Eudora

Greetings fellow Sabbath Keeper... I too have the exact same commotion going on (the Olympics of the old Greek interferring in the ways of Truth) here while I too try to concentrate on His word. Praise Hashem, His word endures forever...

Q3. (Genesis 35:1-5) Why does Jacob's household need spiritual renewal? This is the first time ever that Yahowah God commands that an altar be built before Him. All others have been decidedly been built by mans decision to do so. They have become defiled people for their transgression against the direction, the teachings of our holy God. They are now un-clean before Him and in need of purification. Not to mention a bunch of folks had just joined their ranks because they were taken as slaves and they more than likely hed brought their pagan god replica's with them, like Rachael did when she left her dad. Why is it important to get rid of foreign gods? Because they are unclean, unholy, false, worldly, man thought and man made. What do washing and putting on clean clothes represent? That by doing as commanded, that their outward act should show their inward repentance. They were preparing for a Holy Ceremony with a Holy God; a sanctification of the soul. The garments that they had been wearing, may have been the ones that they had worn when they committed the heinous act of taking a life that had been created in the image of Yahowah God. They might have been stained with the blood of the innocent After all , it was only Shechem that had committed a crime, not all of the males of Shechem. The outward washing commanded was a sign of the inward cleansing of the heart from sin, which Yahowah God requires of every one, Jew or Gentile.

Q2. What happened when the Israelites disobeyed God and intermarried with the Canaanites? Their hearts would be inclined towards evil and pagan god’s that their idolatrous neighbors worshiped. Why do you think God commanded them not to intermarry? Because the Hebrew nation were a people who lived under a covenant and all other nations did not live accordingly to this covenant and worshiped other gods that would turn the sons of Jacob, away from Yahowah God. Was this racial or spiritual or both? Spiritual. The Hebrew nation was under covenant with Yahowah God, the one true God. Their rights to the blessings were only good as long as they stayed cleaved unto the One true God. Why are Christians to marry "in the Lord"? Because we are still under the blessing of Abraham, given by the One true God. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Galatians 3:13-15 Yahushua redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham's blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive Yahowah God's life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it. By faith.

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? It must have been a common practice even way back then for the parents to make arrangements for marriage because Shechem went to his father to ask him to make a deal for Dinah’s hand in marriage. It is possible that since Jacob was so old that he waited to talk to his sons so that they could all decided what to do about this incident. Poor Dinah, I am sure she was very young and obviously a virgin and this must have frightened her. It sounds as if she were not able to go home after this either and not being able to be comforted by her family must have been horrible. By being raped, she was considered un-clean. What should he have done instead of being silent? Not shared this information with his sons. He should have consulted Hashem in his hurt . There had to be some anger too as a father. Being as old as was presented by Pastor Ralph, I am thinking that he should have been wise enough to call upon Hashem to seek His advice of how to deal with all of this but sometimes we in our anger and our hurt seem to waller in it for awhile and act on that instead of going directly to Hashem. What was right about the sons' reaction? What was wrong? I think what went wrong is that the sons of Jacob used something that was holy and sacred, a symbol of their faith and used their faith as a weapon. That is like us using the word of Hashem to a homosexual and telling him that if he does not repent he will go to hell. Yahowah God doesn’t want us to beat people up with His word but to love them and encourage them to seek Him and pray that He will tender their heart by the power of the Holy Spirit to convict rather than beat them up. Love covers a multitude of sins. Shechem in my understanding proved that he would have done anything because of his love for Dinah even to under go circumcision, which done the way of the Hebrew is NOTHING like we do with a Gentile. The sons righteous anger turned into an unrighteous act upon the men of Shechem. What threat does the family now face if they stay in Shechem? Jacob‘s reply to what his sons had done were: “Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.” Instead of being a blessing to the people, they became a stinking aroma to the people whom they should have been blessing, according to the covenant. Now the life of the leader of these men, Jacob and his own sons, the future tribes of Israel were in danger.

Q4. (Genesis 33:1-16) How has Esau changed since Jacob had gone to Haran? His anger has subsided towards his brother, he is forgiving and considerate too. He seems more content in what he has. I think having not seen his brother for so long was just the right time that Yahowah had supplied for their bitterness between them both to be healed. How has Jacob changed? Well I think he is a bit more reliable on Hashem rather than himself. Who has not come face to face with the Hope of Eternity in Yahushua and not been a better person for having done so, recognizing their immortality. He is a bit more submissive and sensitive to others needs. How does the encounter demonstrate Jacob's "craftiness"? I don

Q3. (Genesis 32:24-30) Who was the "man" Jacob wrestled with? The visible of the invisible, a materialization of Yahowah God, for Jacobs eyes only. What does the wrestling represent? I agree with Commissioned statement: “The wrestling represented the struggle he had within and Yahowah God's way of having him overcome his fears.” This statement also by the way helps me understand the conflict that goes on inside of each of us between the inner man and the spirit that lives with-in us. It also help me to understand why sometimes when we are being disciplined or pruned, why it seems to hurt, but we are better for the pain. I get the fears part really well. He was going to meet up with his brother the next day and had learned his lesson of how he had cheated Esau out of his rights as first born and I think the gifts were not only to ‘pacify’ Esau but also a sort of “I am sorry” offering, asking for forgiveness. Was it spiritual or physical? I think it was both. I think like Commissioned pointed out that Jacob had some inner fears going on and yet needed to be physically weakened so that he would always remember to rely on Hashem’s strength and not his own. It also reminds me too that we are a peculiar people and we do not ever walk the same way again after we have our own encounter with Hashem. When we really have that once in for all meeting, like Jacob must have had that night, that says, “I surrender my all to You Father“. It is from this point on that we begin to be changed from the inside out. Paul too, had a life changing alteration in his physical being when he encountered Yahushua for the first time on the road to Damascus. Why does the "man" wound Jacob permanently? I think that it may have been a reminder to Jacob that he could always lean on Hashem from this point because Hashem had brought him to this point in his life where he could learn to overcome all of his fears through prayer. Course, now we have a scripture to bring this to life that says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5 Jacob would always from that point on remember that he had struggled with Yahowah God and Yahowah God had dislocated his joint in order to get his attention to stop fighting against Him. What do you think the limp means to him? I think it is symbolic of the new man that he is that will live up to the new name that he has been given. A new creature, who would have a reminder of his struggle with Yahowah God and had survived the fight and was better for it. Wow, isn't that just so cool that even though we all struggle against God as He is calling us, He wins and we are better for it.

Q2. (Genesis 32.9-12) What does Jacob's prayer tell us about his fears? That he was seeking God

Q1. (Genesis 32:1-2) Why does God reveal the angel army to Jacob? To let Jacob know that Hashem has not forgotten him. Jacob and his family are under devine protection. What is the significance of the presence of this army? The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

"Stay immersed in God's word!!! I COULDN'T AGREE MORE! Immersed being the key....

Q5. Why do we often fail to see God's blessings during the everyday conflicts of our lives? I think it is because we forget that through every trial that He is burning away the dross and teaching us to depend solely on Him, who

Q4. (Genesis 31:44-55) What are the terms of the Mizpah Covenant? "The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another." The Lord God was witness to every transaction between Laban and Jacob and always would be. Of what is the Mizpah monument supposed to remind Jacob and Laban? Beings they used it the next morning to eat and sacrifice upon, it was more like a table of promise. A table set before the enemy, who would try to cause these two men to break their promise, but because of this huge monument, they would remember building this promise together.

Q3. (Genesis 31:17-36) Why did Jacob and his family leave without saying good-bye to Laban? Jacob admitted to Laban that the reason he left secretly was because he was afraid that Laban would take away his daughters. In what sense did they "deceive" Laban? (31:20, 27). In Jacob

At what point do you think Jacob realizes that his breeding techniques are not the cause of his growing wealth? When he realizes that no matter how Laban changes the deal of the contract, God keeps changing the color of the animals. Genesis 31:9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. According to Deuteronomy 8:17-18, what danger are we in when our income and assets begin to increase? We begin to forget that the increase is from God Almighty whose grace is sufficient for all things and begin to believe that since we have all

Q1. (Genesis 29) Why do you think God allows Jacob to be tricked into 14 years of labor for two wives? Humble submission to Yahowah God's ways was not learned by Jacob at the feet of his parents. His lesson would now be learned in 14 years of service to a human master in that of Laban. What purposes do you think God is working out through these circumstances? The lesson must be that Jacob must learn to respect the rights of the first born. This is Yahowah Gods teaching and not that of Jacobs parents. His parents however knew this but it seems that his mother did not understand its importance but yet Yahowah God is provident. I think too that his mothers impatience to see how Yahowah God would work out the prophecy of the two nations that had been told to her by Yahowah God about the movement in his mothers womb two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. She might have shared this information with Jacob somewhere along the way and if so, then his impatience would be tested too and brought through the hand of God. The only other thing I have learned here is that Jacob had deceived his father and now it would be a father like figure to teach Jacob the error of his ways. His father-n-law.

Q4. (Genesis 28:22) What does Jacob's promise to tithe indicate about his commitment? Surely Jacob had heard the story from his Grandpa

Q3. (Genesis 28:18-21) What did it mean to Jacob to set up the stone? It was a reminder of the vision that was shown to him where his own relationship first began. Like a memorial of what had happen. What did anointing the stone mean to him? Maybe like a consecration of sorts. After all, he carried the oil with him on this pilgrimage, it didn’t just pop out from nowhere. Perhaps this people may have used the oil for cleansing things in the site of Yahowah. This is the first time the word oil is even mentioned in the King James version so I really can’t be sure. Father Yahowah had just shown His son jacob, favor upon His life and that to me constitutes a huge offering of gratitude. Why does he do these things? Maybe as a sign of worship, a sacrifice of praise or something. What does he promise God in his vow? I think he was making a pledge that he make Yahowah God Lord over his life if he would do these things and take him safely back to his mom and dad. I think he had just begun to know who Yahowah God really was in his life and wasn’t quite sure how to trust Him yet and was maybe building on that part of this new found relationship. It’s not like Yahowah God was standing right in front of him. He was saying thank you Lord, I will make You my Lord if You do as you have said. Kinda like Mary did, “Let it be as you have said” Hearing the voice of Yahowah would have been one huge thing in my mind, but to see this vision would have been life changing. I know visions from Yahowah God have been something that has stabilized my walk. I can always go back to those visions and KNOW that He is with me still. This is in a since, my memorial, my altar of praise because when i think about the visions that I have been shown and then to see a few of them come to life, well I know that He keeps His promises and I do not doubt Him or His word when I read what His promises are. Even the ones that say, there will be trials and there will be tribulations... These are promises too and because they come from His word, they give me comfort because “I KNOW” that He has already told me, He knows all about them....

Q2.(Genesis 28:12-15) What did Jacob's dream of the angels ascending and descending from heaven signify to Jacob? That he like the angels would be blessed in his comings and blessed in his goings because he had never heard his dad or mom tell him about this type of thing while he was growing up; this gateway to heaven. What did God's blessing mean to him? All the blessings that his dad had spoken over him were now confirmed by the mouth of God. In what way was this a conversion experience for him? What Jacob had just established, was his own relationship with God because he had just been shown a vision, never heard of mentioned before this time.

Q1. (Genesis 28:3-4) Why does Isaac bless Jacob, especially after Jacob's deception? To pass on the blessings that he was blessed with by his own father Abraham. The promise of heirs, the promise of an inheritance for those heirs and the land inheritance for all of them to live on, where ever they sojourned. He may have been waking up to the idea that his son Esau had married outside of the blessing and since his son Jacob had not yet married, maybe he remembered that the blessing would come to this son who had not yet chosen a wife, but would choose one from with in the family clan who were non-idolaters. How does this blessing compare to other blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? The original blessing that Isaac spoke over Jacob when he was dressed as Esau, sounds to me as if Isaac is speaking and declaring a prophecy over his son rather than praying and asking God to bless Jacob. This one, Gen 28:3-4 is now asking God to intervene in Jacobs life with Yahowah

Q6. Extra Credit. Whose character flaws most remind you of your own? Isaac's, Rebekah's, Esau's, or Jacob's? Jacob. Why? I am always trying to get in God

Q4. (Genesis 27:33) Why couldn't Isaac reverse his blessing once he discovers Jacob's trickery? Because God expects us to keep our word and once spoken, our word is or should be considered as His word,

Q3. (Genesis 27:6-29) God had told Rebekah that Jacob is supposed to rule over Esau (Genesis 25:23). To what extent does this excuse her plan to deceive her husband Isaac? It doesn

Q1. Why does the New Testament condemn Esau for selling his birthright? (Hebrews 12:16-17) Esau

Q1. (2 John 9) What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's teachings to "deeper truths"? In the King James version and from the strongs Greek, the word parabaino, pronounced par-ab-ah'-ee-no is the greek word for transgresseth which means to go contrary to, i.e. violate a command:--(by) transgress(-ion). Basically one who passes over the sacred, or goes beyond the limits and does not abide in the doctrine-does not remain within these holy limits, but indulges himself either in excesses of action or passion of his or her own belief and not of the truth. This is where the problem is of running ahead of the truth. We should not make the Word more than it is. "We are not told and we must not desire to be wise above what is written". -Matthew Henry What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's guidance for our lives? Getting to far ahead or even too far behind the Holy Spirit

Q1. (2 John 9) What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's teachings to "deeper truths"? In the King James version and from the strongs Greek, the word parabaino, pronounced par-ab-ah'-ee-no is the greek word for transgresseth which means to go contrary to, i.e. violate a command:--(by) transgress(-ion). Basically one who passes over the sacred, or goes beyond the limits and does not abide in the doctrine-does not remain within these holy limits, but indulges himself either in excesses of action or passion of his or her own belief and not of the truth. This is where the problem is of running ahead of the truth. We should not make the Word more than it is. "We are not told and we must not desire to be wise above what is written". -Matthew Henry What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's guidance for our lives? Getting to far ahead or even too far behind the Holy Spirit

Q3. (1 John 5:14-15) What are the two conditions to answered prayer in 1 John? How do we determine God's will so that we can pray boldly, confidently? When we do things that are pleasing before God, keeping His commandments and His statutes, we will receive His blessings. I look to His scriptures when I ask Him to call folks in my family. I say