Nehemiah

Just finished reading Nehemiah. It is a fascinating book. How frustrating it must have been to be given permission and money by the most powerful king of the world (at that time) to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and to have to fight to do it the whole time. The workers had to carry their swords with them at all times while they were trying to do manual labor and even when they went to get water.

Other things that were interesting to me:

• They set aside the Sabbath again as a holy day of rest


• They promised to remember and keep the year of Jubilee (one of the reasons they went into captivity in the first place is because they broke that)


• They instituted the keeping and celebrating of the "Feast of Booths/Tabernacles"-it had not been kept since the days of Joshua (8:17)


• When they dedicated the wall the "joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar"

Ezekial

Ezekial is amazing because he was my age. When he was 30 he was to have begun his years of service as a priest (Number 4:3). There was no higher honor as a Jew than to serve God in the temple. They were to teach the people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean (Ezekial 44:23). God Himself was the inheritance of the priests and Levites.

Just when Ezekial's dream was about to be realized Nebuchadnezzar took him, along with 10,000 others, captive into Babylon in 597 B.C. Then in 586 Nebuchadnezar completely destroyed the temple and much of Jerusalem. Ezekial's hopes must have been shattered.

Yet Ezekial was not abandoned by God. In fact he was given something far better. God Himself spoke to him and gave him a glimpse into the future. He was shown the future of Israel and the nations. Most importantly Ezekial got to see the glory of the Lord as he was taken inside another temple and another Jerusalem-one that is still yet to come. The name of the city is Jehovah-shammah-"the Lord is there."
"God said to me, 'Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name."-Ezekiah 43:7

When I study Ezekial I see that God is intimately acquainted with me-and my hopes and my dreams. When I seek Him with all my heart I will not be disappointed.

"God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame."-Elizabeth Browning

Roles of the Kinsman Redeemer #4

4. Redeem the widow-continue family name

Deuteronomy 25: 5-10

• If man died and had no son, the husband’s brother was to take his husband’s widow as a wife
  
• Their firstborn son assumed name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out of Israel


• Sometimes called the Law of the Levirate (Levir-Latin translation of the word for brother-in-law)

Jesus is our Bridegroom. He provides us with family.

• Jeremiah 31:3-I have loved you with an everlasting love and with lovingkindness have I drawn you.
  
• Isaiah 43: 1, 4-Thus says the Lord, your Creator...do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you be name; you are mine...you are precious in My sight since you are honored and I love you.


• Hosea 2: 19-20-I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, justice, lovingkindness and compassion. I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord.
  
• Isaiah 54: 5-Your Maker is your husband-the Lord Almighty is His name.


• Revelation 21:9-Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

Roles of the Kinsman Redeemer #3

3. Redeem the Blood (Blood Avenger)

• The law enforcement of the day.
• It was his duty to provide punishment for violence/wrong done to his family.
  

Numbers 35: 9-34

• Shedding of blood pollutes the land
• Cities of Refuge set up in Israel
• Manslayers could run there and get a fair trial
• If they killed intentionally & were guilty, the elders of the city would give them over for punishment/death to the blood avenger
• If they killed accidentally/unintentionally, they could stay inside the City of Refuge and be safe. If they left the City of Refuge the Blood Avenger could slay them. Only 1 time could they leave the city and be free: death of the High Priest.
  

Jesus is our Blood Avenger

• Deuteronomy 32: 39-43
  “Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance on His adversaries, and will atone for His land and His people.”


• Joel 3: 11-21
  *God will judge the surrounding nations.
  *God will avenge those who shed innocent blood.


• Revelation 19: 1-6-Babylon will be avenged for corrupting the earth and for their bloodshed.


• Revelation 19:17-20:10
  *The Devil lied to Adam & Eve and brought sin and death.
  *Satan must be avenged. He will be bound 1000 years, then thrown into the lake of fire and tormented day and night.


• Hebrews 7: 25-27

*Jesus Christ is our high priest*Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him because He also lives to intercede for them *It was fitting for us to have such a high priest...who does not need daily, like those high priests to offer up sacrifices...because He did this once for all when He offered up Himself.

Roles of the Kinsman Redeemer #2

Buy Land Back

Another role of the Kinsman Redeemer was to
buy the land back and keep it in the family’s inheritance.

Leviticus 25

• Land was/is so important to God. He not only gave His people rest every six days, but gave the land a whole year of rest every six years. (The people also got rest because they didn’t have to work the land that year).
  
• God promised Abraham, Isaac & Jacob the Promised Land in Genesis. After God led his people out of Egypt, while Israel was still in the wilderness, God told them He would give them land as their inheritance.


• The land was to stay in the family, in the tribe, and never be permanently sold.
  If land was sold, the kinsman could buy it back or it will revert back to original owner in 50th year-Year of Jubilee

Additional information on the the land

• Numbers 27:8-11-If a man had no sons, the land was to be kept in the family and divided in this order: daughter, brothers, uncles, nearest kinsman


• Numbers 36:7-9-Girls were to marry within their father’s tribe to keep the land/inheritance in the tribe


• Joshua 13-17-Promised Land divided among the tribes

Jesus Christ also redeems the land for His people.

A. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. However, it fell under the power of the evil one because sin entered the world through Adam and Eve.

• Genesis 1: 26-31-Adam and Eve were to subdue the earth, fill it and have dominion over it-entrusted as God’s vice-regents over it
  
• Genesis 3- Sin entered the world


• I John 5: 19-The whole world lies in the power of the evil one


• Ephesians 2: 1-7-We formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air

B. Jesus Christ came to earth as a man, died and rescued us from the kingdom of darkness.

• Colossians 1: 11-14-Jesus Christ rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin

C. Jesus Christ will come back again for the second time and cast out Satan, the ruler of this world. Jesus Christ alone will be worthy to open the title deed to the earth. He will give the dominion of the earth back to the saints, the rightful ruler

• John 12: 31-33-Judgment is upon the world-now the ruler of this world will be cast out
• Jeremiah 32: 1-19- During the OT God used His prophets as living, breathing object lessons. During the days when Babylon was attacking the southern kingdom of Judah, just before Israel’s capitol, Jerusalem, was finally taken captive, the prophet Jeremiah was told to buy his cousin’s field and bury 2 scrolls in the ground of that land. God was revealing to His people that even though their land was about to be taken away because of their sin, God would one day buy back the land for Israel. One of the scrolls of Jeremiah was sealed, one was unsealed. The sealed scroll is thought to represent the title deed to the earth seen in Revelation 5.
  
• Revelation 5-In Heaven there was a scroll sealed with seven seals; no one in heaven and earth was worthy to open the book until there came a Lamb from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David who purchased men with His own blood.
  
• Daniel 7:27 –The sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve and obey Him.

Roles of the Kinsman Redeemer #1

1. Buy People Out of Bondage
One of the main roles of the Kinsman Redeemer was to redeem or buy back his relative from bondage.

Leviticus 25

• If someone became poor and sold himself in Israel they were to be bond-servants/hired-hands to their countryman


• They could get out of bondage in one of 3 ways
  1. They would be paid for their work and could save and repay their debt
  2. A kinsman redeemer could pay his family member’s debt and redeem him
  3. In the Year of Jubilee (every 50th year) all debt was forgiven and bond-servants would be freed
  

We too have a Kinsman Redeemer. Jesus Christ came to earth to redeem us from our bondage/slavery to sin.

• John 8: 34-Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin."
• Isaiah 52: 3-For thus says the Lord GOD, "You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money."
• I Peter 1: 18- You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold...but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
• John 1: 28-30-Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
• Ephesians 1: 7-In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.
• Colossians 1: 14-…in whom (Jesus Christ) we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.
  

Everlasting Arms

There is none like the God of Jeshurun (Israel),

Who rides the heavens to your help,

And through the skies in His majesty.

The eternal God is a dwelling place,

And underneath are the everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33:26-27

Both of my uncles love this verse and quote it often. It is from a blessing which Moses spoke over Israel before he died. Believers in Christ can claim this as well. Paul said in Galations 3 that Jesus Christ came in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles. No matter what we are going through, when everything is taken from us, and we feel "the rug is pulled out from under us"-underneath are the everlasting arms and they will never let us go.

Picture and text by Cheryl

All about Locust

• There are many species of locust
• The Syrian locust can leap to 200 times their length
• They fly in swarms with wings spread out, resembling a compact, black mass
• Called the "darkeners of the sun" as they turn the desert sky black
• People report hearing the swarm come long before it approaches, sounding like the waves of rain
• Locust can cross great lengths of space but rely on the wind to carry them as they cannot guide their own flight
• Invasions of locust are among the heaviest calamities that can befall a country
• "At their approach the people are in anguish; all faces lose their color"-Joel 2:6
• "No wall can stop them; no ditches arrest them"-Joel 2:8-9
• If a door or window is open they enter and destroy everything
• Every surface is filled with them in an instant until they completely hide the ground
• They eat every green thing and leave the land barren
• Often called "the countless" as so many swarm together that they are like sand on the seashore

Easton, M. (1996, 1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

An interesting web site on locust: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/nes263/spring06/dri6/plagueinjoel.html

Amos

• His name means "burden bearer"
• It is a message of judgment to the nations and Israel

Outline of Amos:

• Judgment on the Nations
• Oracles Against Israel
• Visions

* Locust swarms

* Consuming fire

* The plumb line

* Basket of summer fruit

* The Lord beside the altar

• Restoration of Israel

Joel

INTRODUCTION TO JOEL:

I. The mean of Joel: Joel means "Yahweh is God."

II. The character of God: Joel 2:13

" Now return to the Lord your God,

For He is gracious and compassionate,

Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting of evil. "

THE LOCUST JUDGMENT:

Joel begins with this exclamation:
"Has anything happened like this in your days or your fathers' days?"
It's a description of a locust plague similar to the plagues of Egypt. Then Joel reminds his readers to tell their sons and grandsons of this event.

Joel first discusses the judgment on God's people, a locust invasion. God is speaking in Joel 2:25 which declares the locust invasion is "My great army which I sent among you." The locust invasion occurs in (4) phases: (a) The gnawing locust (b) The swarming locust (c) The creeping locust (d) The stripping locust. Joel 2:11 describes again the invasion as the Lord's army:
"And the Lord utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word."

Joel 2: 3-11 gives a vivid description of this mighty conquering locust army invading the land under God's command. This may be a foreshadow or warning from God's prophet Joel of the following invasions of Israel & Judah:

• The Assyrian invasion that conquers Samaria (Israel) in 722 B.C.
• The Babylonian invasion that conquers Judah (Jerusalem) in 586 B.C

Joel 1:6 describes this army: "For a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness."

Recall the physical and economic losses in some of the devastating hurricanes that have occurred in the U.S. Now let's consider the physical and economic results of this army locust invasion in Israel or Judah:

• Loss of vegetation
  

THE "DAY OF THE LORD"

Discovering Job

Cheryl: So I am reading Job-a massive undertaking. However, I am on the quest of discovering the treasures of the Word of God and how they apply to my life.

Job is a book of poetry and when it is translated I am sure it loses some of its beauty and meaning. To help me understand this intriguing book I am reading "The New American Commentary: Job" by Robert L. Aldern. I am learning that often with poetry second verses often repeat the first line verbatim-and that is normal. I am also slowly coming to understand that the Jewish way of answering a question with another question is completely normal as well. The background of Job may be one of the least known of all books of the Bible but that may make his story of suffering and redemption even more timeless and applicable to everyone.

• Job is the largest piece of literature to come from the ancient Near East.
• No specific date is known but Job probably lived in the time of the patriarchs-he was the priest of his family and made sacrifices for them, suggesting the time before the giving of the Law.
• Moses is thought to be the author because the only books of the Bible written in the ancient Paleo-Hebrew script are those of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) and Job.
• Very interesting opening and closing of the book: Begins with "there was a man"-ends with "and Job died, an old man and full of days."

Here is what we learn about Job in the first few verses:

1. Job lived in the land of Uz. This is probably in northern Saudi Arabia close to Edom (what is now Turkey).
2. Job was extremely wealthy. He had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 5,00 yoke of oxen, 500 donkeys and a large number of servants (Job 1:3). Compare that to the "very wealthy" Nabal who had 1,000 goats and 3,000 sheep (I Samuel 25:2).
3. Job must have been a "pastoral-nomad." He most likely farmed his land because he had "yoke of oxen" suggesting they were harnessed and used for plowing. Job also paints pictures of gates, walls and near neighbors.
4. He was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

Picture: Microsoft Office Online

Kinsman Redeemer

Cheryl:
The Kinsman Redeemer is probably my favorite concept in the entire Bible and I could talk about it all day long. Redemption is used 118 times in the Old Testament. Important Hebrew words relating to this include:

• gaal=to redeem, acts as kinsman
• go'el-the redeemer, the person who redeems
• padah=ransom, release, buy back
  

"Gaal" is often translated avenge, rescue, ever redeem, buy back, and closest relative. The Kinsman Redeemer was an important role in the Old Testament. The gaal or kinsman was the nearest of kin-like a brother, uncle. They had 4 important roles:

1. Buy relative out of slavery/debt
   
2. Buy land back and keep it in the family


3. Blood avenger-the policemen of the day


4. Continue the family name and descendants-marry the widow
   

I will be talking about each of these roles and their significance in future posts. In the meantime, one of the best places to read about the Kinsman Redeemer is the book of Ruth. Ruth is one of the most amazing books because the entire story of Redemption is presented.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog. It is dedicated to spreading the love of studying the Word of God. We are concentrating on the Old Testament because it is alive, powerful and essential to understanding the New Testament fully. As we are studying, we will share what we learn about patriarchs, kings, prophets, priests, slaves, covenants, key words, geographical locations and how it applies to our lives today.

Picture taken by A.S.