Shalom. Our teaching this morning is about a Jewish holiday that celebrates a great victory over an anti-Semitic tyrant by the name of Haman. Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites. He was also a Persian. Persia is today’s Iran. And many Persians followed after him with the consent of the Persian king, all with the intent to kill all the Jewish people in the Persian empire some 2,500 years ago.
There is a similarity to today’s Iranian ambition to destroy Israel and wipe it off the face of the map. It seems that in every generation, there is a tyrant, or people, or nation that is determined to destroy the Jewish people. It will never happen. And today’s Iran, again, along with its flunkies, Hamas, Hezbullah, Syria and others all have that same goal. Kill the Jews.
The Jewish holiday is Purim, and because of the great Jewish victory over the anti-Semite by the Hand of GOD, Purim is a time of great joy throughout Judaism. The heroes of Purim are a beautiful Jewish girl by the name of Esther whom the Persian king chose to be his queen, and Esther’s Uncle Mordecai.
Purim is a two day holiday that starts tonight, Saturday evening at sundown February 23rd and ends Monday evening at sundown.
Before we move into the Purim story, we should look into some history. In 586 B.C.E./B.C., The GOD of Israel exiled the Jewish people out of their land, the land of Israel by the murderous hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and sent them into captivity to his empire Babylon, today’s Iraq, for 70 years. Why? Because of Israel’s persistent disobedience to The LORD their GOD. In fact, the wrath of GOD, and all His divine punishment throughout history is for but one reason. Disobedience to GOD Almighty. Disobeying GOD’s laws that are written in The Law of Moses.
The Jewish people have been exiled from their land, the land of Israel, three times in the 3,342 years Israel has been the Jewish homeland. All because of Israel’s disobedience to GOD. The first exile was in 722 B.C.E./B.C. by the Assyrians, the second was in 586 B.C.E./B.C. by the Babylonians, and the third was in 70 C.E./A.D. by the Romans. The Roman armies destroyed the first Temple, killed a million Jewish people, and GOD exiled the people to the four corners of the earth. In 1948, some 2,000 years later, after the second world war, and after the Holocaust that killed six million Jews, wiping out almost one-half of all Jews, GOD brought the Jewish people back to Israel. The fight against anti-Semitism for the Jews in Israel continues, and will continue until The LORD returns and completely destroys all Israel’s enemies. The earth is The LORD’s, and all that is in it. The world, and they that dwell in it, belong to The LORD GOD Almighty, Whose Name among many great names is Yeshua The Messiah.
2 Chronicles 36.11-21 The time was 586 B.C.E./B.C.
(2 Chronicles 36.12) EVIL – RAH – means bad, disobedient, i.e., disobedient to GOD, and because evil is disobedience to GOD, GOD calls disobedience wickedness, wrong, bad, and disobedience to GOD is being reprobate.
(2 Chronicles 36.14) Transgressed means violation of the divine Law of Moses. It means to violate, disobey, or disregard, and ignore the Law of Moses, GOD’s Divine Law. The children of Israel transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen. Heathen in Hebrew is goyeem.
So because of disobedience to The LORD their GOD, the Jewish people found themselves dispersed throughout the Babylonian empire of which Persia was part of that empire. However, Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, captured Babylon in 539 B.C.E./B.C, some 47 years after Israel’s exile to Babylon, and he established the great Persian empire where the Jewish people lived in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq or Babylon, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Israel, and of course Persia, modern-day Iran. Years later, a new Persian king arose, Ahasuerus, better known as king Xerxes of the Achaemenian dynasty that was founded by Cyrus the Great. By the way, Cyrus the Great is notably referenced in Jewish history as a great king because The LORD moved Cyrus to allow the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple known in Judaism as the second Temple. That is the same Temple where Yeshua walked, and taught in. So the events that brought on Purim took place in Persia, today’s Iran. The story of Purim is found in the Book of Esther. So let’s turn there, to the Book of Esther.
ESTHER 1.1-4 The Book of Esther is dated between 465-424 B.C.E., some 2,500 years ago during the days of the great Persian empire. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 1.9, “The thing that has been, it is that which shall be, and that which is done, is that which shall be done. There is no new thing under the sun”. Or it can be said, “Whatever has been is what will be, and whatever has been done, is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun”. Anti semitism continues.
This was the great Persian empire, 127 provinces, or 127 regions from India to Ethiopia, from southern Asia, and the Middle East, and parts of Africa. Perhaps this is on the minds of the Iranian mullahs today, a return to the glory days. It’s called hegemony, the domination of one nation over other nations.
ESTHER 1.2 Shushan, the palace in Persia, was not far from the Persian Gulf which flows into the Straits of Hormuz, which today Iran threatens to blockade. 20% of the world’s oil goes through the Straits of Hormuz. The Persian Gulf separates Iran and Saudia Arabia. Also, the Shushan Palace was about 200 miles west of where Abraham was born in Ur of the Chaldees, today’s Iraq.
King Ahasuerus was a powerful guy, but he was inept.
And Media, as in Persia and Media, was in today’s northern Iran, in the area of Teheran, not far from the Caspian Sea, and Russia. And not far from the small city of Qom where today, a significant part of Iran’s nuclear facility is.
VERSES 3-4 The king threw a six month feast for all his nobles and princes, and there were no restrictions on the amount of booze that was consumed. And after the six month feast, the king held another blow-out spread for seven days for everyone in his palace. And his Queen Vashti held her own feast for the women that lasted seven days.
ESTHER 1.10-12 Queen Vashti refused possibly because the king was so drunk. But certainly because it was the will of GOD for what was about to come. So the king asked his advisors what he should do? Dump her, they said, and get yourself a new queen. Again, the will of GOD.
ESTHER 2.1-2 So his counsellors suggested he hold a royal beauty contest for the most beautiful virgin girls in the empire, and the king would make his choice. The king liked that idea.
ESTHER 2.5-8 Esther, I believe, was her Persian name meaning star. And Hadassah was her Hebrew name meaning myrtle. A myrtle is a plant with evergreen leaves and fragrant flowers. Esther’s Uncle Mordecai brought her to the king’s house to compete in this royal beauty contest. And for 12 months, the girls were taught to apply makeup, and sweet aloes, and Esther became the favorite of the king’s chamberlains. Another act of GOD. The chamberlains were castrated eunichs. These guys were set over the care of the king’s women.
ESTHER 2.10 Esther told no one she was Jewish. Why? Because Mordecai probably feared she might be persecuted for being Jewish, or not permitted to participate in the queen’s beauty contest. 
; Whatever the reason, Mordecai told her to cool it, and not tell anyone who she was.
ESTHER 2.16-18 This is certainly an act of GOD for what was on the horizon.
ESTHER 2.21-23 VERSE 21 Mordecai sat in the king’s gate – Mordecai apparently had an office in the king’s palace, and he overheard a plot to kill the king. Mordecai reported the threat to Queen Esther, and the two guys were hung on a tree.
ESTHER 3.1-2 Now the plot begins to heat up. Haman was an Agagite, and he hated the Jews. An Agagite was an Amalekite, and the Amalekites did their very best to kill the Jews, or at that time, the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt in the Exodus. Haman was a descendant of king Agag, and Agag was the king of the Amalekites. And GOD doesn’t care much for the Amalekites because they set out to kill His people when they made war with them during the Exodus. That is probably why Mordecai showed Haman no respect.
EXODUS 17.8-16, DEUTERONOMY 25.17-19, 1 SAMUEL 15.1-35
(Exodus 17.8) FOUGHT WITH ISRAEL. They made war with Israel.
(Exodus 17.14) I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven, i.e., I will wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from under Heaven. When was the last time you met an Amalekite?
(1 Samuel 15.23) REJECTED, as in, you have REJECTED the Word of The LORD, comes from the Hebrew word MAH AHS, which means reprobate. Reprobate is rejecting The Word of The LORD, and disobeying Him. I heard John Hagee say in a video, “in a night to honor Israel”, that “the Truth is in The Torah”. The Torah is The Law of Moses, the first five books of The Bible, The Laws of GOD Almighty, Yeshua The Messiah that are all writtenin the Law of Moses.
(1 Samuel 15.24) Sin is transgressing the commandment of The LORD, turning away from GOD. John writes in 1 John 3.4, “Sin is the transgression of The Law”.
So this Haman was an Amalekite whom The LORD despised because they hated GOD’s people, and sought to kill them. The same is happening today. The Iranian mullah regime threatens to wipe out Israel from off the face of the earth. And that will never happen. A mullah is an Iranian teacher of Islam and their law. GOD will do to them what Iran seeks to do to Israel. And I believe Mordecai knew this guy Haman was an Amalekite, and an anti-Semite. Thus Mordecai’s refusal to pay any respect to him.
READ ESTHER 3.2-3.
The plot to kill the Jews, every one of them.
ESTHER 3.4-15 The Hebrew month Adar is around February and March. Today the mullah regime in Iran threatens almost daily to destroy Israel from off the face of the earth. And they are in the process of building nuclear bombs and weapons. GOD’s Word stands and will not change. He says in Genesis 12.3, and Matthew 25.31-46, “I will bless those who bless the Jewish people, and curse those who curse the Jewish people.” The Iranian mullahs are a cursed people, and all that follow them, as Haman will soon find out.
ESTHER 4.1-9 Today, Israel is gravely concerned about Iran and their threats, and their nuclear capabilities, which if allowed to develop into nuclear bombs, and nuclear weapons could threaten their very existence. And Iran’s weapons will also be a threat to our county, the United States. Why? Because of the large number of terrorists in this country who would be more than happy to use those nuclear weapons and bombs against us. Israel will destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities unless GOD beats them to the punch with His own ferocious punishment. Ask king Agag, and later on, ask Haman and his sons how they like hanging from a gallows by their necks.
ESTHER 4.10-17 So Mordecai was aware that it was the Hand of GOD Who made Esther, a Jewish girl, Queen of the Persian empire; “for such a time as this”.
READ ESTHER 4.14
ESTHER 5.1-5 A sweet banquet with an inept Persian king, an Amalekite bum, and the Jewish Queen of Persia. Should be interesting.
ESTHER 5.6-14 Oh, the delusions of the enemies of GOD.
ESTHER 6.1-14 GOD’s Hand moves rapidly against those who hate His people. GOD’s timing is always perfect.
The downfall of the anti-Semite Haman.
ESTHER 7.1-10 VERSE 4 The enemy (who is Haman) is not worthy of the king’s trouble.
The Hamans in today’s Iran, the Jew haters in today’s Persia who in their delusions think to destroy Israel, will find themselves also in the Hands of GOD. For Hebrews 10.31 reads, “It is a frightful thing to fall into the Hands of the living GOD”.
ESTHER 8.1-11 Persian law did not allow reversal of the king’s decree to kill the Jews, but the king granted the Jewish people permission to stand and defend themselves against those who would seek their lives. The mullahs in Iran today, and their president, and their administration, and all that follow them should be aware of the catastrophic ruin to those that work evil against GOD’s Chosen People. They should read the Book of Esther.
ESTHER 8.15-17 Many in the Persian empire became Jewish. Today, there are still about 25,000 Iranian Jews living in Iran.
And the Amalekites are finally wiped out when Haman’s ten sons were hanged.
ESTHER 9.1-17 The 12th month Adar is in February or March. The 14th day of Adar is Purim. Saturday at sundown and Sunday this year.
EXODUS 15.1-7
(Exodus 15.2) I will prepare him a habitation, i.e., a place of rest, in beauty, to celebrate in praises. Beware, Iran and seek peace because The LORD is a Man of war. The LORD is His Name. And right now President Achminajab, you and your mullah buddies are in GOD’s crosshairs.
The feast of Purim is established.
ESTHER 9.18-32 Purim is not a sabbath unless it falls on a sabbath. Nor is it a commanded festival of The LORD GOD. But it is a time of joy, and gladness, and feasting. A great time to remember, because GOD delivered His people from the clutches of the demon, and gave them the victory over satan. And GOD somehow will give His people the victory over their enemies of today, all of them including the loud mouth in Iran, and all who hate the Jews. That is the promise of GOD. As Yeshua said in Matthew 25.41, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels”.
Mordecai is promoted to greatness.
ESTHER 10.1-3 VERSE 3 That is, Mordecai sought the good for his people, and spoke for their peace and welfare for all his people, and all his descendants. And Mordecai became like the vice president of the Persian Empire.
So in conclusion, there are times in our lives when major problems confront us, but The LORD our GOD will always work a great miracle to deliver us, just as He did for the Jewish people in the Persian Empire in the days of Haman the anti-Semite who sought to eliminate the Jews. Have faith in GOD. And GOD delivered them with a mighty deliverance with joy, and gladness, and celebration. So will He do the same for you, and everyone who calls on The Name of The LORD, Yeshua The Messiah, to all that do the will of The Father which is in Heaven. Happy Purim.
Ira Weinstein
Month: February 2013
AND THE LORD SOUGHT TO KILL MOSES
Shalom. Our message and teaching this morning will be from Exodus 18.1-7.
EXODUS 18.1-7
The LORD says He will teach the knowledge of GOD and the understanding of His doctrine to those whom He will. Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. And that is what we try to do at every Shabbat Service, teach GOD’s Word from The Bible, precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, and there a little. And that is how we grow in the knowledge of GOD, and understanding His doctrine. And praying always that The LORD will teach us His Truth. That teaching is in Isaiah 28.9 &10.
ISAIAH 28.9-10 KNOWLEDGE in Hebrew is DAYAH meaning knowledge. Webster’s Dictionary describes knowledge as having the understanding of facts, truths, and principles. Principles being laws and doctrines. Here, GOD’s Laws and doctrine. Thus learning the knowledge of GOD comes from learning precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, and there a little.
Understanding Doctrine in Hebrew is YAH VEEN SHMOO AH meaning understanding what is heard. That is, understanding what GOD speaks. GOD’S Doctrine is also understood precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, and there a little in The Bible.
Them that are weaned, and drawn from the breasts are Believers in GOD Almighty, The Messiah who are not fully mature in The LORD, but learning.
Precept in Hebrew STAV meaning Commandment and Law.
Line upon line in Hebrew is KAV LAH KAV meaning line upon line, and rule upon rule – here a little, and there a little.
Simply said, we learn about GOD and His doctrine by learning His Laws and Commandments, line upon line in The Bible, here a little, and there a little. That’s what we try to teach every Sabbath.
1 KINGS 4.29 It is GOD Himself Who teaches us, and gives us knowledge and understanding of Him and His doctrine. And He gives us wisdom also, and so much more. And the counsel of The LORD is to learn about Him. How? By learning His Laws and Commandments, line upon line, here a little, and there a little. And always praying to the LORD our GOD that He will give us His great gifts of knowledge, and understanding, and wisdom.
1 JOHN 2.27 THE ANOINTING in Greek is CHRISMA – The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is GOD Almighty, Yeshua The Messiah.
ABIDES IN YOU – lives in you.
The SAME ANOINTING – CHRISMA – the same Holy Spirit
You shall abide or dwell in The LORD GOD.
This is basic teaching from John. When you have The Holy Spirit living in you, you do not need anyone to teach you the knowledge of GOD or His doctrine, because The Holy Spirit Who is GOD Almighty teaches you all things, and is truth, and is no lie. Most Bible teachers do not teach The Truth, and will mess you up.
And GOD gives you The Holy Spirit when you obey Him, His Laws, His Commandments, and His rules that are all written in The Law of Moses. ACTS 5.32
EXODUS 18.1 Jethro was the priest of Midian, and Moses’ Father-in-law. Jethro in Hebrew is YEETRO meaning his excellence.
The Midianites descended from Midian who was a son of Abraham from his second wife Keturah whom Abraham married after Sarah died. GENESIS 25.1-2
Thus the Midianites had Jewish blood in them as the Amalekites had Jewish blood in them being descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. Genesis 36.10-12.
The Midianites were the ones who drew Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites, and the Ishmaelites brought him into Egypt, and sold him. Joseph was seventeen years old at the time. And this was GOD’s plan, bringing Joseph into Egypt where GOD made Israel a great nation as He promised Abraham in Genesis 12.2. GENESIS 37.28. 36
And the Midianites, like the Amalekites became enemies of Israel. They hated the Jews. JUDGES 6.1-2
But Gideon and his small army of 300 defeated them. And like all the enemies of Israel and the Jews, the Midianites and the Amalekites are an extinct people. All the enemies of Israel will perish.
Jethro’s name was also Reuel. EXODUS 2.16-21
Reuel in Hebrew is RU ALE meaning friend of GOD.
The different names, Reuel and Jethro perhaps reflect an ancient tradition in the Middle East where people might have more than one name.
And I also believe that Moses went to Midian from Egypt when Pharaoh heard that he killed an Egyptian because he saw Midian as mishbukha, family. Moses knew that in the days of Abraham, Midian was family being born from Abraham’s second wife Keturah. Nothing more is known about the mysterious Keturah.
The Midianites were tribes of nomads and shepherds who lived in the southern part of Canaan, or southern Israel today, and northern Arabia, or the northern part of Saudi Arabia.
EXODUS 18.2 There is nothing written in The Bible about Moses sending his wife Zipporah back to Midian when they were in Egypt. However it is possible that Moses sent her back because of some harsh words she said to him, calling him a bloody husband. This all came about because Moses failed to circumcise his son at the commanded time, eight days after his birth. And The Bible says, on their way to the inn, The LORD met Moses and sought to kill him, but Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son, and tossed it at her husband’s feet, and said, surely you are a bloody husband to me. My Mother always said, two wrongs don’t make a right. Moses not circumcising his son on the eighth day after his birth, and Zipporah rebuking her husband. But it is quite possible Zipporah saved Moses from death. Let’s read about it. EXODUS 4.18-26
So why was GOD so angry with Moses? Well, the man of GOD, or the woman of GOD is commanded to be obedient to The LORD to diligently do all GOD’s commandments, laws and rules that He commands us to do. And if that man of GOD, or woman of GOD fails to obey The LORD, GOD will react unfavorably. Not that He will kill you. He won’t. But the man of GOD, or the woman of GOD will be in for some punishment until that person changes and obeys GOD as Moses did through his wife Zipporah.
GOD had a huge mission for Moses, and GOD’s missions are carried out by people who diligently obey Him. There are those who might appear to be on a mission for GOD, but they are not on a mission for GOD. You shall know them by their fruits, Messiah said, and their fruits must be obedience to GOD, His Laws and Commandmnets that are written in The Law of Moses.
GOD told Moses, go to the king of Egypt, at the time the mightiest empire in the world, and you shall say to Pharaoh, thus saith The LORD, Israel is My son, even My firstborn, and I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. And if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your son, even your firstborn. GOD was in the process of taking His people out of Egypt, and it was necessary for GOD to have a man who obeyed Him.
And over the course of 40 years, Moses was to teach Israel all GOD’s Laws and Commandments, not only for Israel to live by, but for all mankind to live by them. It was necessary for GOD to have a man who obeyed Him.
Thus the man of GOD, and the woman of GOD, like Moses, are to live their lives by every Word that proceeds out of
the mouth of GOD. Those are the words of Yeshua in Matthew 4.4. We are to live by all GOD’s Laws that are written in The Law of Moses. That is the definition of the man of GOD, and the woman of GOD.
Being a child of GOD requires faith in Messiah Yeshua to have our sins forgiven. Jeremiah 31.31-34. Then the man of GOD, and the woman of GOD are to be strong and very courageous to observe and do according to all the Laws which GOD has commanded you and me to do. Every Law of GOD that we are to live by is written in The Law of Moses. GOD says, you shall not turn from it from the right hand or to the left in order that you may succeed wherever you go. Behold, The LORD says, I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous, do not fear, do not lose your resolve, that is, do not lose your dedication to The LORD your GOD, for The LORD your GOD is with you wherever you go.
Messiah said, beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You will know them by their fruits.
MATTHEW 7.15-20
VERSE 15 False prophets are also religious imposters.
Good fruit is obedience to GOD, His Laws, His Commandments, and His rules that are written in The Law of Moses.
Evil fruit is disobedience to GOD.
EXODUS 18.2-4 Gershom in Hebrew is GAYR SHONE meaning a refugee, one who was driven out from a possession. Moses named his son Gershom after his own personal experience when he had to flee from Pharaoh and went to Midian.
Eliezer in Hebrew is EHL E EH ZEHR meaning GOD of help. Moses named his son Eliezer, because The GOD of my father said He was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.
GOD is my help. That applies to every person who has good fruit. Those who have had their sins forgiven by believing in Messiah Yeshua, and are strong and courageous, obeying GOD’s Law of Moses. GOD will always deliver you from every problem, and from every danger. That is the heritage of the servants of The LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith The LORD.
ISAIAH 54.17
Heritage in Hebrew is NAH KHA LAH meaning something inherited. Always being protected by GOD is our inheritance from GOD.
This is the heritage of the servants of The LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith The LORD. Righteousness in Hebrew is TSE DAH KAH which means to be right or righteous. Being right with GOD comes from obeying Him.
EXODUS 18.5 Jethro came with Moses’ family into the wilderness where the people camped at the Mount of GOD which is Mount Sinai.
EXODUS 18.5-7 There is a warm and affectionate story here. Jethro was a well-know and respected priest of Midian, and when Moses was a homeless wanderer fleeing from Pharaoh, he ended up marrying the priest’s daughter Zipporah. Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, along with Moses’ wife Zipporah and their two sons have come into the wilderness at Mount Sinai where all Israel is camped. And they were led to Moses’ tent. And Jethro, the priest of Midian, showed the respect he had for Moses when he said to him, I your Father-in-law Jethro have come to you with your wife and two sons. And Moses showing great respect to his Father-in-law Jethro, bowed to him, and kissed him, and they each asked the other of their well-being, and they all went into the tent. Jethro had a new title, the Father-in-law of Moses. Moses was the servant of GOD. Zipporah saved Moses’ life so he could fulfill the duties of GOD to bring forth GOD’s people the children of Israel out of Egypt. And their children were Levites, and the journey to the promised land continued.
I believe The LORD GOD has a special and unique mission for all who have faith in Messiah Yeshua, and possess that good fruit. And that good fruit is obeying every Law of GOD that is written in The Law of Moses. And the LORD your GOD will give you good success in carrying out that special mission He has prepared especially for you.
Shalom, Ira Weinstein
THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL WILL PERISH.
EXODUS 17.8-16
Shalom. Our teaching this morning will be from Exodus 17.8-16.
READ EXODUS 17.8-16
EXODUS 17.8 Who was Amalek, the enemy of Israel? Amalek was a descendant of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. He was from the lineage of Esau. GENESIS 36.10-12
This battle with Israel and the Amalekites took place about two months after the Exodus from Egypt, and about 500 years from the births of Jacob and Esau.
The Amalekites, who descended from Amalek, were a people described as marauding nomads, or a thieving, looting people that had no permanent national residence. They dwelled in the Negev and Sinai, today’s southern Israel, and the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The war with Amalek was in the Sinai in Rephidim, a place not far from Mt. Sinai.
The Amalekites continued to be persistent enemies of Israel, and often joined with other nations whose objective was to wipe out Israel. This was some 3,400 years ago. And like the Palestinian Arabs and the Iranians of today, and the Egyptians in the days of the Pharaohs, and in the days of the Egyptian Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960’s, and Hitler in the 1930’s and ’40’s, and all the Moslem Middle Eastern countries in 1948 who set out to kill the Jews and destroy Israel rather than allow them to live in peace in the land GOD gave them for an everlasting possession; that same anti-Semetic threat continues today. Wipe out Israel and the Jews from off the face of the earth. That will never happen. For The LORD GOD says, “For as the new Heavens and the new earth, which I will make shall remain before Me, saith The LORD, so shall your seed (the Jewish people) and your name (Israel) remain.” Isaiah 66.22. The Jewish people and Israel will remain, endure, and stand forever, because GOD says so.
The Amalekites are an extinct people, no longer in existence, as all anti-Semites will one day be extinct, wiped off the face of the earth and forgotten.
ZECHARIAH 2.8-9 (12-13) “For thus saith The LORD of Hosts, after the glory has He sent Me.” GOD has sent Himself. The LORD of Hosts has sent The LORD of Hosts. Just as GOD sent Himself in the person of Yeshua The Messiah. GOD has sent Himself, The LORD of Hosts, to those nations which spoiled Israel and the Jewish people. Those nations that stripped them of everything, and harmed them, and ruined them.
For he that touches you, The LORD says, touches the apple of His eye. Or he that violently lays a hand on Israel or the Jewish people, has violently laid his hand on the apple of GOD’S eye. The apple of GOD’s eye is very precious and dear to GOD. They are the Jewish people and Israel. Thus GOD is saying, anyone who does violence to My People, you do violence to Me.
VERSE 9 For behold, I will shake My Hand upon them. Hand in Hebrew is YAHD meaning fist and power. GOD will shake His fist and power upon them who have spoiled the Jews. And they shall be a spoil. The Hebrew word for spoil is SHAHLAHL. The enemies of the Jews will also be stripped of their goods, and ruined. And you shall know that The LORD of Hosts has sent Me. And it is The LORD of Hosts Who is speaking.
Verse 8. Two who are one and the same, the one GOD is The LORD of Hosts Who makes that promise to all the enemies of the Jewish people.
ISAIAH 48.16-17, EXODUS 17.14, JUDGES 6.1-5, PSALM 83.1-7
Today, I never read in the local papers about the Midianites, or the Amalekites, or the Edomites, or the Moabites, or Hagarenes, or Gibal, and Ammon, or the Philistines. They are all extinct. But that spirit of anti-Semitism still remains; enmity and hatred toward the Jewish people. But thus saith The LORD of Hosts, for he that touches you, touches the apple of His eye.
Then there was Haman. Haman was an Amalekite. And like Hitler, he was chief of the Jew-haters in Persia some 2,500 years ago. He was intent on killing all the Jews in the Persian Empire that spread from Persia, today’s Iran, to India, and all the Middle East, and parts of Africa where all the Jewish people lived. Haman was an Agagite, a descendant of the Amalekite King Agag. And Haman came to the end of his life at the end of a rope hanging from a gallows 80 feet high he built to hang Mordecai the Jew.
1 SAMUEL 15.1-11, 32-33, ESTHER 3.1, 8-11, ESTHER 7.10
Here is the end result on earth to all the enemies of the Jews. ZECHARIAH 14.12
GOD promises to bless those who bless the Jewish people, and curse those who curse the Jewish people. Messiah Yeshua, Who is GOD Almighty, The King of Israel and The LORD of Hosts, says, GOD will bless those who bless the Jewish people with eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. And He will curse those who curse the Jewish people by sending them away to everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. GENESIS 12.3, MATTHEW 25.31-46
Messiah’s brethren are the Jewish people.
I have a question. Who is Israel? The answer. Israel is every person who descends from Jacob and his twelve sons, or the twelve tribes of Israel. The whole of Jacob’s descendants are Israel, and every one of them is Jewish. Plus all who have converted to Judaism. EXODUS 1.1-9
And GOD explains what the name Israel means. For as a prince you have power with GOD and with men and have prevailed. GENESIS 32.28
Gentiles, or non-Jews, are grafted into Israel and the Jewish people by receiving in faith the Jewish Messiah Yeshua, and observe and keep all GOD’s laws and commandments that He gave to the Jewish people that are written in The Law of Moses. No conversion to Judaism is required.
EXODUS 17.9 According to Deuteronomy 25, this was a sneak attack by the Amalekites on the defenseless and weak of the children of Israel who were lagging behind in the rear.
DEUTERONOMY 25.17-19 VERSE 18 – When GOD is not feared, He is not honored, and He is not obeyed. That person does not fear GOD Who punishes for wrong. The Amalekites had no fear of GOD. They set out to destroy the people of GOD.
PROVERBS 16.6 The Hebrew word for evil is RAH meaning among many definitions, wrong. Doing that which is wrong in the eyes of GOD. In other words, disobeying GOD’s laws and commandments that are written in The Law of Moses. THUS, PEOPLE DEPART FROM SIN WHEN THEY FEAR THE LORD AND OBEY HIM.
There will always be enmity between the nations and Israel until The LORD returns (Genesis 3.15) But I believe the nations back then, even in the days of the Amalekites knew that the children of Israel were GOD’s Chosen People. If for no other reason, the Exodus out of Egypt proved it. Maybe the nations knew or did not know that GOD chose the children of Israel to be His Servant and His Witnesses to the world to tell all mankind how they are to live in the presence of GOD. By obeying all His words, all His Commandments, and all His Laws, and that the promised Messiah in the flesh for all the world would be Jewish.
Balaam had some interesting words to speak, Balaam was a pagan prophet, but a prophet GOD raised up from among the nations havi
ng prophetic power. But at the same time, he was utterly wicked.
NUMBERS 22.1-12, NUMBERS 23.4-9, 16-24
And Balaam also prophesied of the coming Messiah. NUMBERS 24.15-20
GOD blesses those who fear Him. That is His promise.
PSALM 2514, PSALM 33.8, 18-19, PSALM 34.7-9, PSALM 85.3
PSALM 103. 11, 13, 17, PSALM 111.10, PSALM 145.19, PSALM 147.11
Fearing GOD is exactly what the word means. In Hebrew, the word fear is YAHRAY meaning fear. To have fear of GOD, to be frightened of GOD, to be afraid of GOD, and to reverance and honor GOD. And when you fear GOD, you will obey Him, and GOD’s blessings will be abundant.
EXODUS 17.10 Besides Joshua and Aaron, Hur was a trusted individual.
EXODUS 24.12-14
Hur was the grandfather of Bezaleel who was a master jeweler and craftsman. EXODUS 31.1-5
And Joshua did what Moses had told him. He chose out an army of men, and they fought the Amalekites.
EXODUS 17.11 I believe that Moses holding up his hand to Heaven is similar to praising GOD, with outstretched hands. And when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. They were strong and succeeded in killing their enemies. But when Moses let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
When Solomon dedicated The Temple, he praised GOD and prayed to The LORD with outstretched hands to Heaven.
1 KINGS 8.22-27, 37-61
EXODUS 17.12-13 Yes, Joshua and his Jewish army defeated the Amalekites, but it was The LORD their GOD, The LORD of Hosts, Who gave them the victory.
HOSEA 1.7
EXODUS 17.14 As the pagan prophet Balaam said, GOD is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that changes his mind. Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? There is no remembrance of the Amalekites under Heaven.
EXODUS 17.15 Moses built an altar after the victory over the Amalekites, and called the name of it, YEHOVAH Neesi, The LORD is my banner.
An excellent banner for the true Believers in Messiah who worship The Father in Spirit and in Truth, and all Israel would simply read YEHOVAH – LORD, because that would well explain that our lives are bound to The LORD our GOD. As Abigail said to David, your soul shall be bound in the bundle of life with The LORD your GOD. 1 SAMUEL 25.28-29
The LORD is my banner.
EXODUS 17.16 And GOD appointed Israel, the armies of Israel, the Jewish people to destroy the Amalekites from off the face of the earth. And The LORD will destroy all the enemies of Israel who seek Israel’s destruction. But GOD will bless those who bless Israel and the Jewish people. Write it down for a memorial, and speak it in the ears of those who will hear, GOD will destroy the enemies of Israel. They will perish and disappear. But GOD will bless all those who bless Israel and the Jewish people with eternal life. MATTHEW 25.46.
Shalom, Ira Weinstein
WALK IN THE WAYS OF THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND GOD WILL PROSPER YOU
EXODUS 17.1-7
Shalom. Our teaching this morning will be from Exodus 17.1-7.
READ EXODUS 17.1-7
It has been a little less than three months since The LORD GOD delivered the children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. They have miraculously crossed The Red Sea, the Salvation of The LORD having supernaturally divided the ocean for His people to cross on dry ground. And the eleventh and final plague fell on the Egyptian army. GOD destroyed them all when they charged after the people of Israel in the divided ocean. GOD said to Moses, stretch out your hand over the sea that the waters will come upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal strength, destroying the entire Egyptian army. They sank to the bottom as a stone. But the children of Israel crossed upon dry land in the midst of the ocean. And after the crossing, they found themselves in the Sinai, the great and terrible wilderness on their way to the Promised Land.
EXODUS 17.1 The Wilderness of Sin is not named after the English word sin, the word for breaking GOD’s laws and commandments. The Wilderness of Sin was a desert in the Sinai on the way to Mt. Sinai.
I have to make a correction. At first I thought the crossing of the Red Sea was in the vicinity of the modern-day Suez Canal that is quite narrow. But after further research, I note that the Suez Canal is an artificial man-made sea level waterway that was constructed to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. Thus GOD had Israel cross the Red Sea but not where the Suez Canal is today. The crossing was a mighty miracle. The Red Sea at its widest point is 230 miles wide, with a maximum depth of 7,254 feet, over one and a half miles deep. Is anything too hard for The LORD?
Rephadim, where the children of Israel camped was a stopping place in the desert for the people before they came to Mt. Sinai.
EXODUS 17.2 Chide in Hebrew is REEV meaning complain or quarrel. The word chide, as far as the children of Israel were concerned, meant they doubted GOD, demanding proof that The LORD was among them and that is testing The LORD. SEE VERSE 7.
But GOD is always among His people. However from time to time He will test us with problems, with fiery trials to see whether we will obey His Laws or not. This perhaps was one of those times GOD tested the children of Israel.
Certainly GOD is always present with us. GOD is a Spirit and He fills Heaven and earth always, all the time. He fills all Creation.
EXODUS 8.22(18) The word sever means separate, and set apart. GOD is always with you.
JEREMIAH 23.23-24 GOD is never far from us. He is always near when we need Him.
DEUTERONOMY 7.21, JOSHUA 3.10
You never have to doubt GOD’s Presence in your life, or be concerned He is not with you. Because He is always there to help you, to defend and protect you. He will always provide for you, and do so much more. The crossing of the Red Sea is a pretty good example. 230 miles wide, a mile and a half deep. But GOD has requirements and conditions for us to follow. Here is the fruit of the Believer in Messiah Yeshua. Walk in the ways of The LORD your GOD. Keep the charge of The LORD; that is do what The LORD requires of you. Keep His Laws and His Commandments as they are written in The Law of Moses, and GOD will always be your help, and Deliverer, and be your provider. Listen to the words King David spoke to his son Solomon when David was dying, and Solomon would reign over Israel after his father’s death. 1 KINGS 2.1-3
That is the requirement for every single Believer in Yeshua The Messiah. Walk in the ways of The LORD your GOD. Obey His Laws and Commandments as they are written in The Law of Moses. And GOD will prosper you in all that you do, wherever you turn.
Paul also has a critical and crucial teaching for the non-Jewish Believers in Messiah. The same teaching applies to all Jewish Believers in Messiah. Walk in GOD’s ways. Keep His Laws and Commandments as they are written in The Law of Moses. And that is how the non-Jewish Believer in Messiah is grafted into Israel and the Jewish people. You will have Messiah, and the Covenants of promise, and hope with GOD in the world. EPHESIANS 2.19-20 READ VERSES 11-13
VERSE 19 Strangers and foreigners are people who are not Jewish and not part of Israel.
Fellowcitizens are non-Jewish Believers in the Jewish Messiah Yeshua who walk in the ways of The LORD your GOD. You are fellowcitizens of Israel, joining in with the Jewish people. Not converting to Judaism but joining in with Israel, the Jewish people who are the saints. Daniel 7.21. And Paul spells our GOD’s conditions for you in Verse 20.
VERSE 20 The believing community of Jewish and non-Jewish Believers in Messiah Yeshua are built upon the foundation of the Apostles, and Prophets, Yeshua The Messiah being the chief cornerstone keeping us all together in Him. They are the foundation of our walk in the ways of The LORD our GOD. They are our example to follow in keeping GOD’s laws and commandments that are written in The Law of Moses. That is GOD’s standard by which all Believers, Jewish and non-Jewish must lead our lives in Messiah, obeying GOD’s Law of Moses. That is how the Apostles, Prophets, and Messiah lived their lives. And that is how we are to live our lives. Those are GOD’s conditions for all of us. And by so doing, not only will GOD be with you always, you are grafted into Israel, having Messiah, and all the covenants of promise with hope in GOD in the world.
DEUTERONOMY 28.1-2
EXODUS 17.2-3 Again, the children of Israel complained. This time because they were thirsty for water, and they complained against Moses, and asked him, why have you brought us up out of Egypt to kill us, and our children, and our cattle with thirst? And Moses told them, when you complain, you test GOD.
The Bible says, we should not test GOD. DEUTERONOMY 6.16, MATTHEW 4.5-7
So what does it mean to test GOD? Testing or tempting GOD is doubting Him, doubting His power, as the children of Israel complained in the wilderness, Is The LORD among us or not? Exodus 17.7. Thus I see testing GOD is challenging Him, testing the truth of His Word, His promises, and assurances. I see testing GOD with our complaints as challenging His love for us, challenging His goodness and His power. When we complain, we challenge GOD, and we test Him. We doubt Him.
People also test GOD when they do not obey His Laws and Commandments. PSALM 78.56
So when we complain about stuff, we test GOD. We doubt Him, and challenge His supernatural power, and love and goodness that He has for us. We doubt and test Him, His promises that never fail.
So rather than complain, what should we do?&nbs
p; Psalm 37.7 has the answer.
PSALM 37.7-8 We should rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him. The word wait in Hebrew is KHOOL meaning wait patiently, and trust, trust in The LORD your GOD.
And if you are testing The LORD by not obeying His Laws and Commandments, that is sin. So stop sinning. And turn to The LORD and obey Him. And we will talk about that further in a moment or two.
Last week we spent some time in our teaching explaining from The Bible how we can overcome complaining and put an end to it. I think it is worth a few minutes of review.
We usually complain because of some problem or unhappiness in our life. That’s no surprise. We all know that. But we should realize the problem or suffering is usually because GOD is testing you or me to see whether we will obey His Law of Moses while we are going through the test, or not obey Him.
EXODUS 16.4, MATTHEW 4.1-4
On the other hand, you might be suffering problems and unhappiness because you are in sin. Sin is breaking GOD’s Law of Moses, 1 John 3.4. And GOD will certainly give you troubles and problems for breaking His Laws. When you have a moment, read DEUTERONOMY 28.15-68.
The solution to the problem of sinning is simple. Stop sinning and repent. Repent means to turn from all your sins and obey GOD’s Law of Moses, and GOD will deliver you. Stop sinning, repent from all your sins of breaking GOD’s Law of Moses, and do that which is lawful and right, and GOD will deliver you, and bless you.
EZEKIEL 18.21-22
On the other hand, if you are suffering, and you are confident you are not in sin, having faith in Messiah Yeshua, living your life according to The Law of Moses as did the Apostles, Prophets, and Messiah, then be assured GOD will end the test in His time and deliver you from the trial, and bless you mightily. As Psalm 37.7 reads, “Rest in The LORD and wait patiently for Him”.
In so doing, you will overcome and put a stop to complaining. Complaining we find out, is testing GOD. So if you are not in sin and suffering some problems, GOD might be testing you to see if you will obey His Law or not during the trial. Rest in The LORD and wait patiently for Him, and He will deliver you, and bless you.
If you are suffering because you are in sin, breaking GOD’s Law of Moses, stop sinning. Repent, and turn from all your sins and start leading your life by obeying GOD’s commandments and laws. Do that which is lawful and right according to Torah, GOD’s Law of Moses, and all your transgressions that you have commited will not be mentioned or remembered by The LORD your GOD. And He will deliver you from your suffering, and bless you.
EXODUS 17.4-7 During the past few weeks, we have been teaching that there is only one GOD, and revealing the gross error of the trinity. The trinity teaches one GOD in three distinct, separate and different persons. The trinity teaches that The Father is not Yeshua or The Spirit. That Yeshua is not The Father nor is He The Spirit. And the trinity teaches that The Spirit is not The Father or Yeshua. The trinity teaches that the three, The Father, Son, and Spirit are three different persons. Essentially, the trinity teaches three different gods. This is not Biblical. In fact it is polytheism, the doctrine and belief in more than one GOD. And the word trinity is nowhere to be found in The Bible.
Paul has an interesting teaching that touches on the one GOD Who is Yeshua the Messiah. He is The Father, The Son, and The Spirit. First let’s again read EXODUS 17.5-7.
VERSE 6 The word stand in Hebrew is AHMAHD which also means to be present. GOD will stand before you, and be present before you upon the rock.
Now let’s turn to 1 CORINTHIANS 10.1-9
VERSE 2 Baptized into Moses is to be like Moses. Moses was meek and obedient to GOD.
VERSE 4 The Rock, Paul writes, was Messiah, Who is GOD, GOD The Father, GOD The Son, and GOD The Spirit. He is The GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Who delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, opened the ocean for them, and led them to the Promised Land. Messiah Yeshua is the one GOD, even The Rock Whom Paul writes of. DEUTERONOMY 32.1-4
BACK TO
1 CORINTHIANS 10.5-9 The Jewish people in the wilderness, Paul writes, tested Messiah Yeshua, they in fact tested GOD.
The trinity is never taught in The Bible because there is no trinity. GOD is one, and GOD is Yeshua The Messiah. He is The Father, The Son, and The Spirit.
So, in conclusion, complaining is testing GOD, challenging Him, and doubting Him of the Truth of His Word, His power, His love and goodness toward us. The solution for complaining, don’t complain, but rather rest in The LORD, and wait patiently for Him, and He will deliver you, and bless you. You can be sure of it. And the trinity is not Biblical. There is only one GOD. He is the Father, Yeshua, and the Spirit. We know Him as Yehovah who is Yeshua the Messiah.
Shalom, Ira Weinstein