And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
1 Samuel 3:10-11 KJV

The past couple of months, I have been seeking more and more for a deeper understanding around hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit and obeying Him.  I am learning and considering things I never had before when it comes to hearing and being led by the Holy Spirit.  There are so many people saying they are led by the Spirit, but many of those same people do things that contradict each other or even the Word of God, and they do it confidently under the banner, “the Holy Spirit led me”.  I’m not sure about you, but that is confusing to me, and I don’t want to fall into the same possible delusion.  To be fair, there certainly are people that hear and obey the Holy Spirit, and far be it from me that I would ever say the Holy Spirit does not speak to His people today.  Certainly, there are differing gifts, administrations, and ministries of the Holy Spirit, but none of these things would be contradictory to the other, but rather work together to accomplish the will of God.  After all, a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

I want the genuine, real, and pure fellowship with the Holy Spirit in my life as many of you reading do, and that is why I am seeking a deeper understanding of hearing and obeying the Spirit.  It is not so I can say, “The Holy Spirit told me” and appear as someone special, but because I want fellowship with my Father in heaven and to be known to Him as a man after His heart.  After all, He is after mine (Proverbs 23:26)

During my regular time in the Word, I was in 1 Samuel and came across the account of when Samuel was just a young boy in Eli’s house, serving him, and the LORD came to Samuel.  This passage certainly does not cover every aspect of the knowledge and understanding of hearing God’s voice by the Holy Spirit, but I do think there are some precepts we can glean that will help us to more clearly hear and obey His voice.

And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
1 Samuel 3:10-11 KJV

1. We have to recognize or learn to recognize His voice

If you read the verses leading up to the passage above, you will know that this is the fourth time that the LORD has come to Samuel to speak with him.  Why did it take four times before Samuel responded?  Because Samuel simply didn’t recognize the Lord’s voice, in fact, the scripture says he did not know the LORD yet, so Eli had to help Samuel recognize the voice of the LORD.

That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here [am] I. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here [am] I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here [am] I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here [am] I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
1 Samuel 3:4-9 KJV

To my understanding, this would be the last time that Samuel would need help recognizing the voice of the LORD, but nevertheless, it was a real hindrance in the LORD speaking to Samuel the things He wanted to tell him.  

Many people think the Holy Spirit speaking to them is some kind of mystery or something they need to decode.  Not sure how else to say it, but many people fall into a type of mindset where they are trying to “read God’s mind”.  I believe He wants to speak with us clearly and for us to know it’s Him, not guess or hope it is.

If you need help recognizing His voice, let me bring something to mind that may help you.  Do you remember the first time you experienced God’s voice or even His presence?  Even in human relationships, I don’t only recognize a person’s voice but their whole presence.  God doesn’t change, and His voice and presence are unmistakably recognizable.  So why the confusion?  Maybe we have been taught or led to believe He speaks to us on our terms, not His, which brings us to the second point.

2. He speaks on His terms, not ours

I won’t spend nearly as much time on this precept, but we mustn’t fall into the belief that we can “summon” the voice of the Holy Spirit and that He speaks to us on His terms, not our demands.  This is also evident in these Scriptures from 1 Samuel 3.  The reality is we have to wait for Him rather than demand from Him.  I wonder how often in our impatience of wanting to hear God so badly, we just conclude the first few thoughts or impressions that seem good to us after we pray for guidance is God speaking to us when it’s just our own thoughts.  I am not saying God always takes a long time, but we can be very impatient.

3. We must respond to Him with our full attention

It is interesting that the only words that Samuel hears from the LORD is his own name, until he recognizes it is the LORD and says, “Speak LORD, for thy servants hears”.  It is at that point that the LORD begins to unfold His will and future events that will occur.  

As a father to five children, there are many times I call their names throughout the house because I want to tell them something.  But, I never tell them what I intend to tell them until they have come to me and in some way communicated, “Yes dad what do you need or what do you want to tell me?”.  I want to have their full attention, and I believe the LORD wants our full attention too.

4. We must be ready to hear and do whatever He says

I truly believe this is where many are missing it when it comes to being led by the Holy Spirit.  There seems to be a belief that the Holy Spirit will only tell us comfortable things and not to do things contrary to our desires, comforts, and even our will.  The LORD told him things that He said would make the people’s ears tingle.  What tingle really means in Hebrew is to tremble with fear.  The LORD proceeded to tell Samuel that the priesthood would be stripped from Eli, his mentor and father figure in his life, because of the sins of his biological sons.  What kind of position did this leave Eli in?

And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 
1 Samuel 3:15 KJV

It left Samuel in a position of having to do something he didn’t want to do.  I am not sure many people allow this aspect to be a part of their relationship with the LORD, but the reality is that if we recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit when He speaks and respond to Him, what comes next may be something really challenging for us to do.

But if we want to be led and, better yet, if we want to be proper sons and daughters of God by faith, we have to be willing to do His will, not ours, even when it is uncomfortable.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Romans 8:14 KJV

Ammudim Ministries is ready to produce more substantial written content that can be held, read, and shared among circles all over the country. We are really excited about this new venture as we know more eternal fruit and Biblical knowledge will spread through these resources.

Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name [is] in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.  
Exodus 23:20-23 KJV

The further along I get in the journey of being a believer in Yeshua and seeking that City whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:10), the clearer I see that many of the generalized cliches so often said in the modern Body of Messiah are failing us and deceiving us.  This statement does not come from a spirit of anger, condemnation, or cynicism, but from simply being an honest observer of the fruit that follows from these cliches.  To be fair I have used these cliches when teaching others and have also embraced them when taught by others only to be let down and left wondering why God seems far away and His blessing elusive.  

By definition, a cliche is a phrase, statement, or idea that has been so overused that it has lost the force and importance of its original meaning.

Also, when we overgeneralize concepts without instructions and doctrine of how to do them, these scriptural concepts become cliches and wishful thinking at best.  It would be like going to buy a new desk that you really want and really need, but there is some assembly required.  You are more than capable of putting a desk together and all of the parts and materials are available to you for this desk to be a reality in your life.  Maybe you tell all your friends you have a new desk and you think about how this new desk will look and function in your mind.  Then you go to open the directions that will bring the reality of a new desk to pass and all it says is, “Put the desk together”.

Although a silly illustration, how is that any different than when someone says, “Be led by the Spirit”?  We all want the finished result of being led by the Spirit but what does that entail?  Someone may come along and say, “Trust in God’s protection”.  Well, okay, but what is our foundation for trusting in His protection?  

Now please understand I am not trying to cast doubt on the leadership of His Spirit in our lives, nor am I suggesting that God is stingy with His protection of His children. But, while reading the Torah portion for this week, Parashat Mishpatim, I came across this phrase, “Beware of Him”.  What does that mean?  Be aware of Him… acknowledge Him and what He wants to do.  Needless to say, this really got my attention. So, I went back and began to meditate on the verses I shared above and I began to see that when we say phrases like, “Be led by the Spirit” or “God will protect you”, we must understand the conditional aspect we must meet for these phrases to be a reality in our lives.  This is not works, but as you will see the conditions we must meet all revolve around faith.  So let’s examine the verse above so that we are able to gain more understanding and discernment so that we may experience the reality of being led by His Spirit and live under His divine protection as a reality and not a cliche.

Also, there may be some reading this that might be thinking, “This is the Torah, isn’t it different under the New Covenant?”

Well, the provision of atonement is absolutely different in the New Covenant, because we have the perfect once-and-for-all atonement in Yeshua and not in the animal sacrifices of the Levitical priesthood under the Mosaic covenant. The faith and heart in walking with God has never changed and I hope I can show you that with New Covenant examples as we move through this.

Let’s start with verse 20:

Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.  
Exodus 23:20 KJV

This Angel of the Lord went before them so He was leading them, guiding them in a way in which they would not err out of the way to the bringing them to the promise God promised to them.  This Angel of the Lord was in the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night and according to Shaul (Paul) was the pre-incarnate Messiah Yeshua.

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 KJV

Right before Yeshua died He had a heart-to-heart with His disciples and told them this when telling them the Spirit will come when He goes back to be with the Father to do this:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 
John 16:13 KJV

From my estimation, it is pretty clear that the Holy Spirit in our lives has come to do the same thing the Angel of the Lord did for the children of Israel.  

But the thing is we must choose to be aware and attentive to Him and then do what He tells us to do.  If not, we are in danger of provoking and offending the Holy Spirit.  But here is the thing I find is our issue in the modern Body of Messiah… we are double-minded.  We say we want to be led by the Holy Spirit, but we often do not or are not willing to do what He tells us to do and go where He tells us to go.

Let’s look at the next three verses:

Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name [is] in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. 
Exodus 23:21-23 KJV

These verses explain why I believe we can be so often double-minded when it comes to listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit.  You see the Holy Spirit is interested in leading you into the Father’s will and promise for your life and at times that leadership might lead you right smack into the middle of your enemies!  This is why the conditions of following the Holy Spirit are those of faith and not works.  We have to believe just as this verse says, that if we will obey Him, even if it leads us to confront our enemies, THEN He will protect us.  

I really believe that God is calling His Body to do some amazing things in signs, wonders, exploits, and the stuff of the book of Acts.  But there are two problems: First, we are so distracted even with things that are not inherently sinful. There is just so much noise and so many voices trying to intrude into our conscience fighting for our attention that it is a struggle to be aware of what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.  I know there are many things we must attend to in life concerning finances, family matters, and the like but we must come to a place where we decide to be more aware of God than the world around us.  That does not mean to be weird, but to choose our focus. The second thing is to realize that almost all the acts of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts were done by followers of Yeshua in the midst of opposition.  But also remember that His understanding of protection may not be our understanding… His ways are NOT our ways… Stephen, Peter, and Shaul (Paul) experienced this in the New Covenant in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit led them right into their enemy’s hands and even to death.  

So how did God protect them?  He preserved and protected them eternally and they will have a part in the first resurrection, which is much, much safer than us preserving our lives here and now and missing the first resurrection.  Now, that does NOT mean the Holy Spirit will always lead His people to martyrdom, but we have to know the full extent of what it may cost.

The biggest hindrance from clearly hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit and obeying Him is fear of man and fear of our enemies.  It’s a sober reality that we may not realize, but when we yield to that fear in our own efforts to preserve ourselves it provokes the Holy Spirit. Do you know what the word provoke means in Hebrew? To embitter!!!  God does not get embittered you say, but the Scriptures are clear that we can grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesian 4:30) and the most visual example of this is in the book of Revelation when the same Angel in Exodus 23 speaks to the church in Laodicea.

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:14-16 KJV

In the geographical location of Laodicia, there were hot springs where water would come out of the earth.  Because the water passed through salt deposits and such coming to the surface it made the water impossible to drink at a lukewarm state.  It could be drunk hot or it could be drunk cold, but if it was drunk lukewarm it acted as an emetic causing vomiting due to the taste.  When we say we want to be led by the Holy Spirit but are unwilling to obey it puts us in a lukewarm state.

Now I do not say any of this to condemn, but to help us stay on track and beware.  For years I often wondered why God had such strong responses and rebukes to mankind’s unbelief and doubt, but I have begun to really grasp it in recent years.  

You see, God our Father has amazing plans and promises for us.  He wants to bless us, and give us an eternal inheritance and land in New Jerusalem.  It’s His pleasure to give us the Kingdom.  He is so jealous and zealous for us, our hearts, and for us to be partakers of His promises and blessings, but because of the entrance of sin into mankind we must trust Him and Him alone in the face of a world wholly given over to satan.  Hard honest words come from a loving Father because He does not take lightly losing anyone to sin.

Father, thank you for your Word.  Hard words are not condemning but honest.  You love us too much to not tell us the truth.  Thank you for the plans you have for us, and thank you for the promise and assurance that if we will be aware of You, hear Your voice, and obey, that Your hand of protection and eternal peace will be with us even when we are led right to our enemies.  Father, we recognize that you lead us to our enemies so that we may gain the victory over them.

Father, we repent for obeying the fear of man and fear of our enemies.  We recognize that it was not your silence or any passivity on your part that has been causing the problems but our unbelief and unwillingness to trust your voice.

Father, we ask in your mercy to forgive us and cleanse us from this unrighteousness by the blood of Yeshua.  Forgive us for being so distracted and not being aware. We turn our hearts to focus on you and not the chaos of the world.  

Father I pray for each person still reading that step by step you would lead them.  They would clearly hear your voice, not having to guess if it was you, but waiting on you till they know you have spoken.  I pray Father they would get to experience the joy and peace of following your voice in even the most basic of ways and know the joy and peace of simply being spoken to by their Creator.

In Yeshua’s name, Amen

Ammudim Ministries is ready to produce more substantial written content that can be held, read, and shared among circles all over the country. We are really excited about this new venture as we know more eternal fruit and Biblical knowledge will spread through these resources.

Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.  Acts 13:46 KJV

What a statement, warning, and reality that we all need to heed!  From this verse, we can understand that it is possible for people that God wants to and can make worthy of the Messianic Kingdom to come and the New Heavens, New Earth, and New Jerusalem to judge themselves unworthy of it. The Word that His Son died for the punishment of our unworthiness and rose again to give testimony of our future honor and eternal life can be rejected and contradicted even though we don’t desire the alternative.  It is quite a paradox.

To understand this verse a little better, let’s go back and see how Paul and Barnabas arrived at this bold pronouncement. We know from the gospel records that Yeshua was sent to the house of Israel, not to the Gentiles.

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, [thou] Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Matthew 15:22-24 KJV

Now we know Yeshua was not legalistic about this because He did end up healing the woman’s daughter when He perceived her faith based on her answer.

But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast [it] to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great [is] thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Matthew 15:26-28 KJV

But the principle remains.  The promises of atonement, the resurrection, inheriting the land of Israel forever, and the coming of a Jewish Messiah that would save them from their enemies were only promised to Israel, not the nations.  Go back and read every covenant very carefully, including the New Covenant, and you will find that these covenants are specific to Israel.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:  Jeremiah 31:31 KJV

This is also why it is vitally important for Gentiles to understand they are grafted into the salvation of Israel, not the other way around.  But I digress from this because that is not the thrust of this article.

The issue is that Yeshua came to the Jewish people to bless them by fulfilling the covenant and promises made to them in the Tenakh (Torah, Prophets, and Writings).  

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.  Acts 3:25-26 KJV

Although He did allude to His disciples that the Word would eventually go forth into the whole world…

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  Acts 1:8 KJV

And that He did die for the sins of the whole world…

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16 KJV

The message would be to the Jew first…

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 KJV

So when we get to this point here in Acts 13 when Paul and Barnabas finally pronounce to the Jewish leaders (not the common Jewish people, but the leaders.  Many tens of thousands of Jewish people did believe Yeshua was the Messiah. Acts 21:20) we must understand how much the Word had already come to them and how many times they had contradicted and rejected the Word of God’s grace, mercy, and salvation to them.

There is the obvious rejection of Yeshua in the gospel, but beginning in the book of Acts we see this continued rejection also.  Peter preached and confronted many of the Jewish leaders three times in the first five chapters of Acts, four times if you include his Shavuot (Pentecost) sermon.

After Peter, Stephen is raised up and again delivers the Word of the good news of salvation teaching right from the Tenakh and he dies a prophet’s death by stoning.  It is at this point we begin to see the Word begin to move out of the boundaries of Jerusalem and into the outer regions of Judea and Samaria when Phillip the evangelist preached in those regions, and then comes the salvation and call of Saul, aka Paul.  The reason for his calling is very, very specific and that is to take the Word of salvation to the Gentiles…

But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:  Acts 9:15 KJV

But Saul, like any Jew of his day, would have only thought it right to preach this Word to the Jews in the synagogues, albeit in modern-day Turkey.  So he did, even with this direct call from God by the Holy Spirit to go to the nations.  In the midst of this Peter has a vision that takes him to the house of Cornelious and he witnesses the promised dwelling of the Holy Spirit to the Jews also come to the Gentiles…

And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 10:45 KJV

Saul (Paul) and Barnabas preached in Cyprus, Antioch, and Perga to those Jews in diaspora and they still rejected the message of God’s grace, mercy, and salvation for them until finally, we get to this pronouncement that they have judged themselves unworthy of eternal life.

I know that was a bit of a history lesson, but it is important to see how we got to this point in the Scriptures because it was not something that happened fast.  It came as a continual rejection of God’s free gift of worthiness for them through His Son and their Messiah.  

The problem was this…  Unbelief that God was greater than their unworthiness and that He was and is able to make them worthy of the gift of eternal life.  They simply could not believe something so free, so gracious, so loving, and so life-giving.  Why?  Because humans don’t think up and generate within themselves this level of love that God shows.  But because they could not and would not believe it, it was not God who judged them unworthy to receive it, but themselves.

Now this is where it gets personal for us, Jew or Gentile.  Even those of us who have made a profession and confession of faith in Yeshua the Messiah.  

Are there times and temptations you believe that you are not worthy to inherit eternal life?  We may look at our past, or even our present and only see sin and failure.  It could be imagined and blown out of proportion by false accusations from the enemy OR it may be absolutely true.  This may lead us to “try” harder or to do things that in our minds would make us seem “worthy”.  We may have heard the good news of salvation, but we conclude it is too good to be true, it’s out of reach for us, or we are too far gone.

Sometimes even those who profess faith in Yeshua grovel endlessly, browbeating themselves back into sanctification after sin and failure in false humility because they do not truly believe that if they repent and confess their sin God will forgive them and cleanse them.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9 KJV

So let me ask you a question. Have you in some way judged yourself unworthy of eternal life and blessings from God? Do you look on your merits and self-worthiness as the measuring stick for your right standing before a holy, perfect, and just God, OR do you put no confidence in the success or failures of the flesh and trust solely that your worthiness before God comes through the atonement of resurrection of Yeshua our Messiah?

For some of you, this may actually be an issue of your eternal destination. Either with the Lord in Heaven, the Messianic Kingdom to come, and New Heavens, New Earth, or separated from Him in hell and eventually the lake of fire. I implore you not to judge yourself unworthy of eternal life and believe the lie that there is not a Living God that loves you, created you and is able to make you worthy through the gift of His Son.

For others it may be a warning, exhortation, and discernment to never judge yourselves unworthy of a gift that cost so much and that your Creator and Father so wants you to have.  It should sharpen our discernment and help us to realize that we need to resist and reject any thought that would want us to conclude that even in the face of our previous professions of faith. It’s a truth that should cause us to repent of any roots of unbelief that we recognize because unbelief is absolutely evil and enmity with God.  Don’t be fooled, unbelief is not harmless, but causes us to depart from God.

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;  Hebrews 3:12-14 KJV

Let’s continue on and not make the same mistake and fall for the same wile of satan’s kingdom.

As always, blessings from us here at Ammudim Teaching Ministries. We love you and therefore are committed to always speaking and teaching the truth the best we can, even when it’s hard, because we know it is what is best for us all and is not nearly as hard as the alternative which is believing a lie.

I hope and pray you are challenged, and encouraged, and your path is more clear with this insight and others we teach.

Blessings,
David

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
 Acts 20:32 KJV

Ammudim Ministries is ready to produce more substantial written content that can be held, read, and shared among circles all over the country. We are really excited about this new venture as we know more eternal fruit and Biblical knowledge will spread through these resources.

What a great word!  When we bring the concept of a miracle into any situation, no matter how dire the circumstances, it begins to bring a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe the current trajectory of a dire situation can be turned around in an instant no matter what is taking place before our very eyes.  

Regardless of a person’s faith, all humans are still made in the image of G-d, and I believe part of that makeup involves an intrinsic belief or we could say hope that no matter how bad things get, some outside influence may intervene and change the whole course of nature regarding their situation.  Some may deny this, but when push comes to shove, this hope is what keeps them going.  But is that real faith and hope that will bring peace and joy to our lives?  I don’t believe so.

Just “hoping” a situation turns around is a shaky foundation, not a firm one.

We could actually call this kind of “hope” wishful thinking because it has no foundation.  Now, when I say it has no foundation, what do I mean?  I mean that there is no prior proof, evidence, or account of it ever happening before and therefore little to no chance of it actually happening in the present day or in the future. But as believers in G-d our Father and Yeshua, our faith and our hope have foundations, and many of those foundations are the miracles G-d has done throughout history, into our present day, and will continue to do into the future.  

Let’s define a miracle in our context. 

The word “miracle” comes from the Latin word “miraculum” and means “an object of wonder”.  In the Bible, both the Tenakh and New Covenant often use the word “wonder” as in signs and wonders, when telling of a miracle.  Would you like to know my definition of a wonder?  It is an event that occurs openly that makes all those who see and hear it “wonder” how it happened!  There is no natural explanation for it and it often seems to interfere with the natural course of creation (well, natural for creation corrupted by sin).  For example, a person is dying from a malady and the medical community has no more answers.  If the malady follows the expected course it will result in the death of that individual.  But what if a believer like you or me, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, came and prayed for this individual and they recovered and no longer had the malady?  That would make everyone involved “wonder”.  So a miracle makes people wonder, but if we look at the miracles in the Bible it is even more specific than that.

When I look at the Biblical accounts of miracles that G-d performed there is something that happens each time regardless of the miracle that took place. 

It is this: A miracle is when life is brought to something that is non-existent or dead.  If we examine the miracles that our faith and hope are founded upon we will see this each and every time. 

Let’s look at a few examples.

We will begin with the conception of Isaac, Abraham’s promised son to be born of Sarah.  Look at what Romans say about Abraham and Sarah’s bodies in regard to conceiving a child.

And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. Romans 4:19

Sarah’s womb was considered dead in regards to childbearing, but life came to her womb just as G-d told Abraham it would.  Upon this miracle, we have the faith that God’s promised seed would go through Isaac and not the sons of Ishmael contrary to what Islam teaches.  

Speaking of conception, what about our Savior Yeshua’s conception?  It was a prophesied sign and miracle.

“Therefore the L-rd Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 NKJV

It is clear that Abraham and Sarah still had to copulate despite old age in order for the promised seed to come from Abraham’s own loins, but in Isaiah 7:14 a virgin would conceive.  This is a miracle in that life was brought when there was nothing existing.  In this case, no seed from a man.  Yeshua’s very existence is a miracle and it’s His existence, life, and what He did for us that brings us salvation! 

Are you beginning to see how miracles are a foundation for our faith and hope?

How about the miracles that Yeshua did as a work of the Ruach?  Yeshua being anointed to do these miracles was the sign of His Messiahship.  The rabbi’s taught that when the Messiah came He would be able to do four miracles that no other man had ever done!  They were: To cast out a dumb spirit, heal a leper, heal someone blind from birth, and raise someone from the dead after three days.  Sound familiar?  This is why Yeshua told the Jewish leaders that did not believe:

“Believe Me that I [am] in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. John 14:11 NKJV

When Yeshua would perform these miracles what He was really doing was overthrowing satan’s kingdom that only seeks to bring death, but Yeshua brought life.  Again, bring life to what is dead or dying.

Lastly, and perhaps the most significant miracle was Yeshua being raised from the dead

Lastly, and perhaps the most significant miracle was Yeshua being raised from the dead by the Father by the power of the Ruach.  It is on this miracle that our faith and hope for our own resurrection from the dead to eternal life with a new glorified body rest.  Speaking of the resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:54 says:

So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:54 NKJV

This is a miracle… Life is being brought to something already dead, and this is the ultimate foundation for humanity to overcome the greatest enemy ever known which is death.  And still today, more than ever I exhort you to seek the L-rd for miracles in our midst just like we see in the book of Acts.  Not for our glory, not so that we may speak of how “spiritual” we are, but because these miracles bear witness to the resurrection of life to a world lost to sin and destined to die apart from the Giver of Life.

With great power the emissaries were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, and abundant favor was upon them all. Acts 4:33 TLV

G-d is still doing miracles in our day

G-d is still doing miracles in our day to the end that mankind has a foundation for true faith and hope in G-d and Yeshua for eternal life spent with HIm and an inheritance in the Messianic Kingdom to come on earth.  Tune out the naysayers, the counterfeits, and the intellectuals who say miracles are not for today.  There is a lost world counting on seeing and knowing the miracles of G-d by the power of the Ruach on which to build their faith and hope upon. 

LET’S GET TO WORK!

Ammudim Ministries is ready to produce more substantial written content that can be held, read, and shared among circles all over the country. We are really excited about this new venture as we know more eternal fruit and Biblical knowledge will spread through these resources.

*Disclaimer this was written late at night as a response to a livestream question earlier in the night.  I apologize for any disorganization and/or grammatical errors, but I still feel it answers the question sufficiently so I am letting it go as is.

Judges 19 Question

Why did the certain Levite end up cutting up his concubine into 12 pieces and sending them to the territories of Israel?

So here is some insight on the Judges 19 question.  The question was why did the certain Levite end up cutting up his concubine into 12 pieces and sending them to the territories of Israel?  Many people chimed in, but I did not want to answer LIVE because I wanted to make sure I had the whole story.  And there is much we can draw from the story.  This is why I like to take some time to read through and consider, something I didn’t want to take the time to do on livestream.  First of all consider this:   In Judges chapter 19:2 this concubine of the Levite played the harlot against him and left him to go to her father’s house.  If she had not done that, this event would never have happened!  That is something for all of us to consider.  Works of the flesh often lead to unsafe situations.  It has been a while since I read this account and was surprised to re-read that the events leading up to her death are almost the exact same as the events in Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.

22 As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!” 23 But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage. 24 “Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!” 25 But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go. Judges 19:22-25 NKJV

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This is a horrible thing.  In verse 26 the Bible reveals that because of this rape, she died.  Questions are asked like, “Why did the Levitie let this happen?” or “Why would the man be willing to sacrifice the Levite’s concubine and even his own daughter like Lot was willing to?”  Many scholars will convey that there were cultural norms as to why this was allowed, but none of that brings a sense of justice to the situation.  Besides, I don’t think the Levite would have done what I am about to talk about if he had been aware of what was going on, because his actions were not a message of national repentance, but a demand for national justice.

26 Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light. 27 When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold. 28 And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place. 29 When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak up!” Judges 19:26-30 NKJV

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There is no way to know for sure but bear with me as I attempt to fill in some blanks.  Why did he divide her into 12 pieces?  Why could he not just send out a decree or something to that effect letting the other tribes know what happened so they could avenge Gibeah? 

Well, think about it, he had no physical proof to persuade them.  By dividing her into 12 pieces, he could not only send the message but give physical proof of a life taken unjustly.  It wasn’t that the Levite was sadistic or psychopathic, he had to prove she had been killed, thus he divided her into 12 pieces.  This is the same logic a king would use in wanting the head of an enemy.  It simply proved his enemy had been defeated, without him having to just take someone’s word.  So I know this sounds weird, but the Levite dividing her into 12 pieces and sending her body out, the Levite was beginning the process of justice for her life.

With the body part was the message to each territory: Consider, confer, and speak up. 

What this more literally means is this: Look at what happened, make a plan to do something about it, then do it!

Chapter 20

That is what follows in chapter 20.  I will not go through the whole chapter, but basically, the tribes of Israel concluded those who committed this vile and lewd act in Israel, who were of the tribe of Benjamin, must be done away with.  That would be in accordance with the law of Moses.  The tribes of Israel also formed an army to deal with the issue.  But they didn’t intend to fight all the tribe of Benjamin, they just wanted to go into Gibeah and pull out the men that committed the wickedness.  However, the tribe of Benjamin quartered these individuals and rather defended them to the point they would go to battle against the other tribes of Israel.  (We should fear God more than our brothers, but I digress)  It was a back and forth battle but eventually Israel prevailed and the tribe of Benjamin paid for defending evil.  

This recorded event shows just how far sin and idolatry can take humans. 

Yes, God allowed this event, just like numerous other events, but in the end, this story once again is a testimony that sin and unjust actions will always lead to defeat.  Although there was a victimized life, justice was done.  But then strangely into chapter 21, Israel mourns for Benjamin because there was so much loss and separation, Israel is now void of a tribe. 

2 Then the people came to the house of God and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, 3 and said, “O LORD God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?” Judges 21:2-3 NKJV

You see in verse 48 of chapter 20 it says…

48 And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword–from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to. Judges 20:48 NKJV

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The wives and daughters of Benjamin were destroyed too, and Israel had made a vow that no man should give his daughter to a Benjaminite.  This meant that the line of Benjamin would not be able to continue and for this Israel was mourning.  So what they decided to do in order to preserve Benjamin is, well, paradoxical and insane if you ask me.

When Israel gathered together to decide what to do about the death of the concubine they had also made an oath saying that anyone who had not sent representatives to confer about what to do concerning the death of the Levite’s concubine should be put to death.

5 The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the LORD?” For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to the LORD at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” Judges 21:5 NKJV

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Now, the only region that did not send a representative was Jabesh Gilead.  So Israel, making good on their oath, went down and killed all the men, children, and women who had known a man.  Only the virgins were spared and then given to Benjamin as a symbol of peace (yuck).  But there were not enough still and the tribes of Israel could not break their oath to give Benjamin daughters for wives.  So their solution… again, is pretty insane.  They instructed the Benjaminites (the same tribe that was trying to kill them and did kill many of them in the battle over justice for the Levite’s concubine) that there is a feast of the LORD (yes an appointed time) in Shiloh in where their daughters come out into the vineyards to dance.  Israel’s advice to Benjamin was to lie in wait and kidnap these women and take them for wives.  

Enough with the crazy!  What is my point in ALL of this?  It is Judges 21:25, the last verse in the book.

25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25 NKJV

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And there you have it! 

God did not lead any of them to do any of these deeds, he only told Israel He would deliver Benjamin into their hand which He did.  Everything else that is unjust and difficult to stomach was the result of man doing what was right in his own eyes, not what was right in God’s eyes.  And herein lies the foundation of sin and our need for a LORD and His kingdom to come.

Everything else that is unjust and difficult to stomach was the result of man doing what was right in his own eyes, not what was right in God’s eyes. 

I hope this helps bring you some clarity to this Scripture. If you have any further questions regarding this Scripture or other Scriptures in the Bible please feel free to reach out to me on email info@ammudim.org.

Blessings,