Isaiah 9:8-10 and Ground Zero

Several days ago I was browsing on You-tube, and I saw a video that really got my attention.  The video links a prophecy in Isaiah with the attacks of 9/11; or to be specific, the rebuilding after the 9/11 attacks.  While I was skeptical at first, it quickly caught my attention, and gave me much food for thought.  I want to share this, to illustrate what happens when people who do not know the Word of YHWH attempt to use the Scriptures for their own purposes.

Please allow me a few paragraphs, to set the background.  The Scriptures tell us that at the end of King Solomon’s reign, he had turned away from YHWH and begun to worship the gods of his foreign wives.  As punishment, YHWH would remove the kingdom from his family line.  The prophet Ahijah came to Jeroboam, who was the overseer of Solomon’s labor force, and prophesied that YHWH would divide the kingdom of Israel into two parts (1 Kings 11:29-35).  The smaller part would consist of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and would collectively be known as Judah.  The larger part would consist of the other ten tribes, and would be known as Ephraim.

Talents, Truth, and the Parable of the Three Servants

The modern, worldly church has many false teachings concerning the Word of YHWH.  Their main false belief is that Yeshua wants His followers to worship Him on Sunday, the first-day sabbath; not the seventh-day sabbath that is commanded by YHWH (Exodus 20:8-11).  I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately, how such a simple, basic and (to me, anyway) obvious Truth as what day of the week we are to set apart – that is, make holy – for our Heavenly Father can be clouded, ignored, lied about, and forgotten.

I mention the modern church only because I’ve been considering the prophecy given by the prophet Amos regarding the Truth that is the Word of YHWH.   Amos, writing what the Heavenly Father told him to write, tells us; “‘days are coming,’ declares YHWH Elohim, ‘when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the Word of YHWH’” (Amos 8:11).  I believe that a famine of the Word is already occuring in the modern church.

I was pondering the prophetic meaning of that passage in Amos while I was reading the parable of the three servants in Matthew chapter 25, and then something “clicked” for me.  Please allow me to refresh our memories of that parable.  Yeshua is speaking about the kingdom of YHWH:

A Lesson in Worship from My Front Yard

It’s winter, but it’s been fairly warm.  There’s been no snow to cover the ground so our whole yard is a sea of dead, brown grass.  I’m one of those people that likes a green, weed-free lawn, and so it’s hard to look at the yard right now.  I’m almost hoping for snow (almost) to hide the grass!  I’m patiently waiting for spring weather, warm sun, and gentle rain to revive the grass and make the lawn beautiful again.

Of course, making the lawn beautiful requires a lot of work on my end, and I do devote a lot of time to raking, mowing, and trying to keep the weeds in check.  I’m not a fanatic about it, I definitely don’t have any “best lawn” rivalries with the neighbors, but I do like the look of a neatly manicured, weed-free yard.  My beautiful bride knows this, and today she gave me an analogy that was so great that I knew I had to use it right away.

Think Before You Speak

Several years ago, my beautiful bride and I were having a conversation with a couple from our assembly.  Our friends were lamenting the spending habits of their twenty-something child, and I made an off-the-cuff remark about how the Scriptures regarding money and stewardship hadn’t sunk in to their child yet.  They didn’t reply, and so the conversation drifted to other topics.

The next day, while I was at work, the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) brought that conversation to mind, along with the very strong sense that I had done wrong to my friends.  The Ruach told me, in no uncertain terms, that I had sinned against this couple.  How had I sinned against them?  My unthinking remark had questioned their parenting skills.  I was convicted, and hard!

Father YHWH, in His mercy, sent the Ruach to tell me that the way this couple raised their child was none of my business, and that I had no reason to question the way they chose to teach their child.  I immediately confessed that sin, and prayed for forgiveness; but I was filled with a strong sense of urgency to confess to this couple, and ask their forgiveness as well.  As soon as I got home from work, I went straight to their house to confess and apologize.  They were very gracious, and the episode taught me a valuable and lasting lesson.

What Does “After God’s Own Heart” Mean?

There has much discussion on message boards about what it means to be like David, “after YHWH’s own heart”.  There is also a lot of confusion on this issue, as many people in the modern, worldly church seem to think that one is after YHWH’s own heart when one evangelizes non-believers, while others seem to think that it is the act of “praise and worship” that makes a person like King David.  Those people may be onto something, as the majority of the Psalms that David wrote were songs of praise to YHWH.

Still, I believe that there is much more than praise and worship of YHWH that causes a person to be after our Heavenly Father’s heart.  The prophet Samuel asks this question; “…Has YHWH as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of YHWH?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).  So, if the prophet Samuel tells us that worship is not what most delights Father YHWH, that what can a person do that will make them after YHWH’s own heart?