Message on Leviticus 17, Colossians 1 and Ezra 3
Introduction: 0 to 9:37
Worship Songs: 9:37 to18:36
Message: 18:36 to 1.19:37
Full length: 1.19:37
ROUGH NOTES:
December 3, 2021 Friday
Colossians 1 and Leviticus 17
Lev 17:10-11 (KJV)
10And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.11For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Lev 17:12-14 (KJV)
12Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.13And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.14For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
H5315 נֶפֶשׁ nephesh (neh’-fesh) n-f.
1. (properly) a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality
2. used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
[from H5314]
KJV: any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead(-ly), desire, X (dis-)contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-)self, them (your)-selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.
Root(s): H5314
H5314 נָפַשׁ naphash (naw-fash’) v.
1. to breathe
2. passively, to be breathed upon, i.e. (figuratively) refreshed (as if by a current of air)
Strong’s #5315: AHLB#2424 (N)
2424) Spn% (Spn% NPSh) ac: Refresh co: Soul ab: ?: The whole of a person, the body, breath and mind.
V) Spn% (Spn% N-ShP) — Refresh: To refresh the whole of the person. [freq. 3] (vf: Niphal) |kjv: refresh| {H5314}
Nf) Spn% (Spn% N-PSh) — Soul: [freq. 751] |kjv: soul, life, person, mind, heart, creature, body, dead, will, desire, man, self, any, appetite| {H5315}
VINE OT
Usage Number: 1
Part Of Speech: Noun
Strong’s Number: <H5315>
Original Word: nepesh
Usage Notes: “soul; self; life; person; heart.” This is a very common term in both ancient and modern Semitic languages. It occurs over 780 times in the Old Testament and is evenly distributed in all periods of the text with a particularly high frequency in poetic passages.
The basic meaning is apparently related to the rare verbal form, napash. The noun refers to the essence of life, the act of breathing, taking breath. However, from that concrete concept, a number of more abstract meanings were developed. In its primary sense the noun appears in its first occurrence in Gen. 1:20: “the moving creature that hath life,” and in its second occurrence in Gen. 2:7: “living soul.”
However, in over 400 later occurrences it is translated “soul.” While this serves to make sense in most passages, it is an unfortunate mistranslation of the term. The real difficulty of the term is seen in the inability of almost all English translations to find a consistent equivalent or even a small group of high-frequency equivalents for the term. The kjv alone uses over 28 different English terms for this one Hebrew word. The problem with the English term “soul” is that no actual equivalent of the term or the idea behind it is represented in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew system of thought does not include the combination or opposition of the terms “body” and “soul,” which are really Greek and Latin in origin. The Hebrew contrasts two other concepts which are not found in the Greek and Latin tradition: “the inner self” and “the outer appearance” or, as viewed in a different context, “what one is to oneself” as opposed to “what one appears to be to one’s observers.” The inner person is nepesh, while the outer person, or reputation, is shem, most commonly translated “name.” In narrative or historical passages of the Old Testament, nepesh can be translated as “life” or “self,” as in Lev. 17:11: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for [yourselves]….” Needless to say, the reading “soul” is meaningless in such a text.
But the situation in the numerous parallel poetic passages in which the term appears is much more difficult. The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate both simply use the Greek and Latin equivalent “soul,” especially in the Psalms. The first occurrence is in Psa. 3:2: “Many are saying of my soul, There is no deliverance for him in God” (nasb). The next occurrence is in Psa. 6:3: “And my soul is greatly dismayed; But Thou, O Lord, how long” (nasb). In both passages the parallel contrast is between nepesh and some aspect of the self, expressed as “him” in Psa. 3:2 and not expressed but understood in Psa. 6:3. There is no distinction as to whether it appears as an “A” or “B” word in the parallelism. However, since Hebrew rejects repeating the same noun in both halves of a poetic line, nepesh is often used as the parallel for the speaker, primary personal subject, and even for God, as in Psa. 11:5: “The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence [he himself] hateth.” Such passages are frequent, and a proper understanding of the word enlightens many well-known passages, such as Psa. 119:109: “My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Thy law” (nasb).
The versions vary widely in their readings of nepesh, with the more contemporary versions casting widely for meanings.
Usage Number: 2
Part Of Speech: Verb
Original Word: napash
Usage Notes:Napash means “to breathe; respire; be refreshed.” This verb, which is apparently related to the noun nepesh, appears 3 times in the Old Testament (Exod. 23:12; Exod. 31:17). The other appearance is in 2 Sam. 16:14: “And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.”
Col 1:19-23 (KJV)
19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:23If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
December 4, 2021 Saturday
Psalm 82 and Ezra 3
God is calling his people to come together as one man and not only individually first to rebuild the altar in our lives individually and corporately and then to lay the foundation of God’s spiritual temple in each community and city of our nation. When the foundation is laid the foundations of the earth that are out of course will be restored to its stability and also the foundations of the government of the nation will be restored to righteousness bringing stability peace and prosperity to enlarge the glory of the kingdom of God.
Ps 81:10-11 (KJV)
10I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.11But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
Ps 82:1-4 (KJV)
1A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.2How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.3Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.4Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
Ps 82:5-7 (KJV)
5They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.6I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.7But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
Ezra 3:1-3 (KJV)
1And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.2Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.3And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.
Ezra 3:6 (KJV)
6From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.
Ezra 3:10-11 (KJV)
10And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.11And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
December 6, 2021 Monday
John 9 and Joshua 22
The theme in these 2 chapters is the cause and correction of wrong judgment. In the case of the Pharisees they did search out fully whether the miracle was valid or not. The answer of the blindness exposed the absolute hardness of their hearts against God to ignore the truth for their own kingdom and glory. Christ also said that the man was blind not because his parents had sinned but that it was foreknowm by God that Christ would perform this miracle so that God would be glorified. In the case of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the tribe of Mannesh again Israel judged by outward appearance and drew wrong conclusions but they searched out the matter before going to battle and discovered that the altar was not in rebellion against God but to the glory of God. It is the fear of God that brings right judgment that looks beyond the outward. Not having the fear of God is evident in willful ignorance to believe the surface appearance of things. The word of God says he will not judge by the sight of his eyes. The churches today are being tried as to whether they will believe the mere outward appearance of things such as the news media which seems to be telling the truth but is completely lying. Are they willing to buy into the lie and be willingly ignorant like the Pharisees or are they those that search out things to find what is real from what is not? God allows things to appear outwardly to be what people want to believe that he might sift those as a filter from those that truly love the truth. The intestines of the body are a filter that filters what is become garbage and waste from what will be the lasting part of the body. May we be those that love the truth and sell it not as stated in Proverbs.
Isa 11:2-3 (KJV)
2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;3And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
December 7, 2021 Tuesday
Joel 3 and 1st Thessalonians 1
Joel 3:13-17 (KJV)
13Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.16The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.17So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
1Thess 1:10 (KJV)
10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1Thess 1:3-5 (KJV)
3Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;4Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.5For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
1Thess 1:7-8 (KJV)
7So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.8For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
December 8, 2021 Wednesday
2nd Kings 21; Jeremiah 3 and 2nd Corinthians 9
Why is the first commandment so strong against having any graven image? It is easy to love what you can see because of the beauty that attracts. However the purest form of love which is agape love is not the love towards the visible because it is beyond that in self originating choice beyond self seeking fulfillment that is able to choose the highest good. And a love that merely feeds a temporal fulfillments in the soul or the self is subject to deviation in the direction of corruption. The beauty of God is revealed when one learns to love God and the quality of his being which is invisible in the natural. The tendency for Israel to fall prey to worship of many images gives them a sense of self control and feeds the self. Just like Eve was taken by the beauty of the fruit believing she could become a god of great power. The Lord emphasizes that day will come when Israel will call him their father because they will enter into a intimacy with God that is everlasting and subjective as well as outward in fulfillment of fellowship with God. That comes when they return to the genuine fear of God and know the blessing of worship in spirit and truth that expresses faith that pierces beyond the visible to the invisible God that is revealed by revelation in the beauty of his holiness and genuine lasting subjective fulfillment. That is why God emphasizes that they will no more cry for the ark of the Lord in the last days and that it will not even come to mind but the Jerusalem itself will be the throne of the Lord instead of the ark. At that time in the last days they will cry my father. They lost an intimate relationship with God as father through being seduced by the adulterous relationships of the hedonistic worship about them from other nations. They will become the 2nd Adam which is a life-giving spirit so that they will find their fulfillment in giving love to God and to the needy as described in 2nd Corinthians 9.
1Cor 15:44-45 (KJV)
44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Jer 3:16-19 (KJV)
16And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.17At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.18In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.19But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
Jer 3:4-5 (KJV)
4Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?5Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
Jer 3:12-13 (KJV)
12Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.13Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:15 (KJV)
15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
December 9, 2021 Thursday
Job 12 and Micah 2
Genesis 33 and Galatians 6:
Job 12:5 (KJV)
5He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.
Job 12:8-10 (KJV)
8Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.9Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?10In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:23-25 (KJV)
23He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.24He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.25They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
Mic 2:10-13 (KJV)
10Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.11If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.12I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.13The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.
Gen 33:1 (KJV)
1And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
Gen 33:4 (KJV)
4And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
Gen 33:9-10 (KJV)
9And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.10And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
December 11, 2021 Saturday
2nd Kings 11 and Obadiah 1
Obad 1:3 (KJV)
3The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Obad 1:15-18 (KJV)
15For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.16For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.17But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.18And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
2Kgs 11:1 (KJV)
1And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
2Kgs 11:2-3 (KJV)
2But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.3And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.
2Kgs 11:4 (KJV)
4And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king’s son.
2Kgs 11:11-16 (KJV)
11And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.12And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.13And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD.14And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.15But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.16And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king’s house: and there was she slain.
2Kgs 12:13-14 (KJV)
13Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD:14But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD.