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Join Dr. Hollisa Alewine for weekly Torah studies and visit our website www.thecreationgospel.com for more info.
Episodes
Sunday Mar 19, 2023
Sunday Mar 19, 2023
Our Footsteps of Messiah series has focused on the prophecies contained in the Song of Songs. Once we reach the fourth chapter of the Song, some of the prophecies are repeated, yet we can glean more in-depth understanding with the first chapters already established. In Chapter Four, we read:
- How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep which have come up from their washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost her young.
In a previous lesson, we looked at “Mount Gilead” as a wordplay with “mountain of rolling (continual) witness.” There is a literal mountain range in Gilead, but there was Mount Sinai, where the Israelites responded to the covenant invitation with “We will do, and we will hear.” From the heights of spiritual ecstasy at Mount Sinai, the Israelites descended “like a flock of goats” to become a light and witness to the nations. Goats are often symbolic of sacrifice for atonement. Indeed, Israel has suffered sacrifice to hold onto their covenant agreement at Sinai, reflecting the suffering of Messiah for the sake of the nations.
Next, the prophecy refers to Israel as “a flock of newly shorn sheep which have come up from their washing.” Sheep are often symbolic of the innocent, compliant, and easily led. The sages point to the “washing” as the journey through the Reed Sea in their escape from Pharaoh. A second washing was the three-day preparation of washing for the visitation at Mount Sinai. The first washing at the Reed Sea is of particular interest since it explains in more detail the apostles’ doctrines of mercy, grace, and torah. While there has been a long history of poor understanding and applications of the relationship among them, the foundations are in the Exodus from Egypt.
The twelve tribes of Israel grew in their Egyptian captivity. With courage, the midwives salvaged the “young” of the sheep, protecting them from Pharaoh’s death squads.
- "Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep which have come up from their washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost her young [שַׁכּוּל H7909]."
שַׁכֻּל shakkul; from H7921; bereaved:—barren, bereaved (robbed) of children.
There was not a long list of commandments for the flock of Israel to keep while they were being saved.
- Listen to Moses’ warning about the plagues.
- Circumcise.
- Slaughter a lamb, apply the blood to the doorposts, and eat it.
- Leave Egypt.
- Follow the pillar of cloud.
That’s pretty much it. There were no 613 commandments, or even the Big Ten. Not even the Shema or “love your neighbor.” These were simple, demonstrated acts of faith. The details of the 2, the 10, and the 613 would come later in the wilderness.
There is a play-on word with “all of which bear twins.”
תָּאַם tâʼam; a primitive root; to be complete; but used only as denominative from H8380, to be (causatively, make) twinned, i.e. (figuratively) duplicate or (architectural) jointed:—coupled (together), bear twins.
Ta’am is sometimes translated as “perfect.” The flock may be seen as not only complete, but perfect as in upright, with moral integrity:
- “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless. [תָּמִים]” (Ge 17:1)
The children of Abraham would also be counted like their father, upright. It didn’t mean without sin or mistakes; it meant walk and work on the revealed things each day. The Midrash Rabbah presents a homily concerning “all of them are perfect, ta’am which have come up from their washing.” They point out that in spite of being herded and guarded between the Presence of Adonai Himself and the Angel, the Israelites came up from the Reed Sea unharmed by the intense holiness that was experienced between them. Although not yet walking in the commandments, nor had they even agreed to, the Israelites were already walking by faith. They were on the path, leaving death behind, yet obedience lay before them, a journey to prepare them to go up into the Land of their inheritance.
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Monday Mar 13, 2023
Sunday Feb 26, 2023
Sunday Feb 26, 2023
Bullet points from the Four Winds:
- These Torah portions are always timed to bookend the moed of Shavuot. The opening verse of the text associates it with Sinai in the wilderness, the place where the Torah was given.
- With the Mishkan built, now the tribes are counted for organizing into their boundaries for camping, movement, judgment, and for war. Their tribal blessings or clan (Leviim) attributes will influence their arrangement.
- According to the Midrash, the arrangement was rectangular. The kohanim, families of Moses* and Aaron, camped close to the entrance of the Mishkan on the east side. The other clans of Levites camped north, west, and south a farther distance from the Mishkan.
- Outside the Levites were the twelve tribes, and each of the four “corners” were given to livestock (hint-hint).
- The clouds of glory surrounded the Camp on all four sides. The wilderness asks the question: “Are you ownerless like the midbar?”
- The wilderness specifically tests for pride. It’s a pre-Jerusalem, pre-Garden step. It’s an “in-between” place between salvation and elevation. A saved human being must disentangle himself/herself from dependence upon the previous Egyptian serpent/multi-beast owner and their systems: government, economic, agricultural, sports, medicine, literature, music, etc. We covered this in the ”History of the Beast.” Dependence shifts to the Holy One of Israel.
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Monday Feb 20, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Previously, you saw how there were various explanations of the “twins,” such as the twin tablets of the Testimony or pair of Moses and Aaron. There is another idea in the oral tradition:
- “Then all his sons and all his daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he [Israel] said, ‘Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.’ So his father wept for him.” (Ge 37:35)
Hey, wait, where did these daughters come from? The tradition says that for each male born to the Jacob/Israel, there was a corresponding twin daughter. Because we have more text to work with in the case of Dinah, Genesis 37:35 sticks out like a sore thumb. The "young," or children, are the sons and daughters of Israel. Here is another clue from a pair of lips:
- “Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth [midbar-wilderness] is beautiful.”
The play-on word suggests the beautiful Beloved Israel ascending from the wilderness to her inheritance. She is a conqueror with King Messiah Yeshua at her head. Although often concealed by the Biblical text, women are an important part of the promise of returning children. A woman in prayer and prophecy, proclaiming the Word, is a powerful force, which the armies of darkness know full well:
- The Lord gives the command; the women who proclaim good news are a great army: kings of armies flee, they flee, and she who remains at home will divide the spoils!” (Ps 68:11-12)
The Psalmist offers two examples of the great army: those who proclaim (preach) the command, and those who "remain at home." They equally share in the spoils of war. Think of the working pair of Mary and Martha. Mary was more of the proclaimer type, especially since she wasn't nearly as interested in cooking as in sitting at Yeshua's feet learning! Martha was more concerned with serving the meals. They each share in the spoils, even though Yeshua wished Martha understood Mary's hunger to learn the Word.
In Acts Two, Peter is not confused at all about what it is happening. Apparently, he’s repented of reacting to the women who brought him the Good News of Yeshua’s resurrection as if they were speaking foolishness. Now he understands, connecting the events of Acts 1:14 to Acts 2 in the Temple:
- “All these were continually devoting themselves with one mind to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”
- Acts 2:11 ...we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty deeds of God.” 12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others were jeering and saying, “They are full of sweet wine!” 14 But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL HAVE DREAMS; 18 AND EVEN ON MY MALE AND FEMALE SERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS, and they will prophesy. 19 ‘AND I WILL DISPLAY WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. 20 ‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD COMES. 21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’
This is quite a wonder for that day and time! Women...preaching and prophesying the Word alongside men...in the Temple? Converting many people? Where did all those daughters come from?
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Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Monday Jan 09, 2023
As I glanced at the Zoom chat box after our weekly classes, this week, I realized that not everyone was clear on why we fast on the Tenth of Tevet. While most of my weekly online students have been with me for several years, newer students missed the Four Fasts and the Torah portions in which we unpacked some reasons why they appear in Zechariah. It dawned on me…if they missed some of the Four Fast teachings, then probably they’re a little lost when I discuss the Egyptian crocodile/serpent as the “father” of the beast kingdoms. It’s not that folks don’t try to catch up, it’s that the number of teaching videos available is overwhelming when one searches for a particular topic of interest. I can’t even remember what topic is in what videos!
In this week's episode, I will re-cap a 2020 teaching on the Torah portion Vayechi, which describes how Egypt became the crocodile/serpent and how Joseph lost his position as “father to Pharaoh.”
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