As we continue to look at Luke‘s writings, I’d like to point out his early focus on praise hymns. Before the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke ends, he has already shared with us the song of praise (often called the “Magnificat”) of Mary (Miriam), the mother of Jesus (Yeshua).
This indicates to me that Luke was a worshipper. It seems to me that Dr.Luke had a heart filled with praise which inspired Him to write and share the Good News with us.
Miriam the Prophetess & Miriam, Mother of Messiah
When we hear the name “Miriam” related to Scripture, it is not uncommon to immediately think of Miriam the Prophetess, Moshe’s (Moses’) brave sister (Shemot/Exodus 15:20).
The praises sang in the Sinai desert set a precedent for the way praise would be offered throughout the Scriptures. Even today, we ought use these patterns for our praise – unashamedly rejoicing before the LORD in song and celebration.
Every bit of the Bible is compelling, but I find it very fascinating that Miriam the Prophetess is not the only Miriam in Scripture.
The mother of Yeshua (Jesus) was also a Miriam. “Mary” is anglicized. Back in ancient Bethlehem, it wasn’t “Mary and Joseph:” it was “Yosef and Miriam” blessed with their beautiful Son, Yeshua.
Luke’s Gospel account records that when Miriam visited Elizabeth, the Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh) filled Elizabeth “completely” (Luke 1:41, TLV).
In response to that Spirit-driven experience, Prophetess Miriam praised the LORD using the types of phrasing typical of Hebrew poetry. It is likely that Miriam, mother of Jesus (Yeshua) was inspired by the praise song sung by the other Miriam, sister of Moses:
Luke, being the very detail-oriented doctor that he was, made sure to record the song sung by Priest Zechariah because of its prophetic Truth.
Zechariah, too, was filled with the Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh) and Luke makes sure to point that out.
Notice the parallels between the songs of the Miriams and Zechariah. They begin by magnifying the LORD, blessing His Holy Name. The Bible says that Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore prophesied about his son Yochanan (John [the Baptist/Immerser]) as well as Messiah Yeshua our Savior Jesus:
Think about that! Let it sink in! The God of the Heavenly Armies, the All-Victorious, Almighty One, who reigns forever – is also your Friend. A Friend of mine!? Then yes, whom shall I fear? The Commander-In-Chief, the Eternal Protector, just so happens to be the One I can call upon at any moment and He will send heavenly host reinforcements. Immediately. He’s that Powerful. He’s that Loving. He’s that good of a Friend. ADONAI-Tzva’ot!
We appear to be witnessing a revival, or what is often more historically termed, an “awakening,” at Asbury University. As I wrote on our Adonai Shalom Facebook page,
“Let’s pray for the students of Asbury University. May this be a true revival/spiritual awakening that our nation and world so desperately needs. I have been cautiously optimistic that what is going on there may become the Azusa Street of our day. This generation has been raised on coffee and donuts in the church and is hungry for real spiritual nourishment. I pray this generation learns true worship and experiences the authentic power of the Eternal One! I also pray for the administration because the logistics of what is going on at the university must be quite a challenge to navigate. But may the LORD have His way and may hearts turn to Messiah Yeshua (Jesus)!”
This is such an exciting event to witness! We are in the last days, and there will again be Spirit-filled songs of praise lifted to our Most High God who is worthy of all honor and glory forever and ever. With all the modern technology, people have found out about the revival and are traveling from all over the world, hungry to experience the LORD. The Spirit of God is not limited to that place, but there will be people who, like the wise men, need to go there to see what it is the LORD has done and they will go and spread that news elsewhere. We should pray that this wonderful spirit of repentance and revival will continue and truly have a global impact.
Keep your eyes fixed on our Savior Yeshua (Jesus) – because He will come back for His own!
May you be most especially blessed today!
The Waters of Creation, the Great Flood, & Babel’s attempt at Post-Flood Disaster Recovery
The Holy Spirit hovered over the Waters at Creation
In studying Parashat B’reishit, I emphasized how Genesis 1:2 can help you share the Gospel. You may recall that I shared how this particular verse can be especially powerful when interacting with members of the Jehovah’s Witness organization. (Here is that post in case you missed it).
Today we move further into Genesis and we will see the consequences of what happens when people choose not to walk in the way of the LORD, but choose their own ways and their own misguided understandings at Babel.
The Spirit of God (Ruach Elohim) was present at creation. Not some limited “active force.” Not something nebulous, unknown, or impersonal. We are talking about the Spirit of God here!
The very Spirit of the Most High God. The Holy Spirit. The Glorious, Marvelous, Wonderful, Precious Holy Spirt. So very near, so very known to those who seek Him, and so very personal that He indwells those who receive Him. Today, many do not focus on the Holy Spirit’s power and His ongoing work to empower believers. Yet, right away in verse 2 of the entire Bible is the Spirit of God made mention.
The Holy Spirit was hovering over the face of the waters.
In a sense, the earth was flooded – the waters at creation were parted on Day 3 so there could be dry land. The Spirit of God hovered because this implies a closeness, a nearness.
Not quite touching – not yet – but ever so near.
Not yet touching because there was yet darkness on the surface. But:
I imagine this was such a powerful, explosive moment!
The creative power of the Holy Spirit poured forth to bring form to the earth and fill that which Scripture calls a void. All-inspiring, awesome power. And LIGHT.
We so desperately need the Holy Spirit of the LORD and the Light of His Truth!
As we just celebrated during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), He is the Living Water!
It took ten generations from the time of Adam, but divine patience had run out. People repeatedly chose immorality and corruption over righteous living. The earth would be flooded.
Noach and his family survived the Great Flood
Noach נֹחַ (Noah) chose to walk in the Light.
Genesis 6:9 documents for us that Noach “walked with God!”
Surely Noach knew the priceless value of having the Spirit of the LORD guiding him in life.
When God told him to build the ark, Noach recognized God’s voice and followed the instructions given to him.
Genesis 6:8 reveals that Noach found favor in the sight of the LORD.
Why? Because he dared to believe. He dared to trust God!
Noach’s boldness to believe spared him and his family.
After the Great Flood, it didn’t take long for humanity to once again make poor decisions.
Babel’s connection to the Flood
The Hebrew root word for flood, “mabbul” מַבּוּל, is actually related to the term “Babel” בָּבֶל.
You can hear the relatedness in the endings of the words: “ma-bul”. “Ba-bel.”
The Shared Memories of the Babel Community
The Flood was a part of the collective, or shared, memory of the Babel community.
As a group, the people living in that region of Shinar – known today as Babel – knew that they were descendants of flood survivors.
They had grown up hearing stories about great Grandpa Noach!
They knew the Flood had been real.
There was probably evidence in the vegetation and foliage around them. Perhaps downed trees or short shrubs growing back following the aftermath of the Flood.
People grew up in disaster recovery/survivor mode knowing their parents had either seen the days after the Flood firsthand or knew someone who had.
Post-Flood Disaster Recovery: Was the idea of building a tower so bad?
If your closest relatives had survived a major flood, wouldn’t you be interested in building on higher ground?
Wouldn’t you consider building “up” in hopes of avoiding a future deluge?
A watchtower could be incredibly useful. Someone could be assigned the job to check for rising water levels from afar!
Even if a future flood wasn’t the concern, a watchtower to provide advance warning of enemy advances could surely prove useful.
Building a tower wasn’t such a bad idea in and of itself.
And perhaps what happened in that place serves as a reminder to us to not rush quickly to judgment when considering the motives of others. Nonetheless, the Scriptures do indicate that the people did have selfish motives.
The problem was their rebelliousness:
The People Wanted MORE than a Tower
The generations after Noach who lived in Babel did not learn from previous generations’ mistakes. The disaster of the Flood wasn’t enough for them – they brought disaster upon themselves once again:
They wanted to establish a city and make themselves great.
They make no mention of building a city to honor the God who had rescued their families from the Flood.
They feared being scattered, so they united to build a tower whose top was to reach into heaven.
The people at Babel didn’t want to reach the edge of the sky or the edge of heaven, they wanted to reach into heaven: to go beyond the natural, God-ordained boundaries.
Their ambition got the best of them.
At Babel, the people demonstrated that unity can be productive. These people worked together – motivated by fear – to build a high place. They all spoke the same language and were able to communicate with ease.
Whether the purpose of the tower was for idolatrous worship or to create a throne for a primitive communist or totalitarian regime, the unity at Babel was not centered around a common godly purpose.
The city construction project and its tower had to be stopped. Sadly, the people unwittingly predicted their own demise: they certainly would be scattered over the face of the whole land:
The tower may have been tall according to human standards, but it was short enough to God that He chose to come down to get a closer look at it.
Confusion of Languages
Do you enjoy foreign language study? Learning another language wasn’t necessary before that tower was built so if you find foreign languages hard, blame the Babel-onians.
The word “babel” is also closely related to “balal” בָּלַל, a verb that Strong’s Concordance describes as meaning not only “to confuse” or “to confound,”but also “to mix,” “to mingle,” and intriguingly, “to anoint.”
I have studied many languages and I actually enjoy it. What really intrigues me is when there are linguistic similarities between languages on complete opposite sides of the globe. There is so much evidence that what the Bible tells us occurred at Babel truly, historically, did happen. The world’s languages are mixed and mingled and they all came from one source.
So the LORD caused language to become mixed and the people’s communication confounded. But what about the possibility to translate this term “babel” with the kingly concept of “anointing?”
I think of it like this: the tower was anointed for its burial! There is speculation that the ruins of the Tower of Babel are being uncovered in Iraq, so there may be part of the tower still standing to this day, but all of these years . . . it has been dead and buried.
The true King of all kings, the True Anointed One, was showing these people who was still in charge.
How much time and money goes into translation projects!
How difficult it can be to share the Good News that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) has come with those who do not speak our language!
But thankfully, the LORD God reversed what happened at the Tower of Babel when He sent His Ruach haKodesh, His Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Shavu’ot):
I have witnessed miracles in which people who do not speak the same language have been able to understand each other thanks to the gift of tongues. I have heard testimonies of the Gospel preached in a foreign tongue the speaker does not know, but the congregation does. The power of God is real, and there is restoration and freedom from every curse when we place our trust in Him, and Him alone.
The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, just as He came upon the waters at the time of creation. Seek the LORD and you will surely receive the blessings He has for you.
Rising Above the Waters
The LORD will never flood the whole earth again, but natural disasters will still affect certain places at times. Floods have become so very frequent, and many have suffered great losses due to these catastrophic events.
Have you ever lost your home to a flood?
Have you ever worked or volunteered on a disaster response teamand seen firsthand such widespread destruction?
Has a recent hurricane affected you or your loved ones?
Know this: God is a God of restoration. He will help you to rise above the waters. Just as Yeshua (Jesus) rose from the dead, He can resurrect what has been lost – whether in this life or the life to come. He had mercy on us when He sent His Son and His Spirit to give us a future and a hope after the Flood and after the Tower incident. He is a forgiving and loving Father, and He wants to care for you.
Will you be like Noach and walk with Him today?
Differentiate yourself from those who would take matters into their own hands. Instead, seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit when you make decisions and in this way, He will help you get through any situation!
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Order & Anointing: How Numbers 1-3 prove these go hand-in-hand
Numbers chapter 1 begins in the wilderness of Sinai. We are given the very specific date when the LORD spoke to Moses regarding a census.
It is a very orderly book, with very specific details and instructions. Truly, all of God’s Word and, especially the Torah, is well-ordered, and I hope you will be able to see how the divinely-established orderliness goes hand-in-hand with the anointing upon the Israelites.
There was to be a census of those men who could fight for Israel.
Simply, every Israelite son aged 20+ would have to serve in the Israelite army (Numbers 1:3).
It had been 2 years after the Exodus from Egypt. Specifically, the first day of the second month, 2 years later.
The encampment at Mount Sinai would have been taking shape as a full-fledged community meaning Israelite families and their assets would require protection as the community grew.
Men were looked to as protectors. They were numbered so that they could be assigned to their military divisions.
I am aware of feminist interpretations of this passage suggesting that God is somehow “unfair.” Feminists make the mistaken claim that the LORD “ignored” all the women because Numbers 1 only talks about men. Well, I grew up under feminist theology, so let me tell you plainly: it’s a bunch of nonsense.If God didn’t value women, He wouldn’t have gathered up the men to do the protecting: women would’ve been left to fend for themselves.
Men are naturally stronger. This doesn’t make women inferior, just different. We have different roles, that’s all. We do well to live in the order YHVH has established. We will experience the anointing of the LORD on our households when we live as He has prescribed.
The Bible says there were 603,550 men able to go out with the army of Israel (Numbers 1:46).
Certainly, that would suggest a large number of women and children! What a blessing that so many men would be able to protect them.
Numbers 2 defines the expected order for each of the military groups.
I love how the Scriptures are very orderly.
The fact that the Scriptures are so orderly reflects the orderliness of our Heavenly Father.
He has everything well thought out, organized, and He cares about how each facet of how His creation functions.
Sometimes passages like these from Numbers seem tedious or irrelevant, but if you will slow down and look at the wider context, you will discover many treasures even in these words. Likewise, for what to do when the Scriptures make you squirm, check out this recent post on “The Value of Human Life“.
Numbers 3 gives greater depth to a theme introduced in Leviticus 1:47-51a regarding the roles of the Levites. Here is that passage:
Numbers 3 addresses the duties assigned to the Levites (and their families). See, the women weren’t neglected or ignored!
The tragic death of Aaron’s two oldest sons
Before the specifics of the Levitical assignments are addressed, we find out in Numbers 3:2 about the tragic death of Aaron’s two oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu.
Numbers 1 and 2 had us thinking about the military, but these two young men didn’t die in battle.
They were Levites, so they weren’t fighting in the army.
Instead, Nadab and Abihu offered “unauthorized fire” before the LORD. (Numbers 3:4)
Nadab and Abihu died before the presence of the LORD that day due to carelessness. They didn’t do their assigned task in the orderly manner required.
How often are we guilty of something similar?
The LORD had given specific instructions, but Nadab and Abihu somehow made a mistake that cost them their lives.
I am thankful for the LORD’s grace today! I am also thankful that ADONAI is a God of order (1 Corinthians 14:33). Order has to do with understanding and lack of confusion. He has redeemed us so we do not have to live confused, disordered, disoriented lives.
We must also be careful that we honor the Holy Spirit.When we worship, we must seek to be filled with the Holy Fire that comes from heaven alone and reverence His glorious presence.
Because Nadab and Abihu died, Aaron’s younger sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, served as priests under Aaron, their father (Numbers 3:4b).
Nadab and Abihu were replaced because the community still needed priestly leaders. May we learn from this tragedy to be faithful in all of our ways and to seek God’s guidance in every action we take. If we allow our lives to be ordered by the LORD, we will make right decisions and live in shalom.
The Levite families’ unique giftings
Each Levite family was assigned different duties that ranged from caring for the implements of the sanctuary (such as the menorah, the Ark of the Covenant, and the altars) to the Tent of Meeting and its coverings to the care of the sanctuary itself.
Each family seems to have been anointed with a particular gifting, because as you read, you can observe that they were responsible for specific areas.
The Gershonites
If we analyze it plainly, the Gershonites were responsible for the fabrics. They were responsible for the curtains and the ropes used around the Tabernacle and altar (Num.3:25-26). They had an anointing for working with textiles.
The Kohathites
The Kohathites were responsible for “caring for the sanctuary.” (Numbers 3:28). They were assigned to care for the implements including the menorah, the Ark of the Covenant, and the altars. Perhaps they were anointed in metalworking, able to polish and repair any utensil as needed.
The Merarites
The Merarites held the responsibility to care for the structure of the Tabernacle. Their anointing was in engineering! They were to care for the posts and frames and crossbars, bases, pegs, and ropes.
Each clan had to follow the orderly instructions given by the LORD. If they didn’t, a job would go undone. A mistake could be made.
And we know from Nadab and Abihu that mistakes can prove instantly fatal.
If a non-Levite approached the Tabernacle area, the consequence was also death.
Had our Messiah never come, we would still bear the consequence of death. But praise be to our LORD who has sent His Son, Messiah Yeshua, (Jesus Christ) to save us from sin and death!
Anointing and giftings today
Throughout the Bible, we find all sorts of examples of people having received special anointing and giftings. The purpose of the anointing was so that a person would be divinely empowered or inspired to carry out a task that would be of blessing. The Spirit of the LORD rested on people for a time, and today, the Spirit of the LORD infills believers to accomplish the Great Commission!
God remains a God of order.
If we seek the blessings of the Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh), we must do so in an orderly manner, with a spirit of gentleness. He will fill us with His supernatural giftings if we seek to use those gifts to bless the Kingdom of God.
Perhaps there is no census of believers taken on tablets of stone or sheets of papyrus, and we haven’t all had to enlist for military service. But we are (as believers) members of the royal priesthood, and even the hair on our head has been numbered (Luke 12:7).
Today, I encourage you to seek to order your life, your every step, on the Biblical pattern God has established for a full and abundant life!
And I believe if you submit to His vital instructions and guidance, He will surely anoint you with His Holy Spirit to serve Him with success and joy!
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