us? We fall humbly on our faces.

How do Elijah and Elisha’s deaths speak life and a future time when the Messiah will return on That Day?

If Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind, and Elisha was to receive a double portion of his spirit, why did Elisha die in his disease? Are we dying in disease? Is the earth crying out? Are the oceans full of trash? Famine, pestilence, sexual sins so horrendous, to mention such things is forbidden according to scripture. We are told not to even speak of them. But one day, these symbols hidden in Elijah’s whirlwind and Elisha’s dead, diseased bones will come about. Dead men will walk through objects, fly, and take on a new appearance. They will be full of light. Clothed in light. His Glory!

Interesting things are hidden in the book of Kings. Elijah appears out of nowhere.

Elijah is given the title of prophet and “Tishbite,” probably because he came from a place (or a family) by the name of “Tishbe.” A place of that name lay within the boundaries of Naphtali (comp. Tobit i. 2).

The etymology of the word Thishbe:

From the noun תושב (toshab), sojourner, from the verb ישב (yashab), to sit or dwell.

Elijah, therefore, came from the land east of the Jordan to wage war against the worship of Baal. His very name means Yah is my God. Before Elijah (Eliyahu ha-nabi’) is taken up in a whirlwind, he is given a command to anoint Elisha and spread his mantle over him. Different scholars guess at this timeline of training; some say it was a period of 7 or 8 years. Seven is the number of completion, and eight is an unspeakable joy; it is a time when we will live in new bodies and behold the glorious One.

Wherever Elijah was found, Elisha was sure to be sitting, following, listening, learning, and helping the older prophet with his task. “Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah” (2Kings 3:11). Elisha served as Elijah’s servant, pouring water.

Elijah is a man who called fire down from heaven. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.” (James 5:17).

This is the timeline mentioned at the end of days—3 ½ years.

“But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.” (Rev 12:14).

“And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been shattered, all these things will be completed.” (Daniel, 12:7).

We see in both these prophets’ lives the whole resurrection story from our leprous bodies being washed seven times. To oil that never runs out. To sleeping children raising up from death. The ax of his Word given to his prophets being restored. I believe every hidden gem concerning the coming of the Mashiach and the resurrection of the dead, including the great tribulation, is found hidden in their miracles.

(The King) He again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14“Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.”

Abraham begged for any righteous in Sodom to be spared, and he started with the number 50.

The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” (Genesis 18:16).

What are all these ’50s about, and how is fire connected to the beginning and the end? The very first word in our Bibles is Bereshit. The first and last two letters form the word covenant—brit. The remaining middle letters form the word fire. Fire is a funny thing. It destroys, and it purifies. We see fire throughout the scriptures. A fire that rains down from heaven. A burning bush. Fire on the mountain when the covenant was given. And Peter talks about a fire that will consume the earth at the end.

“Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness 12as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God when the heavens will be destroyed by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (II Peter 3:8-13).

The Hebrew letter nun has the numerical value of the number 50. The pictograph for nun looks like a seed. Fifty is life, fish, and a seed. The first mention of Nun in the Bible is Joshua; he was the son of Nun. The son of ‘Life.’ He was the first to enter the promised land—a picture of Yeshua Messiah. There are 50 years for a Jubilee year. All these things are about a time when the faithful who speak life and bear fruit will arise from death and stand up on their graves. It’s the 5th Feast when the trumpet sounds and the dead in Messiah arise first.
That whirlwind of clouds will happen. Those bones in the grave will revive. Our Father is not slack concerning His promises.

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him” (Dan. 7:13).

“BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.” (Revelation 1:7).

Blessings,

Tekoa!

Check out my new release at Amazon Books, HERE

Sources: Hebrew for Christians

Eddie Chumney

Abarim Publications

All pictures were taken from Unsplash.com

Category: torah

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