The Lost Ark of the Covenant

Indian Jones couldn’t find it, nor can anyone else for that fact.  What ever happened to the Ark of the Covenant?  Where did it go?  Is it hidden somewhere in Africa or Israel?  I have always wondered what happened to the Ark of the Covenant but according to Scripture it is lost and gone forever.  But, we are told that it won’t matter. (Jeremiah 3:16-17)  Read this weeks Torah Portion and the article from First Fruits of Zion below to learn more about the Ark.

This weeks Torah Portion:

http://ffoz.org/resources/edrash/vayakhel/the_lost_ark.php

Vayakhel-Pekudei - ויקהל־פקודי : "And He assembled"
Torah : Exodus 35:1-40:38
Haftarah : Ezekiel 45:16-46:18
Gospel : Mark 15-16

The Lost Ark

Thought for the Week:

The prophet Jeremiah says that in the Messianic era, when all nations are gathered to Jerusalem, the ark of the covenant will not even be missed. This implies that, though it will not be missed, it will still be missing.

Commentary:

Now Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was two and a half cubits, and its width one and a half cubits, and its height one and a half cubits. (Exodus 37:1)

The children of Israel constructed the ark of the covenant according to the specifications revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. The ark of the covenant was lost during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BCE. No one knows what happened to it at that time. When the Jewish people returned from captivity in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah and rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem, they did not make a new ark. They built replicas of all the other Temple furnishings, just as Solomon had done, but they did not feel that they had the Almighty's permission to make a replica ark of the covenant. Therefore, the Holy of Holies was left ark-less throughout the entire second Temple period. The sages explain that inside the Holy of Holies was a foundation stone, a piece of bedrock, on which the ark used to sit during the days of first Temple.¹

Talmudic lore contains several traditions about the ark. Some of the sages insisted that the ark was carried away by the Babylonians and never seen again. Others held that Jeremiah the prophet or King Josiah had hidden the ark away prior to the Babylonian conquest. One tradition has it that the ark was hidden in a secret cellar below the chamber of the woodshed where wood for the altar fires were kept. There it remained hidden through the Babylonian destruction, but its location was forgotten. According to this tradition, it once happened in the days of the second Temple that a priest whiling away his time in the chamber of the woodshed noticed that one of the floor pavers was different from the others. He was about to lift it to investigate when he was struck down dead. Later, two priests were gathering wood for the altar when one dropped his axe on that same paver. Fire leapt up from the floor and killed him.² Though stories like this are entertaining, they are only apocryphal anecdotes with no real historical basis. They are no more reliable than the modern-day pseudo-archaeologists and sensationalist junk scholars who claim to have found the ark or to know where it is hidden.

The prophet Jeremiah says that in the Messianic era, when all nations are gathered to Jerusalem, the ark of the covenant will not even be missed. This implies that, though it will not be missed, it will still be missing:

"It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the LORD, "they will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the LORD,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the LORD; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart." (Jeremiah 3:16-17)

Endnotes

1. b.Yoma 53b. 2. For these anecdotes and other Talmudic lore about the ark, see b.Yoma 52-54.

Nigerian Man Raised from the Dead!

Nigerian Man Raised from the Dead! 

This is a six part video and a very powerful story! It is one of my favorite stories! It will take some time to watch all the parts but so worth it. You have never seen a story like this one! Reinhard Bonnke is a minister who goes into Africa and preaches the Gospel to thousands. It was in one of his meetings that this man was raised from the dead. (6 part's)

The links are below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNaoDyV-PJ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo9OeWkAU7U&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DKqL-B9kbY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc6EGHhyUeY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn2SU3P3nFk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VxnjuiTrdc&feature=related

What is God doing for you today?

This weeks Torah portion

Ki Tisa - כי תשא : "When you take"
Torah : Exodus 30:11-34:35
Haftarah : 1 Kings 18:1-39
Gospel : Mark 13-14

We find it all too easy to go from being spiritually high to plummeting into sin and disobedience when the buzz wears off—and it always wears off. Part of the solution is to quit looking for spiritual buzzes. A traveler who is always charging up mountaintops and then sliding down into valleys will not get very far. If he wants to achieve real progress, he needs to stay on the level ridge routes, avoiding the peaks and the dips. We need to work on the simple, day-to-day disciplines of faith. (Thought for the Week: from First Fruits of Zion)

The people of Israel had just seen God do wonderful things for them.  God rescued them from being slaves in Egypt and parted the Red Sea and brought them to the mountain where He spoke to them.  The children of Israel had been pumped up by what God had done. Then the daily routines of life set in and they most likely became complacent with what God had done for them.  Maybe while Moses was up on the mountain talking to God the children wanted an instant touch from God instead of having to wait for Mosses to come back down.  This may be why they jumped on Aaron to do something for them.  They just wanted that high feeling of God’s greatness again in their lives. 

 It reminds me of going to youth church camp and being all pumped up by what God had done in my life during the week.  Whatever it may have been I knew for sure that God was real and was working in my life.  Then I would get home from camp and find others around me not so happy as I was and not realizing what God had done for me and even though I would tell them they just didn’t seem to get it.  Life would soon return to normal and the pumpedness of camp would wear off and then I would seem to be in a valley.  There I would find forgetfulness and boredom and fell kinda spiritually lost.  After soon time of this behavior something would come along and remind me of camp and the greatness that I found there and then I would start to look for the greatness of God and not being able to find it around me, that is in my friends or even my church I would run around and look for something great many times jumping out ahead of what God wanted for me which would leave me out of God’s will and not focusing on Him.  The real issue was that I was not reading my Bible daily and praying daily and building my relationship with God. I was going on past experiences and letting those push me along for a rush.  The truth is that if we spend time with God, all the time then we won’t need to have a rush or a pick me up to make us feel like we are truly being touched or blessed by God.  He is there all the time touching us and blessing us all day long, everyday.  Yes there are times when cool things happen that are outside of the everyday stuff of life and we just know that God is doing something big, and there are times when we get down and need to know that God is with us but if we are consistent with out daily time we spend with God then we won’t end up like the children of Israel looking for the next big thing that God is going to do in our lives.

This weeks teaching from the Torah portion is a great reminder to not jump ahead of what God is doing in our daily lives. Often we want to move faster than what God seems to be doing for us.  We need to remember to just wait on Him and let Him work on us.

 

Weekly Drash from First Fruits of Zion

http://ffoz.org/resources/edrash/ki_tisa/tabernacle_vs_golden_calf.php

from First Fruits of Zion:

Tabernacle vs. Golden Calf 

Commentary:

Aaron said to them, "Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." (Exodus 32:2)

When we attempt to "do religion" without first consulting God's instructions, we end up with golden calves. The Torah tells the story of the golden calf in juxtaposition to the instructions for the building of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle represents God's way of doing spirituality. The golden calf represents man's way of doing spirituality. God and Israel were both striving for the same end: they were each attempting to create a medium whereby Israel could worship God and celebrate their relationship with Him. Their methods of accomplishing that end were very different, though.

The golden calf was a poor substitute for the glory of the Tabernacle. The Torah tells about the work of making the golden calf to contrast it against the work of the Tabernacle.

Aaron did not know that God had chosen to make him the high priest over Israel. When the people asked him to make an idol for them, he took the role of priesthood himself. If he had waited for Moses to return, he would have learned that God had chosen to install him as a priest in the Tabernacle.

The people did not know that God had ordered them to raise a contribution of gold and precious materials for the building of the Tabernacle. If they had waited, Moses would have told them. Instead, Aaron told them to donate the gold of their jewelry for the idol.

The people were to fashion the furnishings of the Tabernacle of gold. Instead, Aaron fashioned the idol "with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf" (Exodus 32:4). The people were to build a bronze altar for burnt offerings and a golden altar for incense. Instead, we read that "he built an altar" (Exodus 32:5) for the idol. The people were to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar in the Tabernacle. Instead, we read that the people "offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings" (Exodus 32:6) to the idol. The Tabernacle was to be a resting place of God's divine, invisible presence. Instead, the people made a visible, idolatrous representation of God. All the things that Israel desired, God had already planned to give them.

A girl from a poor farmer's family was ready to be married. Her father promised to find a match for her. He set out for a distant city to find a suitable fellow. In his absence, she grew impatient. She was lonely, and she felt that she needed someone to provide for her. Rather than wait for her father to return, she married the crass and ignorant son of a local farmer. The day after the wedding, her father returned with the match he had found: a wealthy, handsome, and well-educated young noble. Imagine the girl's shame and disappointment.

Patience really is a virtue. It is always better to wait on God.

Be sure to visit the link below for the weekly drash.  Scroll to the bottom of the page to “Also from this weeks portion to read more about 

Ki Tisa - כי תשא : "When you take"
Torah : Exodus 30:11-34:35

http://ffoz.org/resources/edrash/ki_tisa/

How Long Did It Take God to Create the Earth?

Every hear of the Gap Theory or the Intermittent Day View or Day-Age Theory or Young Earth Theory?  These are different theories that explain how God created the earth.  I hold to the Young Earth Theory myself.  I believe that God created the earth in 6 literal days with no gaps in between.  Here is a link that I believe has the best Biblical proof of a Young Earth Theory.  Just wanted to get you all thinking a bit today.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v6/n1/yec-view-summary

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v3/n3/gap-theory-a

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v3/n3/gap-theory-b

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/Tools/Quotes/davis_young.asp

What is Messianic Judaism

Reading from the Torah

I have been attending Beth Yeshua Congregation http://bethyeshuaftw.org/ for a while now and I just love it there.  It is a Messianic Jewish Congregation.  I said a long time ago that I was going to explain what Messianic Judaism is and I haven’t done that but now is the time.  I love to watch a program called Jewish Jewels on a Christian cable station.  I have learned so much from them and I wanted to share with you what Messianic Judaism is using their resources.  They have a monthly newsletter that I am taking this information from.  I am also going to post a link to a program they recorded on the topic of Messianic Judaism.  I hope you enjoy this information and that it will answer any questions that you may have.  Let me know what you think and if you have any questions. 

Enjoy!

Here is the link to the recorded show describing Messianic Judaism:

http://pointers.audiovideoweb.com/stcasx/il80win10000/J104MessanicJudaism.wmv/play.asx

From Jewish Jewels Newsletter:

 July 2000

Shalom in Yeshua!

Messianic Judaism: here to stay!
We recently produced a new Jewish Jewels television program on Messianic Judaism. Since many of you still don't have the opportunity of seeing Jewish Jewels in your area, we wanted to share the program's content with you to clarify the vision, to educate God's people to look to the future, and to hear the heartbeat of God.
"Messianic" comes from Messiah which means "Anointed One" and is translated as "Christ" in most English Bibles. "Messianic Judaism" is Judaism with the Messiah, the One promised by the Jewish Prophets who would one day come to redeem God's people.
We believe that the Messiah is Yeshua (Jesus), the One who came over 2,000 years ago as a "Lamb" and is coming again as a "Lion." We call Him Yeshua Ha Mashiach which is Hebrew for "Jesus, the Messiah." Why Hebrew? Because He was a Jewish man in a Hebrew culture with a Hebrew name. As Jews, we can, relate to His Jewishness. He is ours. He is not a foreigner! For too long, Yeshua has been estranged from His own people because He has been dressed in totally gentile garb, unrecognizable as a Jewish Messiah. Messianic Jews put a talit (prayer shawl) back on Yeshua and worship Him in a Jewish way.
Rabbinic Judaism vs. Messianic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism centers around the teachings and writings of the Rabbis called the "Oral Law," with minor focus on the Torah, and even less on the Prophets. Rabbinic Judaism does not include a Messiah who has come, in fact some branches of Rabbinic Judaism are not even expecting a Messiah. The Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox are generally the traditional Jews who are looking for a coming Messiah. When He comes, they will see that He is the same One who came the first time!
When the Temple built by Solomon existed, Judaism was flexible and focused on Temple worship and the sacrificial system. After the destruction of that Temple, and the Babylonian captivity, a Judaism emerged that was very rigid, with layer upon layer of laws and requirements imposed by the Rabbis. That Judaism prevails today. The "yoke" is a heavy one. Our brothers and sisters need to hear of Yeshua's easy yoke. (Matthew 11:28-30) and the freedom and intimate relationship with God that is ours in The Son.
Messianic Judaism defined
Messianic Judaism is a congregational movement in which Jewish people hear the Good News of Yeshua the Messiah in a Jewish context and continue in their customs and traditions after finding the Messiah. Messianic Judaism is a prophetic end-time phenomenon. It is a new covenant (a b'rit hadasha) between God and His Jewish people (according to God and the Bible, but not according to the Rabbis).
Messianic Judaism is not a cult. There is no one worldwide leader. It is a growing "people 
movement." In 1967, there were approximately 2,000 Messianic Jews in the U.S. By 1990, there were more than 100,000 and over 250 congregations. In the year 2000 there are an estimated 500,000 Messianic Jews in over 400 congregations worldwide, with more than 60 of these congregations in the Land of Israel!
Jews and non-Jews together
When Messianic Judaism began, all the believers were Jews. God had sent a Jewish Messiah to His Jewish people. The big controversy was "Can a Gentile be allowed to believe in the Jewish Messiah?"
God's answer, a resounding YES! is recorded in Acts 10:34-45. Not only can a Gentile believe in Yeshua, that believer becomes part of the people of God, a child of Abraham by faith with the circumcision of the heart. He is grafted into the olive tree of Israel, and partakes of the richness of the root. There is no need for formal conversion to "Judaism" (especially since that generally includes denial of a belief in Jesus either overtly or covertly!), because in Yeshua both Jew and Gentile are "One" in the Spirit.
When the Temple existed, there was a middle wall of partition which prohibited non-Jews from entering the Holy Place. It has been broken down in Yeshua and there are no second-class citizens in Messianic Judaism.
"For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." (Ephesians 2:14-18)
What we are in the "flesh" is not the most important thing to God. The spiritual reality is the crucial one. Of the natural, God's opinion is quite clear:
"Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcised is nothing and uncircumcised is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. Let each one remain in the condition he was in when called." (I Cor. 7:18-20)
Gentiles in Messianic Judaism are not required to become Jews. But those who are "called" choose to acculturate, to follow Jewish ways and to cleave, (like Ruth of the Bible) to the House of Israel. This is a work of the Holy Spirit and is pleasing to God.
This is not bondage, nor is it "judaizing," nor is it coming "under the law." It is returning to the root (Romans 11:17) and to the way the Lord meant His body to be from the beginning.
When did the Separation occur?
The first believers in Yeshua were Jewish people called Nazarenes (Acts 24:5). There were hundreds of thousands of them. They worshipped in the Temple in Jerusalem (Acts 2:46), kept the Jewish hour of prayer (Acts 3:1) and were all zealous for the law (Acts 21:20).
Rabbi Saul, also known as the Apostle Paul in the B'rit Hadasha, continued living, as a Jew. He went up to Jerusalem for the feasts, offered sacrifices in the Temple, and in all ways lived as an observant Jew.
The situation changed in 132 A.D. when Rabbi Akiva proclaimed Bar Chochbah to be Messiah. The Jews who knew Yeshua was the Messiah separated themselves from Akiva's proclamation and from the Jewish people who began to follow Akiva's messiah.
Further separation occurred as great numbers of non-Jews accepted Yeshua, and their influence began to dominate. Passover was replaced by Easter; Christmas was introduced. The Jewish elements of the faith were eradicated and finally, at the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.), the original Messianic Jewish movement came to an end.
Messianic Judaism resurrected
Messianic Judaism lay dormant for hundreds of years until the late 1800's when many Jewish people came to faith in Jesus. Most attended churches and identified themselves as "Hebrew Christians." It wasn't until the last half of the twentieth century that God initiated a shift from "Hebrew Christianity" to Messianic Judaism.
One of the pioneers of the modern Messianic Jewish movement, Martin Chernoff had a vision in the early 1960's of the words "Messianic Judaism" stretched across the sky like a banner. There was a beautiful light behind it and thousands of Jewish people, mainly young people, streamed in under the banner towards the beautiful light. The believers in Martin's Philadelphia home, led by the Holy Spirit drafted the following proclamation:
"We are Jewish believers in Yeshua as our Messiah. We have our own destiny in the Lord. We will no longer be assimilated in the Gentile culture of the church and pretend to be non-Jews. If Yeshua Himself, his followers, and the early Jewish believers maintained their Jewish life-styles, why was it right then, but wrong now? Gentile converts are not expected to forsake their families, cultures, holidays and traditions, nor shall we do so."
Messianic Judaism really began to flourish in the year 1967. That was the same year that Jerusalem came back under the control of the Jewish people for the first time in 2,000 years. A coincidence. No! God's time for the Jewish people had begun. The age of the Gentiles as prophesied in the New Covenant (Luke 21:24) was drawing to a close: "...Yerushalayim will be trampled down by the Goyim until the age of the Goyim has run its course..."
Since 1967 we have seen a tremendous move of the Ruach Ha Kodesh among God's chosen people all over the world. The 1970's saw the beginning of many Messianic Synagogues; the 1980's saw the establishment of Messianic Schools, Yeshivas, books, music, even TV programs!; the 1990's saw Messianic festivals and revivals worldwide, including festivals in the former Soviet Union at which an estimated 45,000 Jewish people responded to invitations to receive Yeshua as Messiah. In the year 2000 there are Messianic Synagogues in at least 25 countries around the world.
What next? More revival, a great harvest, and the return of Yeshua. Amen!
What we believe
We believe in the Physical and Spiritual restoration of the Jewish people (MUST READING: Deut. 30:1-6, Ezekiel 36:24-27, Jeremiah 31:31-34.)
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God and is inspired by the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit). One book. One message.
We believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the promised Messiah, the Son of God (as prophesied), who was born in Bethlehem (as prophesied), and who died by crucifixion (as prophesied). We 
believe that Yeshua rose from the dead (as prophesied), made atonement for our sin, and is coming again to judge the world.
We believe in One Messiah and two comings. The New Covenant (B'rit Hadasha) sealed in Yeshua's blood, makes it possible for all who receive Yeshua to come directly into the presence of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, both here and forever in eternity.
How Messianic Jews live
Messianic Jews embrace Jewish culture and life-style, as long as it doesn't contradict the Bible. We worship on the Biblical Sabbath, Friday evening to Saturday evening. We participate in Davidic praise and worship, including the dance. We support our synagogues through tithes and offerings rather than "dues." Our children become Bar and Bat Mitzvot. We marry under a huppah.
Most of us are "Biblically Kosher" (no shellfish, pork, etc. but we don't separate meat and dairy). We celebrate the Feasts of the Lord (Lev. 23) as well as Hanukkah and Purim. We have onegs, kiddush, and candle lighting in our homes and synagogues. We bless our children following the ancient Birkat Cohanim (Priestly Blessing), say kaddish for departed loved ones and chant Kol Nidre on Erev Yom Kippur.

We celebrate the resurrection during Passover not Easter. We study Torah. We are ardent Zionists. And we call ourselves Messianic Jews, not Christians, because to our traditional Jewish brothers and sisters "Christian" means a non-Jew at least, and a hater of Jews at worst. We are still Jews...completed, fulfilled, Messianic Jews. We are the Jewish part of the Body of Messiah, twice chosen, twice blessed, and very grateful to God.

Jewish Jewels website:

http://sites.silaspartners.com/jewishjewels.html

FFOZ | The Weekly eDrash : To Whom Shall We Go?

FFOZ | The Weekly eDrash : To Whom Shall We Go?

The weekly Drash

Wow a whole year plus has passed since I blogged.... it always seems to be this way. Anyway I said last time that I would blog about things I am learning at Beth Yeshua. I have learned tons! I couldn't begin to tell you all I have learned so let me post from a website that teaches what my congregation teaches. It is www.ffoz.org First Fruits of Zion. I encourage you to go and visit the website. You may want to sign up in order to read all the info there. It don't cost anything and so far they haven't been e-mailing me stuff. There is lost to learn there about Messianic Judaism. They have a section under the resources tab called the weekly Drash. Drash means teaching. The weekly Drash is the reading from the Torah portion for week. The Torah is the first five books of the OT and the weekly Drash allows you to go through the Torah in one years time. I hope to at least post the Drash for each week.

So be looking for the weekly Drash.