Daily Bible Portion (Tuesday)
Daily Bible Portion – 3 of 7
"DECREE"
(Weekly Reading>>Numbers 19:1 to 22:1, Judges 11:1-33, John 3:1-21; 4:3-30; 12:27-50)
It was this Priestly Bridge that Jesus our Passover Lamb crossed as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey five days before the Passover to be our Passover Lamb. We are told that all of the people held palm branches and waved them, shouting “Hosanna! (Hebrew for Save/Deliver us!) Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel” thus fulfilling Psalm 118:25-26 and Zechariah 9:9 (John 12:12-15). It was along this bridge that the people proclaimed Messiah King of Israel, and it was this same bridge that carried Jesus to His death on our behalf a few days later as the final fulfillment of the red heifer requirement.
At the exact moment of Christ’s death, when His blood was shed, there was an earthquake and the inner Temple veil that divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two from top to bottom. This was the hand of Yahweh as no man could tear this curtain. Tradition reports that this curtain measured eighty-two and a half feet high, twenty-four feet wide. The thickness of the curtain was one handbreadth, or three inches, requiring over three hundred men to hang it (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45).
The Red Heifer – Cedar, Hyssop and Scarlet
As the red heifer sacrifice Jesus would also have to fulfill the cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool requirements.
Cedar can represent strength; it can also represent pride. Our pride makes us think we are long lasting, indestructible and above the Law/Torah.
Oral traditions (Talmud) say that the inhabitants of Israel called ten different types of cedar trees. It is however, the cedar of Lebanon that was most widely referred to when the word erez is used in Scripture. The average height of such cedars is about eighty-five feet, though some have measured over a hundred feet, and the circumference may reach forty feet. It is also common for this tree to spread its roots among the rocks, thus securing a stronghold.
There is a particular oil in the cedar that prevents destruction by dry rot and insects in the wood. The oil from cedar can be beneficial as a natural insecticide with purifying properties, which include inhibiting fungal growth in the body and respiratory conditions and infections such as coughs, colds, congestions and sinusitis. The oil can help remove toxins, fluid retention, salt and fat from the body and sedate inflammations. It is useful for calming nervous anxiety, arthritis, and cystitis and improves skin conditions such as acne, dandruff and psoriasis.
Scriptural references for the cedar used in connection with the Temple are in 1Kings 6:15 and 18, where cedar was used inside the Temple and 1Kings 7:12 where it was used outside the Temple. Of all the furniture in the Temple only the altar of incense was made of cedar (1 Kings 6:20).
Hyssop represents humility. The word occurs ten times in Scripture, primarily in the Five Books of Moses where it was used in purification ceremonies. Hyssop is a small plant that can grow on walls. In Exodus, we read that hyssop functioned as a brush for the Israelites to apply blood to the doorposts and lintels of their homes. In Leviticus 14:4-6, hyssop, along with cedar wood and scarlet thread, was used in a purification ceremony for a man cured of leprosy as well as cleansing from an outbreak of mildew. King David said, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean” (Psalms 51:7).
Hyssop means ‘holy herb’ and has known properties that have the ability to reprogram DNA to restore right order thereby helping cleanse bad thoughts or habits. Hyssop can be used for its antiseptic, disinfecting and anti-infectious properties. It has been beneficial for opening the respiratory system. It is a helpful decongestant and at relieving respiratory infections, coughs, sore throats, bronchial spasms, viral infections and asthma. Hyssop is helpful in cleansing, purifying and reducing fats in tissue and it also raises low blood pressure. It is good for relieving anxiety, arthritis, bruises, cuts, skin inflammation, indigestion, fatigue, nervous tension, parasites (expelling worms), rheumatism, and healing wounds.
Cedar and hyssop, respectively, seem to represent the most magnificent tree and the lowly bush.
Scarlet thread, in Scripture, represents Christ’s blood. It refers to the dye obtained from the eggs of the female worm or insect that attached itself to the kermes oak tree. The word towla (Strong’s #8438) is Hebrew for scarlet. When the female scarlet worm was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained the wood surrounding her body, acting as a covering. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. Some 70,000 cochineal insects are required to manufacture a single pound of the dye.
Not only was the scarlet thread used in the priestly garments, it was also used in such purification ceremonies as the cleansing of the leper, the leprous house and for general ceremonial uncleanness. The towla dye was the color of blood and would be a natural symbol in such a ceremony.
Cedar, hyssop and scarlet thread are all symbols of the Messiah dying on the tree for our sins (Leviticus 14:4, 6; Leviticus 14:49, 52; Number 19:6).
The Red Heifer – The Samaritan Woman
(John 4:5-24, Numbers 19:17-21)
For an unclean person, ashes from the red heifer (the burnt offering of purification) were put into an earthen vessel and fresh living water was poured over them. This water was called the water of purification. Then a man who was ceremonially clean would take some hyssop, dip it in the water of purification from the red heifer and sprinkle the person’s tent, all the furnishings, as well as the people who lived there. If a person did not ritually cleanse himself with this water on the third and seventh day he would bring defilement to the sanctuary and must be cut off from the community. This is a lasting ordinance for the people of Israel.
Samaria was a region in the Northern Kingdom of Israel inhabited mostly by people of the House of Israel. Assyrians came in during the occupation, settling and intermarrying with the people living there (2 Kings 17:5-6, 24). As a result of the Samarian intermarriage most people from Judah and the Southern Kingdom would avoid this region when traveling northward, as they considered Samaritans an unclean or half-blood people. However, Scripture is very clear that the people who live in darkness would be redeemed and set free.
continues tomorrow...
"DECREE"
(Weekly Reading>>Numbers 19:1 to 22:1, Judges 11:1-33, John 3:1-21; 4:3-30; 12:27-50)
It was this Priestly Bridge that Jesus our Passover Lamb crossed as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey five days before the Passover to be our Passover Lamb. We are told that all of the people held palm branches and waved them, shouting “Hosanna! (Hebrew for Save/Deliver us!) Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel” thus fulfilling Psalm 118:25-26 and Zechariah 9:9 (John 12:12-15). It was along this bridge that the people proclaimed Messiah King of Israel, and it was this same bridge that carried Jesus to His death on our behalf a few days later as the final fulfillment of the red heifer requirement.
Exodus 12:3 "Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day [Five Days Before Passover] of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household."
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leads to life and there are few who find it.”
Zechariah 4:4 “On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.”
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leads to life and there are few who find it.”
Zechariah 4:4 “On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.”
At the exact moment of Christ’s death, when His blood was shed, there was an earthquake and the inner Temple veil that divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two from top to bottom. This was the hand of Yahweh as no man could tear this curtain. Tradition reports that this curtain measured eighty-two and a half feet high, twenty-four feet wide. The thickness of the curtain was one handbreadth, or three inches, requiring over three hundred men to hang it (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45).
The Red Heifer – Cedar, Hyssop and Scarlet
Numbers 19:5-6 “The red heifer was to be burned outside the camp, with its hide, flesh, blood and offal along with some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool.”
As the red heifer sacrifice Jesus would also have to fulfill the cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool requirements.
Cedar can represent strength; it can also represent pride. Our pride makes us think we are long lasting, indestructible and above the Law/Torah.
Oral traditions (Talmud) say that the inhabitants of Israel called ten different types of cedar trees. It is however, the cedar of Lebanon that was most widely referred to when the word erez is used in Scripture. The average height of such cedars is about eighty-five feet, though some have measured over a hundred feet, and the circumference may reach forty feet. It is also common for this tree to spread its roots among the rocks, thus securing a stronghold.
There is a particular oil in the cedar that prevents destruction by dry rot and insects in the wood. The oil from cedar can be beneficial as a natural insecticide with purifying properties, which include inhibiting fungal growth in the body and respiratory conditions and infections such as coughs, colds, congestions and sinusitis. The oil can help remove toxins, fluid retention, salt and fat from the body and sedate inflammations. It is useful for calming nervous anxiety, arthritis, and cystitis and improves skin conditions such as acne, dandruff and psoriasis.
Scriptural references for the cedar used in connection with the Temple are in 1Kings 6:15 and 18, where cedar was used inside the Temple and 1Kings 7:12 where it was used outside the Temple. Of all the furniture in the Temple only the altar of incense was made of cedar (1 Kings 6:20).
Hyssop represents humility. The word occurs ten times in Scripture, primarily in the Five Books of Moses where it was used in purification ceremonies. Hyssop is a small plant that can grow on walls. In Exodus, we read that hyssop functioned as a brush for the Israelites to apply blood to the doorposts and lintels of their homes. In Leviticus 14:4-6, hyssop, along with cedar wood and scarlet thread, was used in a purification ceremony for a man cured of leprosy as well as cleansing from an outbreak of mildew. King David said, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean” (Psalms 51:7).
Hyssop means ‘holy herb’ and has known properties that have the ability to reprogram DNA to restore right order thereby helping cleanse bad thoughts or habits. Hyssop can be used for its antiseptic, disinfecting and anti-infectious properties. It has been beneficial for opening the respiratory system. It is a helpful decongestant and at relieving respiratory infections, coughs, sore throats, bronchial spasms, viral infections and asthma. Hyssop is helpful in cleansing, purifying and reducing fats in tissue and it also raises low blood pressure. It is good for relieving anxiety, arthritis, bruises, cuts, skin inflammation, indigestion, fatigue, nervous tension, parasites (expelling worms), rheumatism, and healing wounds.
Cedar and hyssop, respectively, seem to represent the most magnificent tree and the lowly bush.
Scarlet thread, in Scripture, represents Christ’s blood. It refers to the dye obtained from the eggs of the female worm or insect that attached itself to the kermes oak tree. The word towla (Strong’s #8438) is Hebrew for scarlet. When the female scarlet worm was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained the wood surrounding her body, acting as a covering. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. Some 70,000 cochineal insects are required to manufacture a single pound of the dye.
Not only was the scarlet thread used in the priestly garments, it was also used in such purification ceremonies as the cleansing of the leper, the leprous house and for general ceremonial uncleanness. The towla dye was the color of blood and would be a natural symbol in such a ceremony.
Cedar, hyssop and scarlet thread are all symbols of the Messiah dying on the tree for our sins (Leviticus 14:4, 6; Leviticus 14:49, 52; Number 19:6).
Psalm 22:6 “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.”
The Red Heifer – The Samaritan Woman
(John 4:5-24, Numbers 19:17-21)
For an unclean person, ashes from the red heifer (the burnt offering of purification) were put into an earthen vessel and fresh living water was poured over them. This water was called the water of purification. Then a man who was ceremonially clean would take some hyssop, dip it in the water of purification from the red heifer and sprinkle the person’s tent, all the furnishings, as well as the people who lived there. If a person did not ritually cleanse himself with this water on the third and seventh day he would bring defilement to the sanctuary and must be cut off from the community. This is a lasting ordinance for the people of Israel.
1 Peter 1:1-2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach and sprinkled with his blood: grace and peace be yours in abundance."
Samaria was a region in the Northern Kingdom of Israel inhabited mostly by people of the House of Israel. Assyrians came in during the occupation, settling and intermarrying with the people living there (2 Kings 17:5-6, 24). As a result of the Samarian intermarriage most people from Judah and the Southern Kingdom would avoid this region when traveling northward, as they considered Samaritans an unclean or half-blood people. However, Scripture is very clear that the people who live in darkness would be redeemed and set free.
Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness [outside Torah – The Marriage Covenant] have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light [the Living Torah - Yeshua] has shined [renewing the Marriage Covenant]” (Matthew 4:16).
continues tomorrow...