COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 41 - SERVING A COVENANT KEEPING GOD

After Abram was blessed in the valley by Melchizedek, whom Abram also broke bread with and drank wine from and gave one tenth of his possessions to as a tithe; God spoke to Abram again. 

It is important to notice that this High Priest of God, The King of Peace, The ruler over Jerusalem named Melchizedek laid the ground work and prepared Abram’s heart to hear from God. He fed Abram wine and bread from Heaven.  He blessed Abram and reminded him that it was God who had won the battle for him.  He received Abram’s offerings in The Name of The Most High God.  Are you getting a glimpse of who Melchizedek really is?  The offerings were received and taken because Abram had not given of the spoils of war, but he had given of the best that he possessed.  This has been the pattern with every man that God has called righteous, all the way back to Abel.

Now we notice the progression and emphasis of this worship of Abram when we hear of a new character in the story named Melchizedek.  Who was this High Priest of God Most High?  We shall see more and more of His truth as our stories of Abraham unfold.  This very necessary High Priest took care of the things that were required for Abram to meet with God.   At that time no other way was available.  At that time certain conditions must be met for a man to actually be in the presence of God.  These conditions were strict and must be carried out with caution and detail.   Melchizedek paved the way for Abram to meet with God.  He laid the groundwork and made the preparations for all things to be done properly and in order. 

This was a very special time and Abram needed to be ready.   Abram had asked a question of a God who loved him very much.  God had spoken with Abram before, but this time was different.  God was going to give Abram the sign that he had requested to know for sure that God was going to keep His promises of giving him a son from his own flesh and blood of which nations of descendants (as many as the stars of the heavens) would descend from.  God was also promising to make the land where Abram was living come into his possession and the possession of his children.   God’s words were:  “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

Once again Abram was puzzled but believed.  He did not know how it would happen and he asked God how he would know that he would gain possession of the land.  The act of covenant that followed was God’s answer to that question.  The Hebrew word for covenant is” karath berith.”   It means “to cut.”  

In those days a covenant was the most significant legal document you could have.  It was “to cut” an agreement out with someone.  There were different types of covenants, but the most significant and binding covenant was a blood covenant.  That is what God was making with Abram in this portion of the story.  They were cutting an agreement in blood.  A blood covenant was the highest, most significant covenant that could be made.  It was a visual symbolic enactment of a promise and an oath.  The animals were slaughtered and cut in half and laid out with a pathway between each half.  The parties involved would usually walk through the path between the two parts of the cut or divided slaughtered animals to say:  “May this be done to me if I do not keep my oath.”    A blood covenant was a very serious oath between two parties.  In this case, as we will see later, the agreement was all from God.  Abram did not have to do a thing.  God was saying “I will keep my word to you unconditionally – no strings attached.”

The Lord told Abram to bring Him a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old along with a dove and a young pigeon.  Does that sound like an odd request?  What if God spoke to you today and told you to bring such things; would you? 

What were these offerings about and why were they required? 

First of all notice that three offerings were required as the offerings for the cutting; the heifer, the goat and the ram.  God would have Abram to cut the heifer, the goat and the ram into halves and then God would come and walk through them.  Usually both parties walk through the cutting, but in this agreement Abram did not walk, only God. 

Not only were there three animals to be cut but each of them were to be three years old.  Two threes here remind us of the age of Christ when He died on the cross and became our resurrected Messiah.  The sacred number of three is also the number of the Holy Trinity.  There were also two other offerings – a turtledove and a pigeon.  These were not cut.  The 3 cut offerings and the 2 uncut offerings totaled five animals.  In Hebraic thought five is the number that represents the grace and goodness of God poured out in His works.  It is the number that stands for redemption and is almost always associated with the coming of the Messiah.

In case you were not raised on a farm, a heifer is a female cow.   If you want to get technical many do not understand that once a heifer has a calf they are no longer called a heifer, but they are then called a female cow.  It is not good to breed a heifer early, so three years old is a pretty safe time to know that a heifer is ready and fit to deliver a calf without any problems.  If you breed too young, there may be problems.   Heifers were never used for plowing.  They were used for calving until they passed that stage then they were used to tread out the grain.  The male oxen were used for plowing, but these female cows, once they had given birth to calves and passed the time of birthing calves and raising them, were used for treading out the grain of the harvest.  Much like human beings, even a cow has different seasons of life for different functions.  At three years old the heifer would be at the most physically fit stage of their life; strong and healthy and ready to become most useful to their owners.  This would be the stage where the heifer is the most fertile. They raised their calves, then they were yoked to a board attached to a tread wheel and walked around in circles grinding the grain of the harvest with their constant motion of pushing the wheel.  A feeding trough was set in front of them on the part of the wheel they were harnessed to and they ate from it as they did their work of turning the wheel.  This latter part of being a female cow wasn’t hard.    A three year old heifer, however would have been untrained and not have had a yoke applied to her neck yet.  A three year old would not have given new life yet, but would be ripe for this time to happen.

Heifers eventually became known as the symbolic animal sacrifice offered for the national sins. This was a foreshadowing of the red heifer that would be used in temple times to show God’s love and mercy and forgiveness for the people of the congregation as a whole.   The heifer in Abram’s covenant was provided for the purification of Abram and of the people who would become his descendants.  Remember that Israel was not yet a nation.  God had told Abram that nations would come from his flesh.  Because of the fact that there was not even one son, let alone one nation yet, one could go out on a limb here and say that the heifer was offered for the purification of all the nations that would come from Abram.   If you wish to read more of the meaning of the red heifer that came to be symbolic of this at a future time in the temple click here: http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2014/10/pieces-of-puzzle-mysterious-story-of.html

In this time of this covenant the law had not yet been given.   Men knew what was righteous and good before God in a natural way, but it had not been spelled out in writing and written down in stone.  This covenant sacrifice was based on faith alone and always pointed toward the pure obedience of men’s hearts toward God.  This was an offering that began in a time before mankind knew the grace of perfect atonement.  It was a foreshadow of the coming of the law and eventually an even better way.  This was the first glimpse of how the ashes of the red heifer would be used later.

The second animal G0d told Abram to bring was a three year old goat.  Leviticus 9:15 tells us that a goat was used as a sin offering.  The heifer was for cleansing and the goat was for bearing the sin that was removed and cleansed.  There cannot be any cleansing unless the sin is removed.  The goat was used to bear the sins of the people of Abram and to carry them away.  This is a first glimpse of the Azazel goat we know about that came to be sacrificed during the Day of Atonement.    

The third and greatest covenant was represented by a three year old ram.  The great significance of the ram will be revealed to Abraham later in the story of his life a very graphic way.  He will see this because he was an obedient servant of God.  The Ram is symbolic of The Messiah, The Christ, The Son of God, The Savior of The World.  The heifer was for cleansing, the goat was for bearing away sin and the ram was for atonement of sin.   

Now we see that God told Abram to take all three of these sacrifices and cut them into.  The word covenant means “to cut an agreement.”  So the three covenants were “cut” or “made.”  

The dove and the pigeon are not cut.  The other offerings happened in time periods of history where if they did not happen men would be cut off from God.  After Christ came men were no longer cut off from God by their sins.  The perfect atonement had been made and freely given.  These two animals represent what came after the perfect atonement of Christ.   They represent the future prophetic progression of this covenant which God will keep with Abram and all nations.  The dove represents the giving of The Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  The pigeon represents The Word of God and the spreading of the gospel throughout the earth before end times come.

Abram laid out all of these sacrifices and birds of prey came to try to take them away.  They were open laying opposite each other with the insides visible to the eye, except for the two birds.  The insides of the two birds could not be seen with the eye.  This is a picture of how all sin will one day be laid out and revealed before God.  There will be no hiding it.  This is the picture of the three cut animals.  The two birds represent the divine attributes that cannot be seen with the eye when The Holy Spirit and The Word of God come to live inside of God’s people.  Faith, love, hope – these things are very necessary and important but are not visible to the eye.  These were all laid out and the vultures passing by wanted to take them and consume them.  Abram had to stand guard and chase them away.  The same is true for all practicing the faith today.  If you do not stand guard over the things that God puts on your heart to do and if you are not careful to guard your heart the devil and his demons will come and try to steal, kill and destroy the sacred things of your life.  Abram gives the perfect example of standing guard.

Then a great darkness came and Abram fell into a trance in which God came and walked through the cut pieces of the covenant.  Abram falling into a deep sleep or a trance is a picture of how Christians must all die to their selves in order to receive the higher promises of God. 

God ratified the covenant by walking through the blood as a burning torch and a smoking oven.  The torch represents the flame of The Holy Spirit that God’s covenants with man would bring about.  The Smoking Oven represents the glory of God that would fall on His people in that day.  The burning torch and the smoking pot are a picture of how incense is used at the altar of the temple.  This is a picture of the prayers of the people, a sweet aroma going up to heaven as the smoke of God’s peoples prayers are presented at His altar throughout eternity. 

The fulfilling of each piece and part of the covenant is all very progressive.  Significant things evolve and unfold slowly and in perfect step with God’s timing and His plan to bless mankind through Abram.

God laid it all out for us all the way back in the days of Abraham, knowing how fickle and hard-hearted men can be.  God knew how long it would take us to turn.  He wanted each man to have all the time he needed to make his heart ready for life in The Kingdom of God. 

This steady progression of the fulfilling of God’s covenant reveals all things in their own glorious light in such a perfect way.  Men’s hearts are not strong enough to absorb all of God’s majesty at once, so He broke it down for us into little doses, a miracle here, a miracle there, a revelation now, a revelation later.  Our Creator knows how we respond to things.  He deals with us like a lover would deal with someone they were lovesick over.  He is blind to our faults and patient with our short comings.  He waits for us to see the surprises and treasures He has hidden for only us.

Here is another example of how the number three in this passage plays out.  It will also be in the symbolic “third day” or a day when we should be living out the truth of resurrection, that the covenant opens up to act out its five-fold ministry that we read about in Ephesians 4:11.  God’s word and the ministry of His saints will be raised up under the power of the covenant promises.  We read about this in Ephesians 4:12-13, "For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."   

Because God was careful and thoughtful to lay out the pattern way back in the days of Abraham, we have the opportunity NOW to live this out.  All of the animals together, the total of five of a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove and a pigeon, represent a five-fold ministry that God has destined for mankind to participate in that will usher in the fullness of The Kingdom of God.

And you thought the passage about the covenant sacrifices was dull and confusing and antiquated?  Well, so did I until I prayed and asked God to reveal His word and make some things clear.  He came through in a million little ways to help me see this.  There is SO MUCH here that it could go on for days and it would be impossible to write it all down.  Remember this passage of the story because thoughts of it will come back to you as we continue to study more of the life of Abraham.  More of the truth of this covenant will be revealed throughout the whole of the scriptures.  It is noticed over and over in story after story.  The longer you let your heart dwell here the more you will see.   

 The point is that we all must realize how important covenants are to God.  He started with Adam.  He kept it up with Noah.  Now we see Abraham is also receiving a covenant.  We will go on to look at Moses and David and eventually the very best – Christ.  God loves and keeps covenant with His people.  Never, ever forget this. 

In the story of Abram we are reminded again and again of the fact that as he faithfully brought the elements of  the covenant as God had directed and laid it all out exactly as requested, vultures came down and tried to steal it away.  This will happen every time God is doing something important and significant.  As previously emphasized, the vultures  are symbolic of the demons of Satan that come to kill, steal and destroy.  The scriptures tell us that Abram ran off the vultures.  He guarded the things of God and chased off anything that wasn’t supposed to be in his life.  That is what we must do also.  Guard your covenant with God.  Guard it with all your might.  Chase away any person, place of thing that the devil sends to destroy your promises to God.  Don’t let the vultures steal your joy.  Abram knew this and did not let them near.

How important was this ancient covenant that God made with Abraham?  It is amazingly important.  Everything that happened afterward in the history of mankind and God reflected it in some way.  When the people of Israel were in the wilderness and sinned by making a golden calf God almost decided to rid the world of the descendants of Abraham and start over with the descendents of Moses, but Moses quickly reminded God of this covenant and God changed his mind and had mercy on the people.

Covenant is one of the ways of God.  We live in mercy and forgiveness because we serve a God who keeps covenant with His people.

COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 40 - HOW AN ORDINARY MAN LOOKS AT THE STARS IN THE SKY

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

After Abram had rescued Lot from his enemies, the Lord spoke to Abram again.  He said “Do not be afraid Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.” 

This could be translated as God saying “I am your sovereign and your reward from me is great.”

Abram had seen how God had defended him in battle.  He did not need reassurance of that.  He had been willing to follow God anywhere.    

It was that “I am your very great reward” part of the statement that Abram was perplexed about.  Was his reward from God just going to be winning battles?  God knew Abram wanted a son of his own as an heir to his estate more than anything. 

Had God not promised this? 

What was the problem? 

What was taking so long?

 So Abram brings this up to God in a very respectful way, acknowledging the fact that God is sovereign and reminding him that he had been promised children that had not been born yet.  He asked God if Eliezer of Damascus would inherit his estate in place of a son born to him.  That is usually what happened when a man did not have a son; a servant of his household would be named as heir.

God once again assured Abram that Eliezer would not be his heir but a son from his own flesh and blood would be his heir.   As He spoke with Abram, God told him to look up at the stars in the sky and count them if he could.

As Abram looked up at the stars that filled the sky God said to him that his offspring would be like this.  Abram must have been astounded.  He had already learned they would be as many as the dust of the earth, now he was told his offspring would be as many as the stars of the sky. 

How was this possible?  He was already getting to be an older man.  Time was slipping away so fast, but Abram believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. 

How many men would have believed such a thing at this point in their life?  Abram did.  He was a man of great faith.  He truly lived out the definition of faith:  that is; faith being the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.   

You might view this trait of Abram as being extraordinary, yet it is very ordinary.  Abram lived in the same type of radical world that we are living in today, one of swirling cultural changes.  Everyone wanted to experience the next big thing – hence they went in search of supernatural things that often led them into evil troubles.  Take Sodom and Gomorrah as an example.  These people thought they could change the order of God’s world simply by making all the people around them think and act as they did.  They lived in unreality.  They could not accept the truth of God, that He created the universe and that He created it a certain way and that certain creatures had certain functions for certain reasons.  It was God’s plan.  Men often seek to outthink God and wind up not thinking at all.  This is the worst form of idolatry, worship of self; the same type of worship that sent Lucifer hurling from heaven.  It is the one thing that God detests the most. 

Abram on the other hand had accepted God’s reality and truth.  He lived an ordinary life.  He wasn’t trying to be extraordinary and to seek thrills and adventures from the supernatural.  Time and time again you will hear of his extraordinary faith, but actually Abram had a natural, ordinary faith.  That is all God wishes for any of us; just to believe what He says is true and live before Him what you believe.  It isn’t complicated and it doesn’t require great fanfare.

Abram lived with an uncanny appreciation of God in the commonplace.  He did not seek out great quests from God; he simply acknowledged God’s presence in everything around him and responded when God spoke to him.  It was an every-day kind of faith.  Far from low expectations or passivity; Abram simply found joy in the ordinary.  
                                                                                                                    

 

He went outside on the mountaintop and sat with God and appreciated the splendor of the universe God had created.  He didn’t always do the talking in his prayers – he most often spent time listening.
 

And God spoke to him, just an ordinary man of faith worshipping in an ordinary way, and showed him blessings in all the ordinary things of his days – such as the dust of the earth and the stars in the sky.  

And Abram believed and had a type of faith that God considered righteous and that is very likely one of the reasons why God chose Abram and made a covenant with him to be the father of many nations and the receiver of multiple blessings.    

SEASONS - PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON FEAST PLANNING IF YOU ARE NOT JEWISH BUT WISH TO KEEP THE FEAST

Here we are just past the end of The Feast of Tabernacles 2015!  

I LOVE this feast that God commanded us to keep every year.  It is certainly a time of joy.  My family finally "gets" it and we did our first whole feast together at the beach this year!  Words cannot describe the joy, but it has just now become possible after years and years of praying for God to allow everyone's heart to open up to this truth that He gave us so long ago.  

It was never that I didn't plan and try to celebrate however people would let me work it into their schedules.  I always started planning for next year as soon as the last feast was over for the current year; but having grown kids making all of their own decisions with families of their own and being a Christian family that does not worship in a Messianic congregation, all my  planning gets complicated.   I could plan all year, but it took others wanting to join in and plan too!  That takes a heart open to God's timing that will allow itself to try something new that God has commanded.  The culture of our world is no help at all! 

I've known groups and congregations that have followed the scriptures and set aside money to plan their feast each month like a tithe.  I think that is a wonderful idea, but that hasn't been taught in my circles yet, and I'm not so sure that my family understands yet.  After spending seven days together though, I'm sure they are beginning to see that you MUST plan to get the full and complete effect, and that requires setting aside money earmarked for this celebration.  I think you have to know the joy of an old fashioned feast week before you can even begin to consider this good wisdom.  Once you have experienced that joy though, you look forward to doing it again and again.  The planning suddenly stops being a chore and becomes exciting!  

This year with God's help and a lot of prayer I actually managed to incorporate some of this planning into our lifestyle on a more regular and systematic basis.  It takes time and patience combined with prayer and a good notion of knowing when to chose your battles and when to show grace and not be legalistic.   

Because we all hail from an untrained and clueless Protestant non-denominational background, this process evolving with us had previously resulted in my husband and I having a festive family celebration at our home on the first and last day of the feast and just spending the rest of the time enjoying the week resting at home, enjoying some family activities that we don't usually incorporate into our weekday nights (movies, restaurants, a walk in the park, etc.) or carrying out any special plans and ideas that we can use simply to remember the occasion and keep the time special.  I started out by trying to incorporate such things as building a sukkah and eating inside it,  teaching the grand kids whenever the opportunity presented itself, listening to other groups celebrating together on-line and enjoying special music and prayers and meals each night, and showing some of this to the family whenever it seemed appropriate.   I would also enhance my own personal time with or without others to do more intense bible study and I would allow myself extra rest times to be alone with God.  We would do most of these things at home, but they were the same things we would find ourselves doing even if we went away for a feast.  Finally, this year my dream came true and our family spent the feast together in a vacation setting under one roof!  It was awesome!  God threw in every imaginable blessing!  And you know what?  They GET IT!!!!  

The trick that seemed to turn the key and unlock the hearts of my family was to find a special place we all could afford that would not break the bank for everyone.  Fortunately for us, our daughter married a man with a home near the beach.  I joke that God brought them together so we could all share the feast at the beach!  That one change in the family dynamics brought all the years and years of other small things together under one roof and we were celebrating the feast like old timers!

A lot of families plan a week long camping trip with their whole extended family.  I've often thought this would be fun too with our ever growing family.  We could go somewhere beautiful and secluded out of doors and enjoy the time very much.    

We all grow at a different pace.  God shows some of us sooner than others, or different than others for the time being.  So what is a Mom who desires to keep the feast with a family that hasn't a clue to do?  

A lot of my friends are faithfully trying to celebrate the feast days by joining in with the local Messianic congregations.  I think this is just great if it works for you.  These services are wonderful and very good for teaching.  I love the sincerity of most of the people wanting to carry out the truth in worship, but something keeps holding me back from this.  

One thing that bothers me after attending some of these for awhile is that I usually find these groups evolve from sincere worship to becoming too legalistic.  They start out with the glory of God then somehow end up splitting hairs and pointing the finger at each other.  Some of them seem to be trying to be Jewish instead of trying to be better Christians.  Not all of them mind you, but it does happen a lot.  Those things are not what I care to take my family into. 

Mostly, I think it is simply the fact that my spirit is troubled that the whole church, which I have defined and discerned from the scriptures to be everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as Messiah, has turned their life over to Him and has made their body a home for The Holy Spirit to dwell in, can't do any of these simple things that God requested for His people to do together. This seems to be the BIG problem.  Here I see the other side of legalism in action.  They are holding fast to the traditions of men, what they have done year after year after year instead of finding out what God originally commanded.  

Neither group fits the spirit of how I want to worship.  I'm looking for biblical accuracy with love and mercy and grace.  I know that is what God is looking for too.   I simply refuse to become a make-believe Jew, for lack of a better term.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Jewish people and would be honored to have been born a Jew, but that isn't the truth in my case.  I was born a Gentile.  I must bloom where God planted me, but in blooming, I must carry out the truth that God has shown me.  Sounds simple doesn't it?  Nothing is simple when the devil will be defeated by the results.

I AM an adopted daughter, grafted firmly into that old Olive Tree, and I don't see why all the other adopted children (the church full of gentile Christians) can't recognize and celebrate the traditions of our Father together.    After all - didn't He take us in and love us just the same as those born to Him?   The Jews are the chosen people, but through the blood of Christ which covers Christian Gentiles, we too are chosen.  We, just like the Jews are taken, blessed, broken and given to carry out God's will for us in His Kingdom.

So, I just refuse to join in with either side on principal because I feel the Christian church should act Christian, and I think the feast days were observed by Jesus and the early church AFTER they became Christians as well as before when they were simply Jewish.   

If you are going to make something right, someone must start.  I chose to start to carry these things out in my own home with my own family until the church grows up and begins to do the same.  Many, many congregations are now waking up to this.  I've watched and waited for about 30 years now to see such things come to pass.  We have a LONG way to go.  All I have to worry about is my little piece of the puzzle, God will do the rest.  I must stay in tune to The Holy Spirit and what God is saying to me.  I do not wish to argue or debate this with anyone, it is a free country - so far.

My bible tells me that the very first Christians experiences' with their old Hebraic traditions were enhanced after they became Christians; I say enhanced, not changed or done away with.  After the Resurrection, the Christians who started out Jewish and/or Hebrew had a much clearer understanding of why God had them observing certain traditions year after year after year.  Their eyes were opened to the truth.  They suddenly realized it was to teach them about Christ!  They saw the shadows of the present they were living through and they saw the hope of the future in the days that they had not yet seen fulfilled.  So why aren't we in the church teaching our own children these things?

I have Christ living in me, therefore I do not have to apologize for following the scriptures in the old testament, just as He did.  I've learned that the Old Testament makes the New Testament come alive.   The Old Testament was fulfilled - not put aside.  I was not born a Jew genetically, but by being a member of The Church (those who are indwelled by God’s Holy Spirit because they have believed in Jesus Christ as Messiah)  I have become an adopted member of the family!  I DO NOT REPLACE the original family, but I DO become a part of it.  We are two shoots of the same tree (one lives from being grafted into the other) and we are meant to compliment each other and to grow together in grace and to give glory to God The Father together.  I have as much right to celebrate the family traditions as a son who was genetically born!   Jesus died to make this possible.  I can't take that for granted. 

I refuse to walk around that and pretend it isn’t true.  I do not have to make excuses or pretend to be someone I am not because of the false reality of organized religious groups that oppose me realizing my own rights as a born again child of God.  There are so many organized religious groups that are dictating what can and cannot be noticed in the holy scriptures.  These groups remind me of the Pharisees.   I believe God will have something to say to them about that one day!  My job as a Christian is to hear the gospel, read it, study it, believe it, receive it and PRACTICE it in my life – all of it – not just the bits and pieces that are presently acceptable to the prevailing cultural movements of society.  

Hence I have evolved to celebrating God's Holy Days with those of my own household who understand my feelings about this.  The rest of the year we are fine with worshiping with any Christian congregation that believes in Holy Communion.  They all seem to get the rest of it, but it is as if a portion of their bibles were just laid aside and forgotten, even though it has been pretty widely discussed among scholars of the bible that their traditions of Christmas and Thanksgiving have their roots in these festivals and probably began with them.  It is almost like a taboo subject with most congregations.  It is only the feast days that make my life as a leader of my family beside my husband so much harder to incorporate into my year, but I am more than ever determined to do so.

I do love John D. Garr's book called "The Family Sanctuary" that teaches how our homes are the first and main sanctuary where we should be worshipping God.    Taking points from this book we have incorporated Sabbath worship in our home.   Everything else should flow from the home first with the father being the head of the home and the mother playing a vital part in teaching the ways of God to the children.  This would apply to whomever is the head of the household in a single family home.  This is a starting place for me with my beliefs being so firm about the Sabbath and about The Holy Days.  Home is a good place to start and to move forward from.  I hope and pray that one day the whole church will BE the whole church and I can go to a public place of worship and worship as I believe all year instead of simply agreeing on the basics and agreeing to disagree on the other scriptures that I can't overlook.     
So, with all of the above in mind, I always ponder the best way to celebrate the feast with my own family.  Each year I long to draw them all together for a whole week in one place and do all the traditional things that the scriptures spell out.  It is not always possible – but I keep planning every year to make it happen.  Some years some of the family is present for the beginning and some of the family is present for the end, and on a REALLY good year we all are feasting together the whole time.  Every year we practice the celebration, a little more of the reason and the heart of the matter sinks in.  I am amazed at how God shows them whatever they are ready to accept.  God's timing is always just right.  Allow it in your family and you will see things slowly fall into place.  The process itself is amazing and gives glory to God.

I truly believe that patience counts here and that you have to eat an elephant one bite at a time.  For years I have plugged away at this plan.  I've come very close to helping my whole family to understand and remember and celebrate the meanings and traditons of Passover, Purim, Pentecost, The Feast of Trumpets,  The Day of Atonement and even Hanukkah.  The whole journey has been a beautiful one full of God's blessings.  I've never regretted a time and have always felt so blessed when we have gathered together in God's name as a family to celebrate His Holy Days.    My last prayer in this journey is to help them all to understand and be able to celebrate The Feast of Tabernacles as a family and eventually with the whole world.  They know I do it.  Sometimes they join in with me on some of the traditions, but I feel it is all still vague to them.  The only way to REALLY understand Sukkot is to go to the feast and to experience it all.  We were blessed to find this come true this year!  It was an awesome answer to prayer.  Not only did we experience Sukkot, we experienced the JOY of the season and bonded as a family.  

So I keep praying about my vision for my own family.  My vision includes meeting together at a campground or a house and living in tents or under one roof together, with a community sukkah which we would build together to take our meals under.  I have ideas for my husband (as priest of our home) to teach our children and grand children all the meanings behind the traditions and I can see me telling bible stories to the little children as we all relax and just enjoy doing fun family things together.  This year for the first time the vision was set in motion.  I spent many other years praying and seeking God's guidance.  When God's time was right - it all came together and it was perfect!

So why not just rent a big house somewhere special and gather?  There is nothing wrong with that at all, and it works gloriously for most people all the time.  Still, I have a vision of camping at some point.  Why does the vision have to include tents and camping?  Good question – you could just rent a vacation cottage I guess - but that isn't what I usually think about when I think of this feast.  

Most of my thoughts go all the way back to Abraham and Sarah.  All of their lives they dwelt in tents.  Did you know that there is deep significance in the fact that they spent their whole life as tent dwellers?  At first glance it would not seem to be such a huge thing, but on second glance we see this is so very significant.  This is something I would love to point out as our family camps together one year in our future celebrations.

I will also be praying for all of you kindred spirits out there who are trying to be Christian and incorporate Hebraic thoughts into your own family worship.  My whole point in this thinking out loud article is simply to encourage you.  We must start somewhere, let's start by praying for each other to be able to bring about God's ways in our own homes over the coming year.

I honestly believe that our whole country could change for the better if each home in America began to celebrate The Feast of Tabernacles together every year.   

COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 39 - A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT WE HAVE SEEN SO FAR

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

In the world we live in today, one that has evil groups of people  who kill Christians simply for being Christians and are taking members of God’s family captive, there is comfort in knowing that God will not stand for this for long.  These victims willing to give their lives for God’s honor are the true and/or adopted sons of Abraham.  One way or another, they are his descendants.  God always remembers His promises.  He has promised Abraham He will destroy his enemies.  These old ancient stories we have studied confirm this over and over and serve to remind us that God’s promises are still true today.



Wouldn’t it have been better though in the story we just studied of Abram and Lot, for Lot to not have placed himself and his family in this place of danger?  Yet, we know there are still those who are doing the same today.  Some live in terrorized lands and can’t escape, but others live in evil lands and ignore what is around them even though they are free to walk away. 



I’ve come to think of Lot’s life in Sodom as being similar to many of today’s modern church congregations that seem to exist in a weakened, watered down, sold-out state.  I’ve come to think of Abram in this very interesting and ever-teaching story as being symbolic of God The Father.  It would seem that Abram’s adopted sons, being the true and righteous sons at heart, who followed him without yielding to evil and were careful to be totally loyal to him, are comparable to the saints.  I am simply summarizing what has been said before for the sake of reminder.  I feel this is important to remember in the times in which we are living.

    

The Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah represent our arch-enemy in disguise;  shepherds in sheep’s clothing that appear to be good and righteous but are actually ugly and evil within.  They are part of the picture of Satan and the antichrists that roam the earth seeking to kill, steal and destroy the holy people of God.  They come masked as famous world leaders, living in our finest cities, sitting at our highest tables, living greedy, materialistic, unloving, selfish lives, like those ancient pagan kings.     Their ways are not godly and their lives are full of evil that is cleverly hidden from the world. 



It was said that Sodom was a city that did not like travelers passing through.  They were closed off into their own ways, unwilling to let others who thought and acted different from them be a part of the lush and blessed land where they had chosen to live.  They wanted to make up their own rules and not be held to the standards of the rest of the world.  If they could keep others who did not think like them away, they would not have to be bothered with accountability.  This is why Lot originally lived outside the city.  He kept moving closer and closer as they became used to him being around, but they had to be sure he was not someone who would bring change and morality to their city before they let him live inside their gates.  Lot, even as a leader that sat in the gates, was not a threat to them.   I suspect he kept his status as a leader simply because he paid heavy taxes to The King of Sodom and the citizens became used to him and allowed it as long as he kept his mouth shut and did not preach to them. 



A lot of so called churches today have gone down this path of Lot and just let sin seep in all around them but never said a word against it because they were too busy enjoying the fruit of the land and loving the entertainment and tithes they received every week from the local congregations.   Lot just didn’t want to offend anyone.   I guess you can become so conditioned to evil that you don’t even notice it anymore.  Perhaps this was the case with Lot and his family.  They had become weak and were never willing to take a stand for what God says is holy even though they DID believe in God and claimed to follow Him.  They caved to their environment, so much so that God quit guarding them and protecting them from the destroyer.  Simply because of their environment – they were taken captive.



When you pitch your tent with sinners you often suffer their circumstances.  It doesn’t mean that God will not hear you when you cry or listen to your prayers, but if you forget to cry out, God will let you find out what usually becomes of sinners in the end.  In this case, they went into captivity.



I find it amusing that the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah got side-tracked in battle by some slime pits.  They marred up in quicksand around the asphalt pits where they were chased.  For some reason mercy was shown to the King of Sodom and he was finally allowed to escape, perhaps not until the battle had been fought and his people had all been taken away and his city spoiled.  Can’t you just see him walking home after living in the pits for awhile to find everything gone and destroyed?  How his face must have fallen.  Then he must have heard of the miracle of Abram and his men who had shown up at the last minute and won the day.  This must have made him hopeful.  He devised a plan to go out and meet Abram. 



How appropriate that the King of Sodom met Abram in the valley.  There will be another battle in the same valley one day.   The King of Sodom will once again come to claim the souls of people that he believes belong to him.  His modern day name is Satan.  He and his armies will come to destroy those who belong to God’s Kingdom.

   

In the days of Abram, perhaps this King of Sodom came to say “Thank You.”  Perhaps he came to claim his people and the spoils of battle from his lands that Abram had rescued and restored.   There are still modern day Abram’s out there fighting for God’s people and bringing restoration into their lives.  Satan will always try to undo this, to take them back, but there is a King mightier than he.  There is a King that values people above the spoils of war.



This ancient King of Sodom needn’t have worried about the spoils, Abram had promised God not to keep one little bit of it for himself.  He did not want others to think that his wealth came from any pagan entity, because he knew it came only from The One True God of Heaven and Earth.  The King of Sodom offered the spoils to Abram to keep in exchange for the people.  How like the devil that was!  He would trade all of his material wealth to possess one soul that is supposed to belong to the Kingdom of God. 



 Abram could not be bought, and he also held to the idea that people were not for sale.  He gave back the spoils and allowed the peoples to return if they wished.  Most of them went running right back to The King of Sodom.  Isn’t that the way of the world?  There is a scripture that says dogs always return to their vomit.  God allows us choices.  He has granted us free will. 



Abram did allow his allies to have their share of the spoils.  This was no reflection on Abram’s house.  None of Abram’s wealth was gained from The King of Sodom’s spoil.  All of his treasures were gifts of The Kingdom of God.    



But what had this great God promised Abram?  He had promised to bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed them.  This battle confirmed without a doubt that God was keeping his promises to Abram. 



After being confronted by The King of Sodom a very opposite King appeared before Abram.  His name was Melchizedek and he had come to remind Abram that God had won the battle for him.  Melchizedek blessed Abram and Abram gave Him, as The Priest of The Most High God, a tenth of the spoils.  This is the first time we hear of a tithe in the form of money instead of a sacrifice, yet in a way, blood had been shed to achieve it. 



If we reread Genesis 12:1-3 again we know exactly why Melchizedek came to meet Abram after the battle, even though as His name proclaimed, He was The King of Peace and He had not participated in this battle: 



(Genesis 12:1-3)

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.   “I will make you into a great nation,  and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

It was The LORD who had won the battle of The Nine Kings and Melchizedek, The Priest Of The Most High God, was there to make this statement known to all and to keep the promise of God; that He would bless Abram and that He would bless those who blessed him.  He came bearing bread and wine blessed of heaven.

In the next lesson we will leave all of the symbolism and return to the story, but remember the name of Melchizedek, who we are told will remain a priest forever and ever.

COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 38 - WHO WILL GO WITH ABRAHAM

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

While we have been studying the biblical  Abraham (and we will continue on - I promise) who rescued Lot from King Cherdorlaomer and his allies, I have also been reading about current day battles going on in modern times in the same area of the world.  I have pondered the way both times seem so similar in nature.   I have wondered about the prophetic significance of it all for the Christian people who claim to be The Church of today’s world.  

Will we be like Abram?   

Will we go to rescue God's people in need?

As I studied modern times, I read a modern-day story about another man named  Abraham.  The words printed in the next paragraph are from some of the writings of Mat Staver.  Mr. Staver speaks of a ministry he is trying to help called RUN Ministries.  RUN Ministries is now sending people over to these war torn and terrorized lands that are living right in the midst of a horrid nightmare.  These people are voluntarily risking their lives to help our brothers and sisters in need.  Many of them have also been killed and/or tortured in the process.   They are trying to help people who have been run off their land simply because they are Christians with humanitarian relief, shelter and food.  

Many of the people they have helped are recovering from months of torture and seeing the ones they love being murdered right before their eyes.   RUN Ministries has a mission to help the helpless.  This is an excert from the borrowed story that I read:

“Abraham had been working non-stop for more than two days and was completely exhausted. But he knew that he could not rest; he had to go out one more time to look for those hiding in the Sinjar Mountain area of northern Iraq.  Earlier that day, he had gotten word that families may be still be hiding.  So he and his teammate set out in the middle of the night. Within a couple of hours, Abraham spotted a family huddled together, eyes closed and trying to hide silently to avoid terrorists or wild animals. Abraham approached them and quietly announced that he was there to help, offering food, water, and safe passage to a peaceful camp.  Their fears subsided, and then the long journey through the mountains began. Hours later, as the sun began to rise, the "Community of Hope" refugee camp appeared. Abraham had rescued another family and led them to safety.”

This modern-day family must have felt like Lot did when the ancient Abram came with his army to rescue him and bring him and his family and many others back to safety.  It is nice to know there are still people like this around.  You may help their cause if you wish.  Their website is:  www.runministries.org.

As I read this article pertaining to the horrible times we are living through and prayed and thanked God for this ministry,  I thought of how Abram and his men attacked in the middle of the night, and brought the captives home with their possessions restored.  Perhaps RUN Ministries thinks a lot like our Father Abraham.  I’m sure they are both listening to the same God.  Their actions certainly seem to state this.  They trust in God and have no fear in rescuing God’s people from terrorist.  These good people are risking their lives to help save people who have not sinned or committed no crimes other than being Christians. They are fighting a growing cancer spreading across the land.  Today this is in a far away land, tomorrow who knows?  Oh Church - Arise!

Abram’s plot was similar in many ways.  His men also voluntarily risked their lives in order to save God’s people from danger.  They too attacked the enemey in the night and brought the captives to safety.  God never forgets of forsakes his children in need.  He uses His church as hands and feet.  A church is not a building full of members, a church is a land of people full of The Holy Spirit.  Abram was not the "organized" force in this battle, yet he won because he followed a God who knew all things.  No king ruled over him and no taxes supported him.  He was simply a good and godly man using the abundance provided to him by a Mighty God.

I thought of the name RUN Ministries and I remembered that one of the Jordanian kings who won with the help of Abram was Shemeber and his name meant "gazelles" or "strong and fast."  

Please pray for these people who have been terrorized for being believers.  As you consider how Abram rescued Lot pray for the same for them.  Pray for God to provide for those who are willing to risk their lives in His name.  

As I pondered all of the above, we were going through the time of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement).  I celebrate the Christian understanding of this day.  It is customary to read the story of Jonah at Yom Kippur.  Of course, it is because the story relates to repentance, but as I studied Jonah this time I also read an  up-to-date modern article about the city in his story called Ninevah.  It seems that ISIS has driven all Christians out of Ninevah and it has been proclaimed that communion is no longer held in that city.  I thought of Melchizedek coming to Abram after the battle was over and offering the blessings of God and bringing bread and wine.  How sad to learn that a city that Jonah preached to so long ago which had repented at one time was now desolate of the people of God and that no more communion (handed down from Melchizedek to Abram to those of God's church) was taking place in that land.   It seems that the enemy would like to wipe out the name of God in association with this old ancient city.  They have even gone so far as to blow up the burial place of Jonah in this land.  

My friends who seek God with the heart of a child, please pray for them.  History is repeating itself.  This often happens, first God will show us a physical situation and then it will be repeated so that we will understand the spiritual significance of it all.  This story says the same thing to me that it did to Jonah.  People MUST repent and turn to God.  All people.  All nations.  Can we drink this cup?

The whole earth must be restored to knowing and serving a loving and merciful God.   Ninevah and their king believed the truth of God that Jonah brought to them.  For the short span of about 100 years they turned and repented.  Can it happen again?  Pray that God's will prevails and these people will be restored.  Pray that God's people all over the world come together in repentance and turn from evil and spport their brothers and sisters who are staying true to the course set before them.  Pray that the evil be ended by a mighty God, The One True God of Heaven and Earth.  Pray that we are worthy to be left standing when it is done.  

Also pray that America, who is showing the same ugly immorality that existed in the city of Ninevah in the days of Jonah, will be led to repentance as a nation.  Do we stand like hypocrites praying for another third world country without first repenting in our homeland?  God forbid.  We must repent and turn.  This is where our hope for the future lies.