unity – Tekoa Manning

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

A Body with a Withered Hand– 5-Fold

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Tekoa

There is nothing worse than a dead tree. Dead trees attract pests and termites. Dead trees carry disease that spreads to other trees. Dead trees may fall and cause damage, but what about dead hands? Withered hands?

It has been a while since I have written about the 5-fold structure mentioned in the Torah and the Newer Testament by Paul (Sha’ul). In this writing, we will look at the man with the withered hand mentioned in 3 out of the 4 Gospels and how we, His Body (the church), may have a withered hand that needs healing. Also, the bookends connected with this story give it more meaning.

And He said to them, “Is it right to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. And having looked around on them with displeasure, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other. And the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how to destroy Him (Mark 3:3-6).

The story is told in Matthew and Luke, but we do not feel the grief of the Messiah as we do in Mark. The first time we read “Stretch out your hand” is in the Garden.

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever (Genesis 3:22, NASB).

The word hand in these verses also means phallus and being sent out. Are we spreading seeds that are the spiritual seed of Abraham?

Yeshua tells a man to stretch out his hand. Instantly the man’s dried up, dead hand is restored. Picture each finger representing leadership in the Body of Messiah, the Ten Sayings, and the first five books of Moses. The Father calls, He equips, and He sends out. The Hebrew word for hand is Yad. This noun means hands but also counting fingers. The hand denotes ones strength or power–weakness.

I have read the verse from Genesis 3 above multiple times and questioned why the Holy One would NOT want Adam to take from the Tree of Life and live forever. Isn’t that what we are hoping and waiting for? Eternal life? Adam does not immediately die after eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He lives until he is 930 years of age. Of course, Adam is no longer in the garden (Paradise), he has been kicked out, and flaming swords guard the tree of life. If the fleshly nature of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is not dealt with, then man may think he has the power of life and death in his hands. I assure you, we do not.

The seduction of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is evident. Eve (Chavah) saw that the tree was desirable to look at and good for food and wisdom, yet it left her naked. What if we think we are gaining clothing, but we are naked? Some of the religious rulers during the healing of the hand thought they had multiple layers of clothing, which they called fences. Fences are not harmful until, well, they are. What if His Body has a dead right hand and a hard heart? We are one loaf.

When the man was healed it was Shabbat, a joyful day. Messiah was NOT trying to get anyone to break His Father’s Set apart day, but He was trying to show them that our Father desires mercy and compassion for weightier matters– like the man seated among them with a hand that no longer worked. If we were to look at everyone Yeshua healed and name each miracle, we would notice something hearybreaking– they all represent our own spiritual conditions in the past or present. Yeshua healed the blind eyes. He opened deaf ears. He healed the lepers. He healed the lame. He raised the dead. He sent demons into swine, and he quenched a woman who had bled a long time. Are we bleeding? Blind? Naked? Deaf? “You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17. One church mentioned in Revelations thought they were well fed, wealthy, and needed nothing.

Are we armed, each knowing his rank and position, and yet, not able to count together from 1 to 50? Are we running from teacher to teacher and place to place looking for someone to lay hands on our eyes? To place mud and spit? Do we need someone to tell us to stretch out our hands? The Master?

The world can be seductive, but ministry and gatherings can be too. The right hand has 5 fingers. The Father sent them out of Egypt in ranks of 50. In Ephesians, we read about the 5-fold. This is something we need, but I do not see congregations doing this. Even after 3 years. Even when the fruit is bountiful. There is fear. The same fear people had when others told them they were to keep His Feasts. What is the result of no leadership? A very guarded pulpit. No one is held accountable to another. No other Elders qualified to teach. No eye of the prophet to correct. We do not need prophetic itching ear words, but we need the eye that sees and says, we must repent of this or that. No apostles. No one checking on congregations as Paul did. No music except the same few people every week. The term “shepherd,” erroneously translated as “pastor” in Ephesians 4:11, is a spiritual endowment to care for Adonai’s sheep. Answering to the Great Shepherd. When will we be in order as His camps were?

And He (Messiah) Himself gave some as emissaries (Apostles), and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as shepherds (pastors) and teachers for the perfecting of the set-apart ones, to the work of service to a building up of the body of the Messiah, until we all come to the unity of the belief and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the completeness of Messiah, so that we should no longer be children, tossed and borne about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of men, in cleverness, unto the craftiness of leading astray but, maintaining the truth in love,…(Ephesians 4:11-15).

Even children know how to count from 1 to 50 together. Even children can be unified about certain elementary beliefs. Even children learn how to follow the leader or line up for lunch. When the camp broke, and the tribes moved out, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon headed the line. They all followed Judah. Judah is not going to see Messiah or look for Him in their Bible, our Bible, if we cannot follow and count unified. How is Judah going to see the Messiah from the tribe of Judah if we not following His Word? If a person leaves home and is scattered abroad and doesn’t see his or her family for years then suddenly comes home, do they have a right to tell the family to change what time they have dinner? What dates they keep every year for a family reunion? Ponder. Think.

In the story of the withered hand, we read of no joy, no dancing, or awe over a miracle? We know this man must have come every Sabbath to sit and listen to the Torah Portion, pray, and fellowship. He was part of the body there, but the leadership was more worried about breaking the Torah or the oral Torah than healing a man who could not use his right hand. How’s our spiritual ride side? Do not think of physical sickness, think of a spiritual malady.

Have you ever broke your hand? A finger? I once had my right arm go entirely numb. It was very frustrating and scary. I had to get my husband to help me with multiple things. I had to be hospitalized for a week. If we are to be unified and one, shouldn’t we be able to hold a sword in one hand and work with the other?

All congregations and religious communities have unspoken rules and things they believe to be done in a certain way. Yeshua healed, and men said, “Don’t heal on the sabbath.” The followers of Shammai, at that time, were the most powerful of the Pharisaic Schools. The two primary schools were that of Shammai and Hillel. It was said during that time that the school of Shammai binds; the school of Hillel looses. Yeshua loosed that day, and a man’s hand was restored. Shammai made the Sabbath so strict; he sucked all the joy out of it. This is why Yeshua told Peter what you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven. What you loose shall be loosed. Freedom was coming! He who the Son sets free is free indeed. Are you free? Not free from obedience but free to heal on the sabbath? What about free to pick grain and eat it?

If the Body has a problem with dead hands right now, could it also involve laying hands on those equipped for service?

Yeshua did not touch the man with the withered hand. He told him to stretch out his hand, and it was restored. We can stretch out our hands to help the sick, poor, orphans, widows, etc. We can stretch out our hand to minister in many ways, but what if our hand is withered? Shriveled dried-up grapes on the vine are no good to anyone. Dead things don’t grow or produce fruit. What if our hands keep grasping on to dead things? Dead works? Dead objects? What if our hands are reaching for addictions, material things? People pleasing? What if our hands (mouths) are speaking death in the season of life? Do our hands follow our hearts? Or does our heart condition direct our hands/words? Out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak. Imagine two hands, one belongs to the religious rulers, and the other hand belongs to Yeshua and His disciples. One hand has life and brings forth life. One hand ties heavy loads on people’s backs and does not lift a finger/ hand to help. One hand sets people free, and one hand keeps them in bondage. One mouth speaks great boasting, and one mouth humility. One mouth divides, and one joins. If Yeshua was grieved over their hearts, shouldn’t we check ourselves?

We read about hands often without realizing it.

Stretch out your hand, Noah, and take the dove back into the ark. Stretch out your hand, Moses, and part the sea. Stretch out your hand, Yacov/ Israel and lay it on the head of Ephraim and bless him.

Hands are curious things with significant meanings in the Bible. Right before Yeshua heals the man’s withered hand on the sabbath, His disciples are being pointed out to Him by the Pharisees for breaking the Sabbath. This too involved hands:

The story told in Luke is inserted between two other stories. The first story is about Yeshua’s disciples picking grain on the sabbath. The text says, “ His taught ones were plucking the heads of grain and were eating, rubbing them in the hands” (Luke 6:1, ISR). Yeshua’s disciples are eating life and rubbing it in their hands (Wheat Harvest). They were hungry on the Sabbath. Being hungry on the Sabbath is a good thing! The second story is about the man who had a withered hand who was sitting in the congregation. Right after Yeshua heals the man whose hand is withered (dried up), Yeshua goes out to the mountain to pray all night. When it became day, He called near His taught ones and he chose from them twelve. Yeshua had more students, but he prayed and appointed 12. Now the hungry men will have power and authority.

When we read of appointing men for office or service to the Lord, we learn that they laid hands on them. This is why Paul warns Timothy not to lay hands on any man suddenly. This verse has nothing to do with prayers and demons jumping onto a person.

Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double respect, especially those who labour in the word and teaching.

For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The labourer is worthy of his wages.”

Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.

Reprove those who are sinning, in the presence of all, so that the rest also might fear.

I earnestly witness before Elohim and the Master יהושע Messiah, and the chosen messengers, that you watch over these matters without prejudice, doing none at all with partiality.

Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in sins of others. Keep yourself clean.

(I Timothy 5:17-22, ISR).

This laying on of hands is about looking at a man’s character and integrity before anointing him and putting him in a position of eldership. Paul is saying don’t lay hands too quickly just because the man is your friend. Elders were equipped to teach. This was not just men in charge of tithes and offerings and running the sound system or online computer for Livestream. These were part of the 5-fold offices. I am praying will come forth for maturity and unity in the Body of Messiah according to Ephesians 5.

Every so often my gut is grieved over this because I know the things people fear the most are what brings order. Not like the Nicolaitans. We have that already and Yeshua said He hated it.

(Numbers 27:18) “So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;” No withered hand here.

(Deuteronomy 34:9) “Now Joshua, the son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.”

“. . .they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them” ((Acts 6:5-6, ESV).

(II Timothy 1:6) “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” No withered hand here.

(Judges 5:26) “She reached out her hand for the tent peg, And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer. Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head; And she shattered and pierced his temple. May we pierce the “temple” of Sisera, take our tent pegs, stretch them out, and expand our territory! May our right hands be whole and holding the workman’s hammer. Joining prophetess Deborah–Bee/ Word and mantle to rise up and be unified. Milk and Honey and meat.

$refraction of red glass vase on wall$

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

Five-Fold and Torah, Tekoa Manning, TM

Go Home and The Five-Fold. Leadership Part VII

Posted on October 25, 2019January 10, 2021 by Tekoa

This series is getting lengthy. I have over 150 pages and much research for laying the groundwork for another book. Once that book is completed the blog series will be deleted except for three or four blogs. I hope you are enjoying it, and I welcome any feedback.

So far, during this blog series, I have taught without becoming too personal. This blog will be different.
When the Father stripped me of everything that defined me as a person and did a renewal of my spirit through a journey of sickness and homelessness, a few years later, I was thrust into ministry. There was very little in the ‘church’ that I did not get a taste of. I do not mention the following for the esteem of man. Many men would not even consider me worthy of the calling, and yet, I was a counselor and a prayer director. I ministered to those vexed with demons. I ministered to the homeless, those with addictions and in hospitals. For a season, I taught an adult beginner’s class on the Hebraic roots of our faith. I preached the gospel twice a month from the pulpit. I was thrust into the prophetic ministry and prayed over people who needed healing, confirmation or direction, and when I met my husband, an associate pastor/ evangelist at the time, we often spoke together. We complemented each other, and he was at times bookends for the message I was given. Suddenly, we were doing what we had been called to do all of our lives. But just as quickly as we were plunged into ministry, we were taken out of it. My husband and I both were hurt deeply, but we also felt led to sit down and be taught more of the roots of our faith.

When I met my husband, I had already written a book called Doctrines of Demons. It sat in my computer for a few years before my husband got a hold of it and decided to read it. During this season he began to learn everything I had been researching and writing about rather quickly. This was a lot for him to ingest in a small amount of time. We both needed time to process what the Father was revealing. We felt like we were on an island and wondered if anyone else was seeing all the wonder and awe hidden in Abba’s Word.
However, once you’ve been given a driver’s license and multiple vehicles, it’s hard to hand over the keys, but the Father knew what He was doing.

After several years of keeping His Feasts, we were told to step out again and start having meetings. This has been a blessing, but this new landing has been difficult too. Over the years, we’ve been to several gatherings/events, each one different and unique. Each teacher gifted in different areas. Each had their own style, but none of them except one had a Five-fold structure/staff working together. Most people believe that we no longer need the whole five-fold ministry mentioned in Ephesians 4 as well as I Corinthians. For some reason, multiple people in leadership only count the teacher/shepherd as needed.
If the majority today do not see a need or even a scripture-based necessity for the five-fold, then my job through this blog series is to show the hidden truth, and I am not the only one on board with this. Multiple people in Messianic leadership are promoting and making videos to show how we are failing in unity and maturity because we are not keeping the structure provided for us.

Many have been taught that an apostle had to be a witness of the Messiah and that those died out. I’m shocked at how many people are not aware that there were not just 12 apostles mentioned in the Newer Testament, but a total of over 25, not counting the 70 Yeshua called. And they were not all MEN. Remember the book of Acts was written sometime between 60 AD and 70 AD. That’s a long time after the death and resurrection of the Messiah.
“Eleven are named in Acts 1:13, Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James. Judas Iscariot, of the original twelve, the one who betrayed Yeshua isn’t listed here, but he makes 12. Now let’s add Matthias who replaced Judas Iscariot. (Acts 1:26).
This makes 13.
14. James, the brother of Yeshua —Galatians 1:19

15. Barnabas–Acts 14:14

16. Paul–Acts 14:14 and many other references

17. Apollos– 1 Corinthians 4:6-13)

18 and 19. Timothy and Silvanus– I Thessalonians 1:1 and 2:6

20. Epaphroditus–Philippians 2:25. While the King James Version translates the word as “messenger,” the Greek word (Apostolos) is actually “apostle.”
21 and 22. Two unnamed apostles–II Corinthians 8:23.
23 and 24. The name “Junia” appears in Romans 16:7, and Paul identifies her (along with Andronicus) as “prominent among the apostles.”
“They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was” (Romans 16:7).
25. Titus (see 2 Corinthians 8:23; “messenger” is Apostolos in the Greek)
26. (Yeshua) and he also appointed 70 as ‘called out ones’ in Luke 10.
Not once does the Bible say or imply that these would be done away with.
Attend any Messianic congregation or Christian congregation, and the Body looks like Mr. Potato head missing vital parts. If you have been following this series, then you know the five-fold is to be in effect until we become mature and unified in the faith. We are still far from this!
Apostles and prophets and teachers/shepherds all need one another.
Recently a story has been circulating through the media. A prominent male Christian speaker told a very prominent female teacher “go home!” No room for you at the tomb. No room for you at a well. No need for us to ‘suffer’ you to teach. Go, home!

I want to describe what it’s like to have a gift and calling that no one lets you use. I can honestly say it is the most heart-wrenching thing one can experience. Not because a person needs the spotlight or wants to usurp anyone else, but because the gift becomes rusty, frozen, and unused and the Body suffers from its lack of parts. A rusty door needs a shot of WD40 on occasion. Picture the prophets hidden in the caves by Obadiah so the wicked Ahab and Jezebel could not murder them. Even so, one day, they came forth ready to flow and be used by Adonai. Just like John, who came as a Voice crying in the wilderness. He came in the spirit of Elijah, the prophet.
We have Anna the prophetess in (Luke 2:36)
“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,”
A prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. (Acts 21:10).
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, the tetrarch, and Saul. (Acts 13:1).
We need prophets and teachers.
Would you rather have spaghetti with plain tomato sauce or would fresh basil, garlic, and olive oil help the flavor?

Paul describes what our gatherings should look like. It is a rich marinade of flavors bursting forth in unity when we apply the structure and order of a gathering or event.
“What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, ‘each one’ has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” (I Cor 14:26-33).
Everyone in the Body should prophesy. This is not the office of the prophet. Multiple people in the Newer Testament prophesied (both men and women). Numerous people in the Older Testament prophesied, even Saul laid naked prophesying. Moses said that he wished that all God’s people would prophesy. “Oh, that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:29).
“On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses.” Acts 21:8-9.
But somewhere along the way, a mindset has been that prophets were getting ready to go out of style. No need to have them. No need to have daughters who can preach the good news with authority—GO HOME! Why would Philip and his wife have daughters who could prophesy if we don’t need them anymore? Are they all false today? Are all the teacher’s merely wolves in sheep’s clothing or just the office of the prophet? See how that works?
If the gifts were dying out and no longer required, why do multiple people have titles in the Newer Portion of our Bibles as Elders, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, and teachers?
Think outside of the boxes you’ve been taught with. Can you only unlearn some of the traditions of men? Shouldn’t we be unlearning all of them?
Let me give you some examples of how it can feel for a person with gifting to sit idle while other gifts are percolating. We all have gifts and the ability to prophesy, but some parts of the Body deemed less important may need to be relooked at.
“The eye cannot tell the hand, “I don’t need you!” or in turn the head to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the Body that seem to be less important are indispensable. 23 Those parts of the Body that we think to be less honorable, we clothe with greater honor; and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty; 24 but our presentable parts have no such need.” I Cor. 12:21-24.
Let’s say you are a writer, but you had a stroke and now cannot talk and your right side is paralyzed, and your left hand is curled up into a disfigured fist. All-day in your head, you hear poetic phrases, stories, and songs, but in your attempt to relay them to others, you have no outlet. You make grunting noises as your face contorts and people try and make sense of your words.
What if you were given paints and brushes and beautiful canvas and art supplies? You know precisely what you want to paint, and you are gifted at painting, but your hands are placed behind your back in cuffs. You sit and watch as those around you carve wood, shape clay into pots, and make glass mosaic, but you are not allowed even to open your paints. Can you say frustrating?

Or let’s say, you are a skilled pianist and sing songs unto the Father, but no one at your gatherings has ever asked you to sing. They know you sing, but they’re not sure about you. Although you’ve been gathering with them for some time, they still do not know if you’re sincere. The Father gives you prophetic songs in the night, and you hear the melody in your ear, but at every service, they play basically the same five songs and the same person sings every week. You sit and wonder why your gift is stuck inside you. The words from Psalms and other books jump forth from your heart. You consult people about your gift, and they tell you to wait. They inform you your gift will make room for you, and it will, but people may not. Some may even explain that you may have sin or issues to deal with before a door opens. Sit on the pew and wait, they say.
Each service during worship you repent that you are sad during the worship because you long to share your gift too. You ask Father to search your heart for any signs of anger towards leadership. You pray for your gift to come forth as your belly leaps with life, but like a baby crowning that never comes forth, you go home feeling empty and yet full of LIFE just waiting to burst forth. After a long season of waiting, your baby suffocates in the womb. Does this sound harsh? It’s happening in the Body.
Perhaps your gift is Apostolic, and you can see and envision how something should be set up, but when you present it to leadership, they find you to be usurping or trying to take over. You have a vision and an outline of how to start up a youth program, but no one takes you seriously. Yes, things must be done in order but what if those in authority are missing some puzzle pieces?
I know most people think we have left the ‘church’ system, but we haven’t. A nicolatian spirit of fear is still ruling it. For more on this structure pick up a copy of Doctrines of Demons Part II. HERE.
If you are a male, speak Hebrew, or have a degree in certain areas of study, you are safer. You may get to use your gifts. If you have so many years, and Torah portions under your belt, ding ding, you may get a chance to do something. If you’ve written scholarly articles or know certain people, many times you are given more opportunities to paint, sculpt, sing, or design, but even those gifted in these areas need the fivefold. No man stands alone. No man can. No woman can.
What if your gift comes in visions, dreams, oracles, and words for people in the Body? For nations? Leaders? David knew he needed a Nathan, but teachers today who hold ministerial positions don’t?
Have we thrown out Acts two and Joel two? Why do we not allow the spirit to be poured out when He has already told us thousands of years ago to wait for the gift? That gift came on Shavuot, and I got news for some of you that mock spiritual gifts and make fun of the ministry of others, the Father is not pleased. Joseph’s brothers did the same thing to him! One may be impressed with knowledge, and we all need it–the truth does set us free, but I’ve never seen a soul broken, addicted to drugs, a death sentence, a child off in Neverland, who didn’t need ministering to by the laying on of hands and the anointing with oil. Even children know how to pray. You don’t need to be a scholar to have compassion and empathy for those suffering.
Can we find good in the gifts of one another? I see more and more people warning of “watchmen” “Prophets” dream groups, etc. Well, I have a dream group and its foundation is built on Torah. I am honored by the ministry the Father has given me even with the mockers.
I am seeing more and more people placing negative titles on leadership. I have been accused of denying the deity of Yeshua. Recently someone said the same thing about a man whose ministry I admire. Is it okay to throw things around about people without proof? People, who have doctoral degrees and years of study? Those (men and women) who have spent hours to learn Hebrew and Greek and are scholars ? Where do we think it is okay to slander a person nonchalantly in conversation? In public forums? Can we stop speaking very subtly against other teachers and ministries? Can we stop pointing out their spinach in their teeth and grab a dental floss for our own mouths? How can we be corrected without one another in a safe environment without the five-fold in place and two or three witnesses in place?

And further, where can young prophets go today to be adequately trained?
Where are the schools for that in this movement? They had schools for the prophets in the Book of Acts and more. I have clearly shown in this series that prophets and apostles were operating in the congregations together with the teachers/shepherds in the newer portion of our Bible’s, and we know this because their TITLES were named! Many would say, “Hush, Hush, Tekoa, you know titles are pompous” (sarcasm).
Not if the Father gives them to you and THE BODY GIVES THEM TO YOU!
“Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (I Cor 1:1).
Ephesians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
2 Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
In the Christian world, one can find multiple “prophets and apostles,” but in the Hebrew Roots movement, no one even deems they exist. Isn’t it easy for the teachers to say we don’t need prophets today, or they don’t exist? What if the people were saying, “We don’t need teachers today?” If there are warnings in scripture for something false, shouldn’t there be the real deal as well? If people are going to warn of false prophets and apostles shouldn’t they use counter balance?
What is our foundation built on?
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Let’s start building on a good foundation. Let’s start praying for the Father to help leadership see His Five-fold structure and beyond. Get out the WD40 and start spraying. It’s time for the people to start being unified.

Blessings!

Tekoa.

Part I HERE

Part II HERE

Part III HERE

Part IV HERE

Part V HERE

Part VI HERE

Five-Fold and Torah, teaching, Tekoa Manning, TM

Leadership and Bare Buttocks, Part IV

Posted on August 13, 2019January 9, 2021 by Tekoa

Leadership and Bare Buttocks

“Hine Ma Tov”

What could a disturbing story in II Samuel have to do with a Psalm on unity? One has oil dripping down the beard and covering the skirts of Aaron; the other has skirts cut to bare David’s servants nakedness. Their beards shaved half off in disgrace. Have you ever lifted your brother or sister’s skirt to peek under it? Have you ever cut off half of a person’s honor or damaged their character? Just half.

Has leadership become an enemy to the Body of Yeshua? How many times have we usurped our Father’s authority and placed our desires above Him?

Before we get to this blog’s meat, I want to cover a verse that I see being used in error.

Some proclaim that the Holy Spirit teaches them All things, so they do not need a teacher. They get this from several verses. Let’s look at how these passages get twisted before we delve into our troubling tale of shame.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things. . .” (John 14:26, NASB).

“As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for “anyone” to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him” (I John 2:27, NASB).

‘Anyone’ was a word chosen by the NASB version—not a good choice of words here.

John starts this passage the same way Yeshua starts his. Both explain that it is the commandments they’ve had since the beginning. Yeshua says, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John says much about false teachers, and right before he speaks in the verse above, he says, “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.” He was letting his audience know that, hey, they’ve had the Torah/Commandments since the beginning. They’re not just hearing the word but abiding in it. (Shema) They know that Yeshua is the Messiah. They see that salvation is not by works. John doesn’t own a New Testament Bible. These people knew and kept the Commandments. If they didn’t need a teacher, why is John even writing them instructions and warning them of false teachers?

The context proposes that John is referring to those who are teaching contrary to what his readers already know to be the truth. His listeners do not need any of these KIND of teachers. Now, many people twist this and say things like, “The Holy Spirit fell on me and told me this and that, and I don’t need “anyone” to teach me.” Trust me, friends; The Holy Spirit would not tell you to break the righteous Commandments of our Father. And the Holy Spirit would never tell you not to keep His 4th Commandment or that it has been changed. “I am the LORD; I change not “(Malachi 3:6, KJV). But let’s get to leadership and why people hate authority. Possibly we can learn from King David and a king’s son who was mourning the loss of his father.

Remember when Yeshua said we were to love our enemies? What if they never were our enemies to begin with?

“It came about after this that the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son Hanun reigned in his place. Then David thought, “Let me show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent word by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. But when David’s servants arrived at the land of the children of Ammon, the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, their lord, “Do you think that David is really honoring your father because he has sent consolers to you? Has not David sent his servants to you in order to explore the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?” (II Samuel 10:1-3, TLV).

“At the beginning of Saul’s reign Nahash attacked Jabesh-Gilead, and when the people of that place asked for terms of surrender he gave them the alternatives of having their right eyes thrust out or of being put to the sword. The inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead then obtained a respite of seven days and sent messengers to Saul, who assembled an army and routed the Ammonites (I Sam. xi. 1-4, 11). It appears, however, from I Sam. xii. 12, that Nahash had threatened the Israelites before Saul was made king, and that it was, for this reason, the Israelites insisted upon having a king. According to Josephus (“Ant.” vi. 5, § 1), Nahash was in the habit of putting out the right eye of every Israelite that came into his power.” Jewish Encyclopedia.

Nahash means serpent, bronze oracle– the serpent that speaks. If we listen to his voice, he will damage our right eye. The right eye is the spiritual eye—the eye that sees the good in leadership and our brothers and sisters. The right eye sees the good in the journey, whether it is hard or not. But there is an office in the five-fold that used to be called Seer.
1 Samuel 9:9—Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, ‘Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called a seer.
Having no right eye means no favorable vision. Samson lost his eyes and his hair. Baldness and blindness. The choice given by Nahash was to be destroyed by gauging the right eye or using the sword. Do we use the sword of the spirit wrong at times? Do we use it to inflict pain on our own Body?

Hanun, a name that ironically means merciful and gracious, believed the lies these men filled with fear told him. He had the remedy in his name to conquer this fear. So what does this son of the King do?

“So Hanun seized David’s servants, shaved off one side of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle at their buttocks, and sent them away.” II Sam. 10:4.

Unless they were high priests, they would have had no undergarments, just bare buttocks. And the disgrace of one half of a whole beard. These men made the servants of David humiliated, and they let them walk barefoot, disgraced. No mercy. No honor for those coming to pay respect. Half a beard. Bare buttocks. SHAME! What does this remind you of? There is a verse in Psalms that is so precious we should meditate on it day and night.

“{A Song of degrees of David.} Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” (Psalm 133, KJV).

The Father spoke to me the other day and showed me how some who are connected to me could not receive my blessings, and when I came to help console them in their darkest hour, they saw me as a spy–a person bent on usurping, stealing, and taking over the family. Like David, this was the furthest thing from my heart. But if you’ve read my new release, The Spirit of Leviathan, then you know what they accuse you of is what they really have in their own hearts. It’s fear-based!

The children of Ammon were the offspring of Lot’s daughter. His first daughter sleeps with him and gives birth to Moab, the Moabites. And the younger one, after getting her father Lot intoxicated, gets pregnant and has Ben-Ammi, which became the Ammonites.

Lot’s daughter was intimate, committing incest with her own father due to FEAR. Afraid she would never be able to have a husband. Fearful that the whole earth was destroyed. Instead of becoming intimate with Adonai and seeing what instructions He had for her, she took matters into her own hands. The Father of Glory was merciful enough to bring them out of Sodom and wait for them to get to shelter. He would have also spared them this shame. They knew the Torah, and that incest was forbidden.

Apparently, this Ammonite, King Nahash, treated David well. They both had something in common—an enemy named Saul.

Remember, Nahash means Serpent, Bronze, Oracle.

This should get your wheels spinning. Where have we seen this bronze serpent before? And why did the bronze serpent come about? Wasn’t it due to the people grumbling and complaining against their God and His leadership?

“Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived” (Numbers 21:5-9).

Who intercedes for them? Leadership.

David wants to show kindness to Hunan. Have you ever had your kindness mistaken for evil plots and schemes? The servants were falsely called spies who were bent on usurping a city, a people, a person grieving.

What does Korah say in Numbers 16? He says all the people are holy. He says, ‘Why do Moses and Aaron think they can run the show?’ He shouts, ‘I am just as anointed as they are!’

What does Korah mean? His name means baldness and frozen. Meditate on that for a bit.

Beloved David, a man after Adonai’s own heart, has a heart to comfort the hurting. Bind up the broken. He sends his servants. David was a shepherd who watched over the sheep. He protected them from the lion and bear. He was a giant slayer. All Israel was one under his leadership, and the Messiah Yeshua came through his bloodline. In our story, David is sending his servants. What does the Father, and His Son, Yeshua, say happened to all the servants sent to their people? Who were Adonai’s servants?

“Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets, again and again, saying: ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate.’ 5But they did not listen or incline their ears; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.…” (Jeremiah 44:4).

“I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.” (Revelation 22:8-9).

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those having been sent to her! How often would I have gathered together your children, the way in which a hen gathers together her chicks under the wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37).

“So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:31).

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

How does David remedy this? What instructions does he give those who have been humiliated? Disgraced?

“When they informed David, he sent word to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow, then return.”

There was someone else whose beard was plucked, and his nakedness was exposed—the most Humble servant of all, Yeshua, Messiah.

“I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting” (Isaiah 50:6).

Jericho is a place where walls come down. It is a place with a name that means fragrance. When your buttocks are exposed, and your beard is shaved half off, you will either have a putrid smell, or the crushing will leave you with a sweet aroma. May it be the latter for all the weary leaders out there and their servants, the prophets. Intercede for those who wish you harm. Remember how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! O, it is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments, and his skirts were covering him.

Pray for the restoration of the Five-fold. It is detrimental for the Body to become One.

Leadership Part I HERE

Leadership Part II HERE

Leadership Part III HERE

Leadership Part V HERE

Leadership Part VI HERE

Sources: Jewish Encyclopedia.

Abarim Publications–name meanings.

Photos: Unsplash.

Tag: unity

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