RECOGNITION

2. RECOGNITION THE MESSIANIC PROPHECY BIBLE PROJECT http://www.messianicbible.com HEAR O ISRAEL www.hearoisrael.org SHEEPFOLD GLEANINGS WRITTEN BY JULIE PARKER www.sheepfoldgleanings.com MESSIANIC ISRAEL ALLIANCE http://www.messianicisrael.com AZAMRA TORAH FOR OUR TIME – RABBI AVRAHAM GREENBAUM http://www.azamra.org

3. KI TAVO “WHEN YOU ENTER IN” TORAH: Deuteronomy 26:1-29:9 HAFTORAH: Isaiah 60:1-22 B’RIT CHADASHAH: Acts 7:30-36, Romans 1:18;2:6-11, 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15; 22:11-15 All references: The Scripture 1998+ unless otherwise noted

4. FIRST FRUIT “And it shall be, when you come into the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the fruits of the soil which you bring from your land that יהוה your Elohim is giving you, and shall put it in a basket and go to the place where יהוה your Elohim chooses to make His Name dwell there. (Deuteronomy 26:1-2) The Israelite gift of first fruits, called Bikkurim, showed that he had dedicated everything he owned to the glory and service of יהוה. It is a statement of homage that said every blessing, success, and accomplishment of the giver, no matter how much effort and expense has been invested by the person, was actually a gift from the Most High. “Bring the first of the first-fruits of your land into the House of יהוה your Elohim... (Exodus 23:19). ..Then the person went forth to celebrate all the goodness that יהוה had given to him and his household.

5. GIVE THANKS BY DECLARATION “And you shall come to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I shall declare today to יהוה your Elohim that I have come to the land which יהוה swore to our fathers to give us.’ (Deuteronomy 26:3) The declaration: (The “back-bone” of the Passover Haggadah) “And the priest shall take the basket from your hand and place it before the altar of יהוה your Elohim. “And you shall answer and say before יהוה your Elohim, ‘My father was a perishing Aramean, and he went down to Mitsrayim and sojourned there with few men. And there he became a nation, great, mighty, and numerous. ‘But the Mitsrites did evil to us, and afflicted us, and imposed hard labour on us. ‘Then we cried out to יהוה Elohim of our fathers, and יהוה heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression. ‘And יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great fear and with signs and wonders. ‘And He brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” ‘And now, see, I have brought the first-fruits of the land which You, O יהוה, have given me.’ .., (Deuteronomy 26:4-10)

6. BECAUSE OF THE REWARDS When we come before יהוה with the first fruit offering portion of our increase, it is: an act of recognizing Him as our Source, a sincere method of giving thanks, a way of dedicating and sanctifying what we possess to His glory, an action that opens wider the gate to His provision and blessing, and a move toward sensitizing the heart to receive greater spiritual revelation. And I do this because of the Good News, so as to become a fellow-partaker with it. Do you not know that those who run in a race indeed all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to obtain it. And everyone who competes controls himself in every way. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we for an incorruptible crown. (1 Corinthians 9:23-25)

7. ARE YOU FREE? IF יהוה HAS SET US FREE, WHY ARE WE NOT ABLE TO TAKE POSSESSION OF OUR LAND? It starts in our hearts first, beginning with the choice to wholly forgive ourselves, our family and others. Then, having love for one another, and offering up sacrifices of praise and worship in thankfulness to יהוה will be a natural response to the work He has done in our lives. We will have entered into יהושע’s death that leads to His resurrection life and thus be able to offer this life to others. This is taking possession of the land. We are made of three parts: body, soul and spirit. We are to conquer all that hinders our walk and bring it into obedience to יהוה. To enter יהושע’s life is to conquer the land within us. If we are not in Him, how can we see the growth, fruit, and signs and wonders of the blessings promised? We may need to reevaluate our walk and apprehend the priesthood He has offered us. (Exodus 19:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 12:14).

8. ARE YOU FREE? More blockages that may prevent blessings could be ignorance in regards to יהוה’s Word or lack of knowledge of יהוה’s ways. For example: Tolerating personal or generational sin issues, not have faith in יהוה but trust in man or when looking for signs, wonders and miracles, and have expectations of יהוה on our own terms. When we choose to be dishonest and participate in obvious or habitual sins, then these become blockages. Many of us have come to knowledge of our salvation but do not walk in redemption through a sanctified holy lifestyle. We may still be partaking in sins that could lead to diseases and potentially death – sins such as bitterness, unforgiveness, and fear. Other causes of separation from יהוה include: failure to pray, not caring for our bodies, not eating biblically acceptable foods, not resting on the Sabbath, murmuring or listening to gossip or idle talk, not blessing our wives or failing to take proper care of the widows, orphans and poor among us, to name a few.

9. HOLINESS PRODUCESS FRUIT There is a move by the Ruach Ha Kodesh and a call on people's hearts to enter, possess and inhabit the land. This is done in an attitude of righteousness which leads to holiness, for without holiness no one will see יהוה(Hebrews 12:14). Some have given their lives to יהוה but never really given their hearts to Him. When we truly give our hearts to Him we see what is written on our hearts (Torah), and the Ruach Ha Kodesh begins to instruct us in that walk of holiness called redemption. As we continue to pursue holiness we begin to possess the land, and finally we settle and have peace because we have become accustomed to walking in His ways. Many of us who have not entered into this walk of redemption may not have experienced His Fruit yet. The fruit is called signs and wonders and is what raises the dead, heals the sick and cleanses the lepers. These are called the elementary things that follow those who have a purified and holy walk in יהוה through יהושע(Hebrews 6:1-2). We then become His first fruits as we labor together in His field, white for the harvest (John 4:35; Ezekiel 37:1-14).

10. CONTROL Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of turning. Having purposed it, He brought us forth by the Word of truth, for us to be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures. So then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of Elohim. Therefore put away all filthiness and overflow of evil, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your lives. And become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, for he looks at himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like. But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is worthless. (James 1:17-26)

11. YOU ARE THE OFFERRING ‘... Then you shall place it before יהוה your Elohim, and bow down before יהוה your Elohim, and shall rejoice in all the good which יהוה your Elohim has given to you and your house, you and the Lĕwite and the stranger who is among you. (Deuteronomy 26:10-11) This is known as the order of Melchizedek (king and priest). When the House of Israel begins to walk in the ways of יהוה they bring the priestly order and receive their inheritance of “a land, a people and a blessing”. When the House of Judah begins to walk in יהוה’s ways they bring the kingly side and receive the same inheritance of “a land, a people and a blessing”. When both Houses begin to walk in יהוה’s ways in unity, as of one heart (2 Chronicles 30:10-12; Romans 15:5; Ephesians 4:3), David’s fallen tent (covenant) is restored. This restoration ushers in the order of Melchizedek…last fulfilled by יהושע. Thus, we are יהושע’s first fruits (Ezekiel 37:15-28; Amos 9:11; Acts 15:16-21).

12. THIRD TITHE “When you have completed tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Lĕwite, to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, and they have eaten within your gates and have been satisfied, then you shall say before יהוה your Elohim, ‘I have put away the set-apart portion from my house, and also have given it to the Lĕwite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your command which You have commanded me. I have not transgressed Your commands, nor have I forgotten. ‘I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for any unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of יהוה my Elohim, I have done according to all that You have commanded me. ‘Look from Your set-apart dwelling place, from the heavens, and bless Your people Yisra’ĕl and the land which You have given us, as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ (Deuteronomy 26:12-15) The third tithe was particularly important because it represented Israel's concern and generosity for the poor of the land.

13. GENESIS Man's basic sin, was bound up with the eating of fruit: the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. After being told not to eat of that fruit, he stole it and all mankind has suffered the consequences. According to Hebrew thought, Ya’aqob (Yah’ssupplanter) used trickery against Esaw and Laban to retrieve the blessings back from the serpent. And, Ya’aqob's children had to go down into Mitzrayim in order to rectify all that fell, through the eating of the forbidden fruit. They had to endure slavery in order to learn the meaning of freedom and its obligations. Only after much work and tribulation did they come to the Land, take it from, and cleanse it of the accursed Canaanites, seed of the serpent, till it, plant and tend it until they saw their first-fruits. The first fruits, or “Bikkurim” relate to the “Bechorah”, the “birth-right”, which alludes, in Hebrew thought, to “Chokmah”, or "wisdom". You see, it was “wisdom” (knowledge of good and evil) that Adam and Chawah defiled in taking the forbidden fruit. Esaw, the embodiment of the serpent, rejected the “birth-right of wisdom”, but Ya’aqob took it back and vowed at Beit El (House of El) to dedicate the tithe to יהוה.

14. RABBI GREENBAUM “The rectification of the trickery of the serpent, which tempts man to make self-gratification his only altar, is through the steady application of the Torah command-ments that regulate how and what we take from the world around us, including the very food we put into our mouths. Before we enjoy the fruits of our labors, we must think of the priest, the Levite and the poor, and separate all the obligatory gifts and tithes. The fulfillment of all the relevant commandments elevates and puts blessing into the fruits that remain for our own enjoyment.”

15. RABBI GREENBAUM “Presentation of the first fruits in the Temple is the very first of the agricultural commandments fulfilled by the farmer: he thinks about it while the fruit is still ripening on the tree, before he even begins harvesting. The declaration about tithes comes after an entire cycle of three years of harvests and steady fulfillment of all the intricate details of the commandments applying to the fruits in different years. First comes the Terumah, the gift to the priest, and then the First Tithe (Ma’aser) for the Levite. In the first and second years, the Second Tithe (Ma’aser Sheni) is to be eaten in purity in Jerusalem by its owner, but in the third year, the owner cannot eat the Second Tithe himself. He must give it to the poor (Ma’aser Oni). If a person has fulfilled all these command-ments in all their details, he is entitled to stand up after all this work and list what he has accomplished”.

16. MODEL YOURSELVES “Today יהוה your Elohim is commanding you to do these laws and right-rulings. And you shall guard and do them with all your heart and with all your being. “You have today caused יהוה to proclaim to be your Elohim, and to walk in His ways and guard His laws, and His commands, and His right-rulings, and to obey His voice. “And יהוה has caused you to proclaim today to be His people, a treasured possession, as He has spoken to you, and to guard all His commands, so as to set you high above all nations which He has made, for a praise, and for a name, and for esteem, and for you to be a set-apart people to יהוה your Elohim, as He has spoken.” (Deuteronomy 26:16-19) This is the last commandment given in our parsha this week. We are to walk in His ways. This is more than just obeying His Words. This is about modelling ourselves and behaviours after His attributes. So, just as He is merciful and gracious, so we should be merciful and gracious. The refinement of these and other righteous attributes in us is the work in the heart that יהוה asks of all His children.

17. SET UP LARGE STONES “And it shall be, on the day when you pass over the Yardĕn to the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and plaster them with plaster, and write on them all the Words of this Torah, when you have passed over, so that you go into the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as יהוה Elohim of your fathers has spoken to you. “And it shall be, when you have passed over the Yardĕn, that on Mount Ěyḇal you set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall plaster them with plaster, and build an altar to יהוה your Elohim there, an altar of stones – do not use an iron tool on them. “Build the altar of יהוה your Elohim with complete stones, and you shall offer burnt offerings on it to יהוה your Elohim, and shall offer peace offerings, and eat there, and rejoice before יהוה your Elohim. “And you shall write all the Words of this Torah on the stones – plainly and well.” (Deuteronomy 27:2-8)

18. LIVING STONES When יהוה first gave this covenant to the Children of Israel, Moses built an altar and set up twelve stones representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel. He read the book of the Covenant to the people who agreed with all יהוה said. Moses then sprinkled blood on the altar and the people. This is called the “Blood of the Covenant”, which consequently sealed (like plaster) all the words spoken by יהוה and the people (Exodus 24; Hebrews 9:18; Hebrews 10:26-31). Because their parents broke the covenant with יהוה by worshipping the golden calf, forty years later Moses is told to renew this covenant with their children before crossing over into the land. The same Words that were spoken over their parents are now written very clearly on large stones covered by plaster, representing the flesh of the stones. Today, those who are in יהושע now have written on their HEARTS these very words. you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual house, a set-apart priesthood, to offer up spiritual slaughter offerings acceptable to Elohim through יהושע Messiah. (1 Peter 2:5)

19. COMING IN AGREEMENT “These are to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have passed over the Yardĕn: Shimʽon, and Lĕwi, and Yehuḏah, and Yissasḵar, and Yosĕph, and Binyamin. “And these are to stand on Mount Ěyḇal to curse: Re’uḇĕn, Gaḏ, and Ashĕr, and Zeḇulun, Dan, and Naphtali. “And the Lĕwites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Yisra’ĕl: (Deuteronomy 27:12-14) In the book of Joshua we read that, after entering the land, all Twelve Tribes presented themselves before this monumental place at the entrance of the land. Six tribes stood on one mountain and six tribes on the other with the Ark resting between them. In obedience to what Moses taught, the Levites declared in a loud voice the twelve fundamental curses from the Law of Moses over the Children of Israel. The people agreed and said “Amen” (“So be it”). Today may we also be a people, who know and understand the words of יהוה and say “Amen”, “So be it.” (Deuteronomy 27:15-26, Joshua 8:30-35). Amen: Strong’s #543 TWOT 113b to confirm, support, uphold; to be established, be faithful; to be certain, i.e. to believe

20. MOUNT GERIZIM AND MOUNT EBAL At their bases, Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal are only five hundred yards apart, with the town of Shechem lying between them. It is reported that there are eighty springs in or around the town. Shechem means shoulder, as well as to rise early in the morning. The town is a city of refuge forty miles north of Jerusalem in the region of Ephraim. When Abraham was called from Ur, he entered the land and stopped here first to build an altar to יהוה(Genesis 12:6). It was here that Jacob buried his family idols and grazed his flocks at the well (Genesis 35:4; 37:12-14). Genesis 49:29-32 and Acts 7:16 records the patriarchs are buried at Shechem in the plot both Abraham and Jacob repurchased (Genesis 33). Jeroboam was crowned king of Israel here after separating and taking ten tribes from Solomon's son Rehoboam King of Judah. Shechem became the capital of Samaria for the Northern Kingdom, the House of Israel.

21. A CURSED IS THE MAN WHO… .. makes a carved or moulded image, an abomination to יהוה, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ .. makes light of his father or his mother.’ .. moves his neighbour’s boundary.’ .. misleads the blind in the way.’ .. twists the right-ruling of the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ .. lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s bed.’ .. lies with any beast.’ .. lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ .. lies with his mother-in-law.’ .. smites his neighbour secretly.’ .. takes a bribe to slay an innocent being.’ .. does not establish the Words of this Torah.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amĕn!’ (Deuteronomy 27:15-26)

22. ARTSCROLL COMMENTARY To the casual reader, the admonitions contained in these verses may seem to be arranged in a random order, but this is not the case. Consider the following: the prohibition against idolatry (verse 15) is with that juxtaposed (Placed side by side often for comparison) of degrading one’s parents “who outwardly is respectful to his parents but inwardly considers himself vastly superior to them” along with trespassing against one’s neighbor’s property by removing his neighbor’s boundary markers or landmarks. Now consider this: one who does not honor and fear יהוה but turns to idolatry (the first and second commandments) will not honor one’s parents (the fifth commandment and vice versa) will likewise not honor the property of one’s neighbor (including his neighbor’s wife). Juxtaposed next to these commands is the prohibition against misleading a blind person (verse 18). This means that we should not take advantage of his blindness by advising him in a way beneficial to us and to his disadvantage. Juxtaposed to that is one who steals justice from another by perverting judgment against one who is weaker socially or financially or who is less informed at law than another thereby giving the advantage to the stronger (ArtScroll Davis Edition Baal HaTurim Chumash/Devarim, pp. 2126–2127).

23. BLESSINGS “And it shall be, if you diligently obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard to do all His commands which I command you today, that יהוה your Elohim shall set you high above all nations of the earth. “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim: (Deuteronomy 28:1-2) Jeffrey Tigay in the JPS Torah Commentary shared a chiastic structure on the blessing as they are outlined in the Torah. A. Economic success (v. 3a) B. Fertility of soil (v. 3b) C. Fertility of humans and animals (v. 4) D. Abundant food (v. 5) E. Military success (v. 6) E’. Military success (v. 7) D’. Abundant food (v. 8) C’. Fertility of humans and animals (v.11) B’. Fertility of soil (v. 12a) A’. Economic success (v. 12b-13)

24. BLESSINGS “Blessed are you in the city, and blessed are you in the field. “Blessed is the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your livestock ... “Blessed is your basket and your kneading bowl. “Blessed are you when you come in, and blessed are you when you go out. “יהוה causes your enemies who rise against you to be smitten before your face – they come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. “יהוה commands the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and shall bless you in the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you. “יהוה does establish you as a set-apart people to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim and walk in His ways. “And all peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of יהוה is called upon you, and they shall be afraid of you. “And יהוה shall make you to have plenty of what is good, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land of which יהוה swore to your fathers to give you. “יהוה opens to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. And you shall lend to many nations, but you do not borrow. “And יהוה shall make you the head and not the tail. And you shall be only on top, and not be beneath, if you obey the commands of יהוה your Elohim, which I command you today, to guard and do... (Deuteronomy 28:1-14)

25. CURSES “And it shall be, if you do not obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard to do all His commands and His laws which I command you today, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you: (Deuteronomy 28:15) יהוה allows curses to come upon His people due to our transgressions (sins), many of which go back to our forefathers. “Transgression" literally means to cross or to go against יהוה’s will. This is our active refusal to acknowledge and observe the Torah (יהוה’s teaching and instruction) in our daily lives. The Torah describes in detail blessings and curses as consequences of our life choices. As a consequence of our actions, we either choose His way (blessings), or suffer from the consequences of disobedience (curses) in our own lives. Both of which may be passed down to the third and fourth generations. Curses that are passed down from generation to generation are known as iniquities. Transgression is the disobedience we willfully do on our own. Our transgressions can become iniquities. The decisions we make today not only determine our destiny but could determine the destiny of our children and their future generations.

26. CURSES: MENTAL EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN Madness, driven mad (Deuteronomy 28:28,34); confusion of heart or confusion of mind, depression (Deuteronomy 28:20,28); a trembling heart or an anxious mind (Deuteronomy 28:65); anguish of soul or a despairing heart (Deuteronomy 28:65). The areas affected are described as the heart, the soul and/or the mind. POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSES: Occult involvement whether white or black magic, paganism, earth worship (wicca, new age), involvement in secret societies i.e., Freemasonry, Lodges (Elks, Moose, etc,) fraternities, sororities, etc., involvement in horoscopes, astrology, Ouija boards, tarot cards, etc.  POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS/CONSEQUENCES: confusion and depression and emotional roller coasters, rebellion.

27. CURSES:REPEATED OR CHRONIC SICKNESS MAINLY HEREDITARY: plague or plagued with diseases (Deuteronomy 28:21); consumption or wasting diseases (Deuteronomy 28:22); severe burning fever (Deuteronomy 28:22); inflammation (Deuteronomy 28:22); incurable boils (Deuteronomy 28:27,35); tumors/cancer (Deuteronomy 28:27); scabs or festering sores (Deuteronomy 28:27); incurable itch (Deuteronomy 28:27); blindness (Deuteronomy 28:28); extraordinary, fearful, prolonged plagues like diabetes (Deuteronomy 28:59); serious and prolonged sicknesses or severe and lingering diseases like cancer or heart disease (Deuteronomy 28:59); every other kind of sickness and plagues (Deuteronomy 28:61). Either these are inherited through generations or brought on by self-inflicted. POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSES: Bitterroot judgments or unforgiveness (especially towards parents, spouse, ex-spouse, and employers) or against anyone who abused or molested you; late onset of diabetes and asthma often result from bitter root judgments against your parents, and /or against present or past spouses, fear, stress and anxiety.

28. CURSES: BARRENNESS, TENDENCY TO MISCARRAIGE The key phrase from Deuteronomy 28:18 is "Cursed shall be the fruit of your body" or your womb. This curse may affect any of the various organs or functions involved in procreation. These include: inability to conceive; a tendency to miscarry; fetal death during or before childbirth; endometriosis; failure to menstruate; irregular menstruation; debilitating menstrual cramps; frigidity; cysts, tumors or other growths or structural defects affecting any of the various organs connected with the reproductive process; any condition leading to hysterectomy; prostate cancer in men; low sperm count in men; sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSES: Many causes relate to violations of the laws of Niddah. (Not having sexual intimacy during a woman's monthly flow for seven days (Leviticus 15:19-33). Cervical cancer or other female related problems can be linked to violation of this law. Other possible root causes are: Bitterness or unforgiveness. Fornication outside Torah principles (marriage), pornography, abortion, affairs, soul ties (flashbacks of past relationships), comparing your spouse with your own or their parents, oral sex and masturbation (which is a homosexual act - witchcraft).

29. CURSES: BREAKDOWN IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY ALIENATION (Deuteronomy 28:41) “You bring forth sons and daughters, but they are not with you, for they go into captivity. POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS/CONSEQUENCES: Divorce; poor relationship with parent/grandparents/in-laws; rebellious children; abuse to spouse and /or children' neglect or abandonment of children, causing them to be orphaned; critical or judgmental spirit, accusations, envy/jealousy.  POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSES: religious pride, anger, not honoring your parents. Note: divorce will cause us to live in poverty for a season, whether spiritually, mentally or financially.

30. CURSES: CONTINUING FINANCIAL INSUFFICIENCY Deuteronomy 28:17 “Cursed is your basket and your kneading bowl. You shall not prosper in your ways or you will be unsuccessful in everything you do. The full outworking of this curse, however, is most graphically presented in verses 47-48; “Because you did not serve יהוה your Elohim with joy and gladness of heart for all the plenty, you shall serve your enemies whom יהוה sends against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in need of all. (Deuteronomy 28:47-48) Biblically speaking, God's abundance is having all you need to do God's will and something left over to give to others. We must recognize that there is a higher level of wealth than just the material (Proverbs 13:7).  POSSIBLE ROOT CURSES: Adulterous affairs, pornography, and greed. One of the biggest areas of continuing financial insufficiency is related to sexual immorality. The spirit of lust is a root of both financial insufficiency and sexual immorality. Typically, when one is involved in sexual immorality, their spirit cries out in the form of anger and rage. They cannot save money because of the lust for more things or uncontrollable spending.

31. CURSES: BEING ACCIDENT PRONE, SUICIDE AND UNNATURAL DEATH “And you shall be groping at noon, as a blind man gropes in darkness, (Deuteronomy 28:29) INCLUDING: freak accidents, carelessness, impulsiveness, and unnatural impulse to do harm to another or to animals, an unusually high number of vehicle accidents. POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSES: molestation, abuse. A History of Suicides and Unnatural or Untimely Early Deaths, including: thoughts of suicide or trying to commit suicide; lack of joy in your life; critical or judgmental spirit; self-hatred; untimely death of family members due to murder, suicides, or diseases that took someone's life at an early age.  POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSES: Abuse, molestation, occult activity.

32. ROMANS 11:1-15 THE REMNANT OF ISREAL I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Let it not be! But by their fall deliverance has come to the gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy. And if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the gentiles, how much more their completeness! (Romans 11:11-12) The Torah portion for this week closes with Paul sharing about יהוה’s plan for the remnant coming from the Nations and for the Jewish people. For those choosing repentance, cleansing and a walk of redemption through holiness, Paul uses the picture of an olive tree. Olive trees need to be engrafted with a wild olive branch in order to survive. The root and the tree is יהושע, the Vinedresser. The tree also represents the Torah. The natural branches represent the House of Judah, the Jewish people, and the wild olive branch represents the remnant of the House of Israel coming from the Nations.

33. ROMANS 11:1-15 THE REMNANT OF ISREAL In the grafting process of an olive tree, the vinedresser first cuts off a natural branch, causing it to fall to the ground. This causes the bark on that cast-off branch to harden for a time. The vinedresser then goes out to find a wild olive tree and cuts off a strong branch, bringing it back and grafting the wild olive branch into the natural olive tree. The cut/grafting is called a “scion” (Strong’s G1461) pronounced “zion.” He uses worn High Priest garments, called “swaddling clothes”, to wrap the grafted wild olive branch to the natural olive tree. For three and a half years – the length of a Torah cycle – the vinedresser checks daily to see if the grafting will take. After that time, if the wild branch has adapted, the cut or “circumcision” is no longer visible. The wild olive branch has become like the natural branch of the olive tree. Then the vinedresser gathers the natural branch that fell and hardened for a time and grafts it into the same place that the wild olive branch had been grafted into. This process takes another three and a half years for a total of seven years. Each year represents a thousand years, corresponding to the seven thousand-year plan of יהוה. (Olive Tree: 7000 Year Redemptive Plan of God Rabbi Ralph Messer)

34. THE MIKVAH The Mikvah is a Biblical practice of water immersion through which people around the world have reached out to יהוה for spiritual renewal and repentance from disobedience especially for believers for thousands of years. First forgive ourselves, and then forgive everyone who has hurt us physically, spiritually and emotionally. (Colossians 3:12-13) PRAYER OF CONFESSION BEFORE MIKVAH: The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I ask You to forgive me of my disobedience, iniquities and transgressions. I forgive my forefathers for turning their backs on Your Torah. I forgive all those who hurt me physically, spiritually and emotionally. I ask that all demonic influences be bound and not permitted to operate in my life according to Torah, and that your Spirit be loosed to operate in my life according to Torah, to rule and reign in my life, and to help me walk out Your Will. I ask this in the name of my Lord and Savior, Yeshua Ha Mashiach. Amen.

35. THREE STAGE OF FORGIVENESS Hebrew tradition identifies three stages in the process of forgiveness, whether you are being forgiven or you are forgiving other. The steps are identifies by the words s'lechah (forgiveness), 'm'chilah (letting go), nadkapparah(atonement). Forgiveness begins with the conscious intention to forgive. But if the process ends there, the feelings of guilt or resentment reappear when you least expect them. Letting go means, ' you no longer need the past to have been any different than it was.' At this stage, you may remember the pain, but you are no longer consumed either with guilt or resentment. With atonement, you can accomplish something positive that otherwise wouldn't have been possible. You still remember, and you still may feel the pain, but the act of atonement transforms the pain into a blessing (Rabbi Ted Falcon, PhD).

36. PEOPLE OF THE WORD These are the words of the covenant which יהוה commanded Mosheh to make with the children of Yisra’ĕl in the land of Mo’aḇ, besides the covenant which He made with them in Ḥorĕḇ. (Deuteronomy 29:1) Moses came to deliver his last instructions and exhortations to the sons of Israel. He summed up their four-decade history in the wilderness and put the experience in perspective one last time for their complete understanding. It has been said that it takes forty years for a Torah student to completely understand and become like his teacher. That may or may not be true. What we know is true, is that it took forty years in the furnace of the Wilderness for Israel to understand יהוה. “But יהוה has not given you a heart to know and eyes to see and ears to hear, till this day. (V 4) [Note: This happened after Moses had given a newly written Torah Scroll to the Levites (Deut. 31:19) and the common people protested vigorously, insisting that they did not want to be excluded from having a share in it. Moses marveled at the demonstration of affection and reverence for the Torah, and realized that Israel had matured into a people of Elohim. "people of the Word."]