Logo Copyright © 2007 NCCG - All Rights Reserved
Return to Main Page

RESOURCES

Disclaimer

Introduction

Symphony of Truth

In a Nutshell

Topical Guide

5-144000

5 Commissions

10 Commandments

333 NCCG Number

144,000, The

A

Action Stations

Agency, Free

Alcohol

Angels

Anointing

Apostles

Apostolic Interviews

Apostolic Epistles

Archive, Complete

Articles & Sermons

Atheism

Atonement

B

Banners

Baptism, Water

Baptism, Fire

Becoming a Christian

Bible Codes

Bible Courses

Bible & Creed

C

Calendar of Festivals

Celibacy

Charismata & Tongues

Chavurat Bekorot

Christian Paganism

Chrism, Confirmation

Christmas

Church, Fellowship

Contact us

Constitution

Copyright

Covenants & Vows

Critics

Culture

Cults

D

Deliverance

Demons

Desperation

Diaries

Discipleship

Dreams

E

Ephraimite Page, The

Essene Christianity

Existentialism

F

Faith

Family, The

Feminism

FAQ

Festivals of Yahweh

Festivals Calendar

Freedom

G

Gay Christians

Gnosticism

Godhead, The

H

Heaven

Heresy

Healing

Health

Hebrew Roots

Hell

Hinduism

History

Holiness

Holy Echad Marriage

Holy Order, The

Home Education

Homosexuality

Human Nature

Humour

Hymnody

I

Intro to NCCG.ORG

Islam

J

Jewish Page, The

Judaism, Messianic

Judaism, Talmudic

K

KJV-Only Cult

L

Links

Love

M

Marriage & Romance

Membership

Miracles

Messianic Judaism

Mormonism

Music

Mysticism

N

NCCG Life

NCCG Origins

NCCG Organisation

NCCG, Spirit of

NCCG Theology

NDE's

Nefilim

New Age & Occult

NCMHL

NCMM

New Covenant Torah

Norwegian Website

O

Occult Book, The

Occult Page, The

Olive Branch

Orphanages

P

Paganism, Christian

Pentecost

Poetry

Politics

Prayer

Pre-existence

Priesthood

Prophecy

Q

Questions

R

Rapture

Reincarnation

Resurrection

Revelation

RDP Page

S

Sabbath

Salvation

Satanic Ritual Abuse

Satanism

Science

Sermons & Articles

Sermons Misc

Sermonettes

Sex

Smoking

Sonship

Stewardship

Suffering

Swedish Website

T

Talmudic Judaism

Testimonies

Tithing

Tongues & Charismata

Torah

Trinity

True Church, The

TV

U

UFO's

United Order, The

V

Visions

W

Wicca & the Occult

Women

World News

Y

Yah'shua (Jesus)

Yahweh

Z

Zion


Month 10:8, Week 1:7 (Shibi'i/Sukkot), Year:Day 5936:273 AM
SHABBAT 10:1
Gregorian Calendar: Thursday 20 December 2012
Salvation Issues
3. The Zebra and the White Horse

    Continued from Part 2

      "I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant" (Josh.24:13, NIV).

    Introduction

    Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el! Welcome to this sabbath assembly as we continue to bypass the winter gods in all their various guises - Judaism's Hanukkah has gone, Roman Christianity's Christmas is next, then the Afro-American Kwanzaa and finally last, but not least, the openly pagan Roman Day of Janus, better known as New Year's Day, which is owned by the whole of the fallen world stuck as it is in Rome's pagan calendar. The more you probe for the emet (truth) the more you realise that the whole world has been programmed into false religion for such a long time, new entries like Kwanzaa notwithstanding. Reality is not at all what we originally thought it was, is it?

    PART A: AN 'ACCIDENT' AND A REVELATION

    A Fooled People

    What is so sad is that people prefer, on the whole, to be fooled rather than invest any effort into becoming enlightened. And as Søren Kirkegård observed, "there are two ways to be fooled: one is to believe what isn't true and the other is to refuse to believe what is true". Either way (and it's usually both simultaneously), there aren't too many who want to be clear and focussed in emet (truth). They prefer life to be blurry because when emet (truth) is indistinct and hazy they don't have to accept responsibility for it. Such people will never know what kind of world they really inhabit or who they really are - they would rather be told titillating lies by those as much in the dark as they are. The emet (truth) may be scary at first as we readjust to reality but I honestly think it is much more scary believing a lie only to discover too late, when you're falling off the precipice, that you have thrown your life away for eternity.

    The Benefits of Walking in the Truth

    For those of us who have chosen the Emet (Truth), fully incarnated as Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), there is no longer any need to be defensive about it - the spiritual life requires no defending because it is self-evident to those who live in it and by it. Only those who live in the fog need to be defensive, like a man striking out in all directions for fear of colliding with an object in his path. He is wrestling with ghosts whereas the one walking in Messiah's Emet (Truth), though he walks by emunah (faith), knows and sees enough to feel the safety of Heaven.

    Accidental Loss of Sermon and a Lesson

    Today's sermon was nearly not given. It was 95% completed when my computer did some kind of digital somersault and decided to delete it all, forcing me to reconstruct a major chunk that I had not backed-up. This is an unfortunate occupational hazzard for writers like myself and I surprised myself by not being nearly as upset as I thought I should be. Electing to get on with the 'restoration' provided me with opportunities to add things I probably would not have got around to doing had the mishap been circumvented. So if this sermon is a little longer than usual, indulge me, if you would. Of course, I also wondered, as I am sure many do in similar situations, whether the loss of the sermon was Yahweh's way of saying 'Don't give it!' or whether it was just one of the enemy's attempts to destroy good and right, requiring me not to get depressed about and simply slog away again because it was important after all. At such times you are forced to answer difficult questions all the while knowing how easy it is to get fatalistic or superstitious. There could be so many possible reasons for this 'accident', including my saying these things for the benefit of someone struggling over a similar loss which I would not otherwise have said. Perhaps I had to 'back up' for the benefit of a soul needing to hear a emssage I would not otherwise have given.

    Reasons for Some Mishaps

    We will probably never know the answers to most of these questions. However, the next day Yahweh gave me an interesting vision which helped confirm that He wanted the sermon restored but that in the process of restoration He also wanted to show me something that I would have missed had there not been the accident. The thoughts and feelings generated during times of mishap can often be the seeds of important revelation and blessing, and so this proved to be for me. Like I said, I saw a vision the next morning. It was brief but intense. It was both for my own benefit and for others.

    Digging a Path in the Snow

    For the previous two days I had been breaking my back along with members of the family clearing snow that had been falling non-stop all day, beginning with a blizzard. It was necessary to keep a path open so that we could reach my infirm 98 year old mother next door whom I have to take care of by making multiple visits each day. In my physical condition (accute fibromyalgia) this can mean sleepless nights because of pain. I actually enjoy the physical labour and making paths I find particularly enjoyable. I also dig special ones out for our dogs so they can run around and enjoy their sniffing and depositing. The snow was about 1½ feet deep and very wet so it was heavy work but I felt great satisfaction in being able to keep green lawn exposed. And it's not only the family and domestic animals that benefit from this clearance - wild animals like deer and elk, cold and hungry, come along when we're gone and feast on the exposed grass which would otherwise be sealed in ice. I see their footprints in the morning and their 'breakfast leftovers'. I guess this reminds me also of our Master Yah'shua (Jesus) who makes a derech (way, path) for us through difficulties in life, as we are supposed to do for others who cannot help themselves either.

    Vision of the Zebra

    In the vision I was standing at the top of my mother's lawn where the new pathway has been cut and found myself looking at a zebra. It was standing in the snow looking for green grass to eat. There wasn't much but enough to stave off hunger and keep the animal alive. But what was this African animal doing seemingly out-of-place in this climate? What did it mean?

    A Fake Hannukiahised Zebra

    Now I know why the zebra was implanted in my mind because a day or two before I had seen a picture of a zebra posted in Facebook with a hannukiah or nine-armed Hanukkah candlearbre as part of its striped pattern. I remember being annoyed because it was so obviously a fake photoshopped animal as well as being hailed by some fooled Messianic Jews as a 'witness' that Hanukkah is true. Though such patterns do indeed commonly appear in the botanical world they do not appear in the zoological one. You can see the manufactured picture below:

    So that is probably how the animal appeared in my subconscious and how it was 'uploaded' by Yahweh into my consciousness - in its natural form, for use in the vision.

    Introducing Joey the Zebra

    Naturally, this got me thinking about the symbolism based on what I knew about the zebra. I had been taught that they were totally untrainable and therefore of no domestic use but I wanted to check on-line anyway. Imagine my surprise when I came across a zebra called Joey at Snow Creek Ranch who was not only fully tamed but had some interesting personality traits - five positive and two negative - which were listed as follows:

    • 1. He is the most friendly animal you could ever want to have around;
    • 2. He is very much in your face and loves people;
    • 3. He can be ridden in the arena and on trails with saddle or bareback;
    • 4. He is very easy to keep, eating grass and hay all year; and
    • 5. He shows affection by sucking the side of your hand.

    • 6. He does not like his ears being touched; and
    • 7. Because he is so in-your-face, it can be scary for non-horse people.

    Symbolism of the Zebra's Stripes

    Being somewhat familiar with dream and vision symbolism, associations were popping into my head left, right and centre the more I meditated on the zebra. It's stripes represent two conflicting alternatives which in life we are constantly required to choose between - right and wrong, good and evil, love and hate, and so on. The occultic solution is to find a balance between the two, the Yin-Yang principle, with the result that what you get is neither one nor the other, hot nor cold, but something lukewarm:

      "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth" (Rev.3:15-16, NIV).

    A Few Tamed Zebras Only

    The fact that Joey was a tamed zebra did not mean he was representative of the zebra-kind otherwise we'd be riding zebra in addition to horses generally. Zebras may still be said to be undomesticatable, Joey not withstanding, a curiosity from the herd. You will find some tamed zebras around, but not many, because of the difficulty and expense involved; Lord Rothschild was famous for his zebra-drawn carriage at the beginning of the 20th century, as was a former governor of New Zealand, George Grey. The quagga, a now extinct variant of zebra, was more tamable before it was hunted down into oblivion by European settlers.

    Indecision and Double-Mindedness

    What Yahweh was showing me in the vision was that indecisiveness leads to a subsistence diet spiritually - there's only enough to keep alive but do nothing else. The zebra represents not a 'natural' form but an inbetween form, as it were, betwixt sin and full repentance. Double-mindedness always leads to instability and is frowned upon in Scripture, especially in the context of asking Yahweh for something in times of trouble but not really having the emunah (faith) that the prayer will be answered:

      "Consider it pure simcha (joy), my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your emunah (faith) develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete (perfect), not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask Elohim (God), who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from Yahweh; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does" (James 1:2-8, NIV).

    The White Horse is the Model and Goal

    We may be mesmerised by the striped patterns which have inspired all kinds of art, or charmed by tamed representatives of this species of the flesh like Joey, but what the zebra represents isn't the answer to our needs. Yah'shua (Jesus) rides a white horse, not a striped zebra. Overcoming and conquering evil demand a white horse that represents purity and vigour:

      "I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest" (Rev.6:2, NIV).

    In Pursuit of Single-Mindedness

    There is single-mindedness in this imagery, not double-mindedness - the single-mindedness of Messiah that was needed to conquer sin and which will eventually cleanse the whole Universe. Our attitude should be no less, for the qodeshim (holy, set-apart ones, saints) - angelic as well as human - also ride white horses:

      "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider (Yah'shua/Jesus) is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Davar Elohim (Word of God). The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of El Elyon (God Almighty) On his robe and on Hs thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND MASTER OF MASTERS" (Rev.19:11-16, NIV).

    This is not, however, our battle, as we shall now see.

    PART B: THE DIVINE TAVNITH OF CONQUEST

    Resumé of the First Two Sermons

    Though allowing for a sequel, I had not actually planned one for the two part series on Salvational Issues which was originally prompted by a question from a friend: what's important and what's not in the broad scope of the Besorah (Gospel)? We concluded, after an exhaustive examination, finally, that everything was important (ultimately) but that there were different priorities for different levels of spiritual maturity. But I felt some more things needed saying about the 'grace' element in the equation. This is a side every minister and every believer who is aware of just what his part is in a life in Messiah comes back to again and again...of necessity! It's what separates and distinguishes us from the oriental religions with their belief in karma, reincarnation and self-salvation.

    Keys to the Deliverance of Israel

    Today's passage is an extract from a long account in which Yahweh recounts to the Israelites how they were delivered out of the land of Egypt and how they conquered various Moabite and Canaanite territories as they came into the Promised Land. As they obeyed and submitted to Him, so Yahweh was with them sending the proverbial hornets ahead of them to dismay their enemies:

      "You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time. I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand. Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you - also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow" (Josh.24:7-12, NIV).

    Remove All Pagan Elements

    So long as His people were determined to extirpate every last trace of paganism out of the land, Yahweh fought their battles for, and with, them. Their responsibility was to cleanse the land which is also an allegory of cleansing out the soul. Thus He later said to the Messianic Community (Church):

      "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the Tree of Chayim (Life) and may go through the gates into the city" (Rev.22:14, NIV).

    Now recall today's passage in which Yahweh says:

      "I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant" (Josh.24:13, NIV).

    Yahweh Prepares Everything in Advance:
    A Sacred Tavnith (Pattern) Revealed

    Just as the Israelites taking possession of Canaan neither cleared the land, nor built their homes, nor planted crops nor vineyards, so believers are not the builders of the New Jerusalem nor any part of their inheritance once this life is completed. It is all prepared for us, just as Eden was prepared for Adam and Eve. Our own efforts are not involved in the creation, just as it is the responsibility of husbands to provide lands and houses for their wives and children. Adam and Eve's responsibility was to tend, take care of, and manage the Garden as stewards, just as the Israelites were called as stewards to tend, take care of, and manage the houses, vineyards and fields which had been prepared in advance for them, just as wives as stewards are to tend the homes provided for them by their husbands, and just as we are to take care of our souls through righteous living, souls which were transformed into beautiful gardens by the saving grace of Messiah when we yielded to Him in surrender. This is a sacred tavnith (pattern) of salvation by grace and not of works, though we are to work in the maintenance of our salvation received feely by grace. Thus in four examples of bequeathement we are taught that our own efforts are not involved:

    The Four Bequeathements

    • 1. The bequeathement of the Garden of Eden to Adam;
    • 2. The bequeathement of the Holy Land to Israel;
    • 3. The bequeathement of a home to a wife; and
    • 4. The bequeathement of salvation to the repentant sinner.

    Neither Earning Nor Owning, But a Stewardship in Trust

    No effort consisting of works was, or is, required of our first parents, of the children of Israel, of wives, or of sinners in the reception of their inheritance, be it physical or spiritual, for there is to be no place for human pride in these provisions or in what we accomplish for Yahweh or for husbands. We can never earn these things but neither can we own them or claim any special 'right' to them. Yahweh draws people to conversion, protection and ownership, and then we draw chayim (life) from Him and are given stewardships; in the same way, men draw (attract) women to marry, protect and own them, and then the wives draw their provisions and are given stewardships. Yahweh brings growth in their emunah (faith) for Him as husbands are to bring growth in their wives' emunah (faith) in them.

    Our job as allegorical 'wives' is to keep going, keep exercising emunah (faith), keep adhering to our Shavu'ot covenant of betrothal which is the Torah. We all still have a big job to get rid of the pagan influences in the garden, in the land, in our homes and in our levim (hearts) and that is where our effort is required constantly. That is how we belong to Yahweh. Similarly, wives are to strive to remove all the traces of their old life so that they become aligned to their husband's, being echad (one) with him and his purposes. That is why Joshua reminds the children of Israel of what Yahweh has already done so that they never forget the source of their provision, for that is the responsibility of the Divine Husband above just as it is of mortal husbands below. And what a contrast with the philosophy of the world!

    Christopher Hitchens' Defence of True Tavnith (Pattern)

    The other day I was listening to a lecture given by the late atheist Christopher Hitchens whom you would have thought would have been against such 'patriarchal' principles so I was surprised when he admanantly said that he did not expect his wife to go to work if she wanted to remain at home and be taken care of. His feminist interviewer was appalled but Hitchens stuck to his guns. Something in him knew that this was the right thing to do. Unknown to him, he was expressing a deep heavenly secret that all true men instinctively know because it has been planted there by the Creator: we are to provide for our wives just as Yahweh provided the Garden of Eden for our first parents, and the Promised Land for the Children of Israel, and as Yah'shua (Jesus) has provided salvation for us. We can never earn it but we can express our gratitude for His provision by taking care of it - as saved sinners tending the garden of the soul and as wives tending the house and home of their husbands.

    The World's Philosophy is Not Liberation

    I think one of the reasons there is so much apostacy in the Messianic assemblies and Christian churches today is because they have all been adversely leavened by the prevailing political philosophy of the world that claims to represent liberation but which in reality is just another kind of Egyptian slavery. It also emasculates men and defeminises women, blurring the gender rôles and the created expressions of these reflections of the Elohim (God) world above. Getting these false gender rôles extirpated is the same as rooting out modern pagan ideas - it is part of the required cleansing of the land.

    Covenant, Stewardship the Law of Multiplication

    Suporting and driving the salvation event in our lives is always part-and-parcel of the covenant experience. Once Yahweh has provided the Garden, the Land, the bridal inheritance, or salvation, it is then up to us what we do with it. But we're not supposed to sit on it and do nothing, thus becoming thieves in His eyes. We can choose to do nothing with it, like the steward who buried his coin (talent) in the earth and lost it upon his master's return (Mt.25:28), or we can multiply it by investing it in our lives to please our Master. As Yahweh recounted the history of Israel up to the time of the conquest, so He asks us to recount our history - our own salvation events - as we build on what has been bequeathed to us. Joshua's conclusion, in recounting all that Yahweh had done for them, was simple: "Surely it's obvious, we have to continue serving Yahweh!" We must fear and serve Him in all righteousness and emet (truth).

    Intelligent and Existential Faith

    Quite clearly, given all of this, there is no such thing as 'blind faith' in the experience of one who is authentically saved. The saved soul can look back and recount with wonderment and gratitude as what Yahweh has done. That's why, in part, we are given the sabbaths, and new moons, and feasts so that we can look back in wonderment and gratitude at what Yahweh has done both for us and our ancestors in the emunah (faith). We can count our blessings and be astonished at just how enormous the final tally is. We are not, I sincerely hope, religious zealots dealing in wishful thinking. We are not messing around with fantasy. We are dealing in the concrete. And the evidence that this is so is all around for us to see generally as well as specifically for each of us individually. We can see, as we absorb what has happened to us, how the Master has called us, delivered us, protected us, and supplied us with all we need. There is nothing lacking until we start trying to find fault with the Heavenly Provider and start demanding things He will not give us. We are to be content with what we have and get into the business of multiplying it for His glory. We are to be spiritual capitalists making good the investment our Master has made in us in dying on the Cross for us and thereby providing deliverance and eternal life.

    Yahweh's Glory, Not Self-Happiness, is the Goal

    Last week I was drinking in accounts of the Isle of Lewis Revival in Scotland. Listening to Duncan Campbell's testimony (he was undoubtedly one of the greatest preachers of the 20th century) had me glued to my seat. He dealt with the absolute basics of our emunah (faith) and reminded me in no uncertain terms that the object or goal of life is not the humanistic notion of acquiring happiness but of giving glory fo YAHWEH! Happiness is a byproduct of such devotion, not the object of our passion. We are to focus on giving glory to Elohim (God) and to let the happiness take care of itself. It's the Patriarchal Principle again, isn't it? Little wonder it is the target of the Enemy's most vicious attacks and why he seeks to corrupt men - for once men are corrupted, and succumb to pride and self-glory, then patriarchy becomes degraded and demonised, perverting true tavnith (pattern), and in turn provoking a feminist backlash.

    Elements of Salvation Maintenance

    As maintainers of the paradisaic garden of that salvation inheritance received by emunah (faith) alone, without any works on our part so that we have nothing to boast about, making sure we don't let it slip out of our hands [1], our responsibility then becomes to extricate ourselves out of our various ungodly religious and/or secular heritages and replace them with Yahweh's divine Torah lifestyle. We must not bring any pagan vestige into our new life nor hang onto it from the old. Re-education in Yahweh's Derech (Way), it is granted, may take time, but the moment we discover something that is heathen from our past, be it some observance like the Roman Christmas or the Jewish kippa, a false social attitude like feminism or swearing, we are to forsake it immediately and adhere only the heavenly lifestyle. This requires both effort and struggle - it is what is called overcoming. We must overcome every inclination to cling on, or revert back, to pagan ways, whether in mannerisms, thoughts, feelings, customs, practices or anything else. This is how we maintain our salvation. The Christian or Messianic Derech (Way) requires total revolution - a comprehensive desutruction of the old foundations so that only Yahweh in Yah'shua (Jesus), the incarnate Davar (Logos, Word) or Torah, is our foundation!

    Kingdom Decision-Making is Now

    Joshua does not mince words. He does not invite the people to mull over what he has said and to come back with a decision later. He demands a decision there and then there and then:

      "If serving Yahweh seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh!" (Josh.24:15, NIV).

    The Obvious Truth, No Real Choice

    Now please don't suppose, as so many wrongly do, that Joshua is simply inviting the Israelites to make a straight choice between Yahweh and pagan deities. He's also saying that if you won't make the logical and obvious choice - given the history, given the evidence, given the astonishing miracles - then what on earth will you choose? Will you choose the ways of the pagans in the surrounding nations and follow their useless gods? Or will you side with the 'conservatives', if you will, who want the well-tested traditions of the fathers who walked in obedience to the mitzvot (commandments) with a deep and abiding faith in El Elyon (the Most High God), or will you go with the 'liberals' who want to try some new fad and supposedly 'improve' on the living Elohim (God), putting your limited experience above Eternal Emet (Truth)? Joshua is pointing out that to choose anything but the Emet (Truth) would be insane. The people got his point. They chose immediately:

      "Then the people answered, 'Far be it from us to forsake Yahweh to serve other gods! It was Yahweh our Elohim (God) Himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And Yahweh drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve Yahweh, because he is our Elohim (God)" (Josh.24:16-18, NIV).

    Covenant Must Back-Up Zeal Against the Weakness of the Flesh

    But Joshua knew how weak the flesh was - he knew that the people had to be held to their choice by entering into a b'rit (covenant) before the witness of the whole nation and make themselves accountable, which is why marriage covenants have to be made in front of witnesses too. He reminded the people that Yahweh is a jealous Elohim (God), not in a carnal way, but in a loving, passionate and protective way, guarding His allegorical Wife as a true Husband. Again he does not mince his words:

      "Joshua said to the people, 'You are not able to serve Yahweh. He is a qodesh (holy, set-apart) Elohim (God); He is a jealous Elohim (God). He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after He has been good to you" (Josh.24:19-20, NIV).

    Covenants are Deadly Serious But Eternally Rewarding

    Their response reminds me of the indignant Peter who, in sincerity and with zeal, said He would never betray His Master! The early Israelites were no different:

      "But the people said to Joshua, 'No! We will serve Yahweh.' Then Joshua said, 'You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve Yahweh."' 'Yes, we are witnesses,' they replied. 'Now then,' said Joshua, 'throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your levim (hearts) to Yahweh, the God of Israel.' And the people said to Joshua, 'We will serve Yahweh our Elohim (God) and obey Him'" (Josh.24:21-24, NIV).

    The Dual Betrothal Vow

    This was a marriage vow! Full of the enthusiasm of allegorical newly weds, they did not know the testing that they would be subjected to, nor the temptations Satan would lay before them. Their fathers had signed the Ketubah or Betrothal Contract at Sinai before Moses and they were renewing it again but this time before Joshua. When a New Covenant Believer commits to Yahweh, he or she does so in two parts:

    • 1. At his baptism when he is immersed, covenanting to die to self and follow Messiah in all things; and
    • 2. At his Shavu'ot Covenent (Bar Mitzvah, similar to the Christian 'confirmation' in some respects) in which he (or she) covenants to follow the betrothal terms of the Torah.

    No Final Salvation Without Commitment and Faithfulness

    Salvation must always be proceeded by commitment, and commitment always has a price or cost. Yahweh's grace - His undeserved loving kindness or unmerited favour - is given freely but it is given exclusively, as a husband to a wife. The Husband expects His Wife to remain faithful to His Person and to His Father's Torah (Teaching, Law)! That is why a woman must be sure beforehand that she can submit to, follow and promote her husband's beliefs before marrying him, and why someone commiting to Yah'shua (Jesus) to be a talmid (disciple) needs to be resolved to obey all of Yahweh's mitzvot (commandments) too. Obedience and emunah (faith) are closely intertwined.

    Yahweh Will Not Share You With Satan

    If the sinner turns away from Him after he has been saved, then Yahweh rightly gets angry, and describes it like the anger of a husband whose wife commits adultery. So when He calls us to follow Him, it has to be an exclusive commitment. He will not share His Wife with any other god as no godly husband will share his wife with any other man - ever!

    The Call to Israel and Judah

    The rest of the story most of you know. It is not a happy one. Israel and Judah prostituted themselves and their jealous Husband, Yahweh, was angry and broken-hearted and in the end was forced to divorce both of them - first Israel, and then Judah. The Chosen Ones had made themselves into whores. Nevertheless He reclaims both wives through the resurrected Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), who died for them, if they will but heed His call. He is calling both Houses of Israel today.

    Conclusion

    This, then, is the meaning of the vision of the zebra. We are not called to live lives as the striped zebra. We are not to blend truth and falsehood. Rather, we are to remove every last trace of paganism from our lives and becomes as pure white horses. Salvation by grace demands our obedience to Torah or it is not fully received. So how long will we be of two minds about anything? It is time to declare, and then walk, the Derech (Way) we are going to walk, without looking back in regret, and see it to its end. And then, when we meet Yah'shua (Jesus) at the end of it, we will have something worthy to present Him - a life that brings Him glory. Amen.

    Endnotes

    [1] Yom Shleshi, Sunday 16 December, around 8 a.m.
    [2] See articles on the Once Saved, Always Saved error

    back to list of contents

    Purchase the WHOLE Website by clicking here

    Return to Main NCCG.ORG Index Page

    This page was created on 20 December 2012
    Last updated on 20 December 2012

    Copyright © 1987-2012 NCCG - All Rights Reserved

     
      
    
    '