#God's rule continues through Joshua

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Lord Himself will be With You

And the LORD-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate), he [it is] that does go before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you, neither forsake you: fear not, neither be dismayed. — Deuteronomy 31:8 | New Messianic Version (NMV) The New Messianic Version Bible by Tov Rose © 2012. All Rights Reserved. Cross References: Genesis 28:15; Exodus 13:21; Exodus 33:14; Deuteronomy 4:31; Deuteronomy 20:1; Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5

[hoshifighting]

Joshua! Celestial Angel X Reader! Shadow Angel

— Synopsis: In a place where good and evil, angels and demons are divided. The angel Joshua feels enchanted and attracted by the beauty outside of Paradise, governed by you, who is a rebellious angel who lives in worldly certainties. — WC: 5.5K — WARNINGS: Smut, unprotected sex, oral (m. receiving), fingering (f. receiving), penetrative sex, wings, dark eyes, flying, partly innocent Joshua, sinners, disrespecting the heavenly order bc of love.

In this peculiar realm where opposing forces clashed, the angelic and demonic entities found themselves in a perpetual dance of contradiction. — Day and night, good and bad, right or wrong— You, a being demon with grand black wings and your body draped in silky obsidian fabric, had transitioned from the celestial paradise to the earthly abode. It was a place adorned with greenery, a paradise for humans, yet deemed a hell by the angelic standards.

Your eyes, once accustomed to the pristine skies, now adjusted to the vibrant chaos of this earthly haven. The scent of flowers, the rustle of leaves, and the myriad of colors all around became your new reality. 

One day, as you wandered through the arborized paradise, you witnessed an angel sent by the gods, radiant in celestial grace, descend from the heavens. Their mission: to carry out acts of benevolence and rescue the flawed human race from the pitfalls of their own humanity.

Once, you were an angel too, soaring through the celestial expanse with wings as radiant as the morning sun. The rules of paradise, however, felt like constraints on your very essence. The mandate to help the helpless, devoid of personal desires and sensations, left you yearning for something more.

In the heavenly realm, your duties were clear. You mended broken spirits, offered solace to the suffering, and shielded humanity from unseen perils. Yet, as you carried out these acts of benevolence, a part of you longed for the tangible experiences that the gods had chosen to withhold.

In your descent from the celestial heights, the air crackled with the energy of rebellion. The moment your feet touched the earthly ground, you felt the soft embrace of grass beneath you, a stark departure from the ethereal firmament you once called home. The celestial light dimmed as you exchanged the radiant wings for the cloak of shadows, and you marveled at the newfound weight of your choices.

The earthly realm welcomed you with open arms, and you relished the sensations that had been denied to you for so long. The warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, and the fragrant whispers of nature surrounded you, each moment a symphony of earthly delights. As you walked through the arborized paradise, your senses were heightened, and the mundane took on a profound significance.

The angels above, oblivious to your departure, continued their celestial duties. you discovered a different kind of duty – a duty to experience, to explore, and to understand the complexities of existence, discovering uncharted territories of free will.

The wide green grass of the earthly realm spread beneath the azure sky, a canvas of vibrant colors. In this paradisiacal haven, you observed with both amusement and curiosity as angels, once bound by celestial rules, now embraced the newfound freedom, their wings cloaked in shades of darkness.

Among them was Joshua, the paragon of loyalty to the gods. His wings, a radiant expanse of white, glowed in stark contrast to the gathering shadows. As he moved gracefully through the earthly realm, his every action seemed guided by divine purpose.

One day, on the expansive grassy plains, you watched Joshua intervene with gentle precision, preventing a little boy from stumbling. The child, oblivious to the celestial forces at play, continued on his way, and Joshua stood there, a guardian of earthly innocence.

A subtle shiver coursed down Joshua's spine, and cold breezes swept over him as you approached. He turned, his white wings fluttering like a beacon of celestial purity, and met your gaze with a mixture of apprehension and recognition.

"If you're not here to help, I suggest you leave," Joshua declared, his voice unwavering but laced with a hint of tension.

You scoffed, the echoes of rebellion resounding in your words, "This place doesn't belong to you or your gods above. The rules of the celestial paradise have no power here. We're free to embrace the richness of earthly existence, to revel in the balance between light and shadow."

Joshua's eyes reflected the conflict within him, torn between the loyalty to divine orders and the allure of the newfound freedom. "You may have turned away from the gods, but I won't abandon my duty. The balance must be maintained, even if it means standing against those who have forsaken it."

"You defy the gods and abandon your celestial duties for what? The whims of the earthly realm?" he questioned, his wings twitching uncomfortably.

"Is it not clear?" you replied, your own wings casting shadows over the verdant ground. "To experience, to feel, to understand the very essence of existence that was denied to us above. The gods may have favored you, Joshua, but they also imprisoned you in a golden cage."

A moment of tense silence hung in the air before Joshua spoke again, his voice tinged with a mix of frustration and defiance. "You're playing with forces you cannot comprehend. The celestial order must be maintained, even if it means sacrificing personal desires."

The smirk on your face persisted as you nodded negatively, a silent defiance against the old rules that once dictated your every move. With a fluid motion, your wings unfurled, and you took to the air, flying in joyous circles above the lush forest. The freedom, the unrestricted movement, it was a sensation you had longed for, and now, you reveled in it.

Below, Joshua watched your aerial dance, his eyes betraying a longing for the unbridled freedom he had not yet embraced. The desire to soar with you, to feel the wind beneath his own transformed wings, was palpable.

In a playful moment, you pretended to fall, letting your wings come to a sudden stop. The earth rushed up to meet you, but just before impact, you felt gentle arms enveloping you. 

As you both landed gracefully, he looked into your eyes, a mix of concern and curiosity reflecting in his gaze. "Why, after all this rebellion, do you persist in being alone?" Joshua asked, his voice carrying a soft undertone.

"I'm not alone. I am free." You tell him, and he lowers his head. "I wish you could feel this freedom too, Joshua," you said, your voice carrying a touch of genuine longing. 

With those words, your wings began to work, creating a gust of wind that gently pushed against Joshua. As the currents separated you from his grasp, his once-protective arms now fell to his sides, and he watched as you ascended into the sky.

The verdant canopy of the forest below shrank as you soared higher, leaving Joshua behind. The cool air rushed past you, and the earthly realm unfolded beneath your wings. You glanced back, seeing Joshua below, a silhouette against the backdrop of the vibrant landscape.

His white wings, still pristine and shining, spoke of the loyalty he clung to. Yet, a flicker of yearning shimmered in his eyes, a desire to taste the forbidden freedom that now embraced you.

Days passed without a glimpse of Joshua, and an unusual presence lingered in the dark forest. The other demons tilted their heads in confusion as Joshua, with his glowing bright wings, ventured into the shadowy realm that was more accustomed to beings of darker nature. His desperate search for you seemed to defy the very essence of what angels were meant to be.

Meanwhile, from afar, you sensed Joshua's presence. His purity and celestial aura wafted through the air like an irresistible fragrance. The contrast of his untainted soul against the backdrop of the dark forest made his essence stand out. A voice, silky and enticing, echoed in his ear, "Searching for me?"

Joshua glanced around, his bright wings flickering anxiously in the dim light. The voice beckoned him, growing louder with each passing moment. He followed, seemingly uncoordinated, the sound pulling him deeper into the heart of the forest.

The voice, now clear and seductive, guided Joshua to a serene spot by a river, a cascade providing a soothing background melody. The dense forest closed in, creating a natural barrier around the secluded haven. Joshua hesitated, a mix of fear and anticipation coursing through his veins.

As he stood at the edge of the river, your voice ceased its alluring call. Joshua felt a shiver run down his spine as he turned to face the source of the voice. There, emerging from the river, was your figure, adorned in wet, glistening attire, your wings draped sensuously around your naked body.

Joshua's breath caught in his throat as he beheld your luscious presence, his glowing wings flickering nervously. A distinct gulp resonated in the stillness of the forest as he struggled to compose himself. Your question hung in the air, breaking the silence.

"Why are you here, Joshua?" you asked, your voice a velvet whisper that danced on the edge of the cascading waterfall. The shadows cast by the dense foliage played upon your figure, enhancing the mystery that surrounded you.

Joshua paused, his voice filled with both uncertainty and a deep yearning. "I came looking for answers," he admitted, his gaze meeting yours. "The celestial realms are in chaos, and I can't ignore the call pulling me back. But..." He hesitated, as if struggling to find the right words. "There's something about this, about being here with you, that I can't quite understand."

You tilted your head, your dark eyes locked onto Joshua's, as a mysterious air enveloped the forest. His chin quivered under the intensity of your gaze, and the vulnerability in his eyes revealed a tumultuous inner struggle.

With a graceful movement, you unfurled your wings, their shadowy expanse revealing a body that seemed to glow in the moonlight. The ethereal sight was enough to make Joshua turn away, covering his eyes as if he couldn't bear to witness such an intimate revelation. The celestial rules, the mysteries of the earthly realm, and the lack of answers all converged, leaving him in a state of overwhelming confusion.

You couldn't resist a sly smirk as you traced a hand along his back, your fingers leaving a cold touch that made his wings tremble.

"What answers are you seeking, Joshua?" you asked, your voice a gentle yet probing whisper that hung in the air. He remained turned away, as if the weight of the question and the complexity of the situation made it difficult for him to face you.

Joshua stammered, his words tumbling out in uncertainty. "I-I don't know exactly," he admitted, his voice wavering. "I've been feeling strange, and everything seems... hot."

A sly smirk played on your lips as you inquired further, "And why do you think you feel this way, Joshua?"

His hesitation lingered in the air before he finally confessed, "It's... it's when I think about you."

A soft hum escaped your lips, the sound carrying a mysterious melody. As Joshua turned around, attempting to fix his gaze on your eyes, he found it impossible. Your body, bathed in the moonlight, seemed like a forbidden fruit tempting him with its alluring glow.

He struggled to articulate his thoughts, caught in a web of conflicting emotions. "I... I can't understand it. It's like an allure, a pull that I can't resist. When I see you, when I think about you, everything becomes... different."

Your eyes held a knowing glint as you observed him, the dichotomy of his celestial purity and the earthly desires that now stirred within him unfolded in the charged atmosphere.

"And why are you seeking me?" you asked, your voice a seductive whisper that seemed to echo through the quiet forest. 

"I don't know," he admitted, his voice a mixture of vulnerability and desire. "There's something about you, something I can't ignore. It's like you hold the answers to questions I didn't even know I had."

"You're risking more than you realize by searching for these answers," you warned, your voice carrying a note of caution. The forest seemed to hold its breath, as if echoing the weight of the choices that hung in the air.

Joshua nodded, a mixture of determination and desperation in his eyes. "I know," he admitted, his voice filled with a heavy acknowledgment of the stakes involved. "But I can't continue to listen to this voice in my head, this constant tug. I need to figure out what it means, why it leads me to you."

You stepped closer, the distance between you and Joshua narrowing as the air around you became charged with an undeniable energy. For the first time, Joshua didn't flinch; instead, he closed his eyes, feeling your breath against his skin. The atmosphere held a tantalizing mix of anticipation and uncertainty.

Your fingers gently entwined with his, and you guided his hands to trace a path along your neck, down to your breasts brushing your nipples and grabbing them tight, then your waist, and further to your hips. The warmth of your body seemed to seep into his very being, causing a subtle tremor to run through him.

Joshua's breaths came out defeated, without hesitation, you smashed your lips onto his, the kiss born from a fusion of celestial rebellion and earthly desire. Joshua, lost in the tumult of conflicting emotions, didn't even know what he was doing or why his body was growing hotter with each passing moment.

His tongue brushed gently against yours, in that stolen moment, he consumed your alluring lips with a hunger that seemed to emanate from the depths of his being. The forest, draped in shadows and moonlight, bore witness to the intimate exchange between an angel and a demon.

Joshua's hands explored the contours of your heated body, the mystery of your touch captivating him. As his fingers traced over your form, he sought to understand the allure that made your skin feel so intoxicatingly good beneath his touch.

With a firm grip on your waist, he pulled you closer, melding your bodies together in a desperate embrace. The collision of celestial and earthly energies sent shivers through both of you. A moan escaped your lips, a sound that reverberated through the charged air, resonating with the very essence of desire.

Joshua, startled by the unfamiliar sensations that surged within him, sharply inhaled, his breath mingling with yours. His cock twitches inside of his vest and he bites his lips, in confusion and arousal, as the boundaries between light and shadow blurred in the intensity of the moment. "It hurts." 

"I'll help you, pretty angel."

As Joshua's vest found its way to the ground, pooling around his feet, you gently laid him on the grass. The vibrant flowers seemed to come alive, surrounding his figure with a lively burst of colors as if nature itself responded to his angelic presence. 

He watched you with curious eyes, uncertainty and desire playing out in the depths of his gaze. The teachings of his god echoed in his mind, warning him against revealing his naked body to anyone. Yet, the dark allure in your eyes held a power he couldn't resist.

Your gaze lingered on his exposed form, and a subtle, wicked smile played on your lips. He felt a thrill as you licked your lips, looking at him with a hunger that he never saw before. His hard pink cock looks veiny, tearing precum, while his eyes keep locked on your movements, waiting for your next move curiously. 

With parted lips, you let your breath brush his dick, making him quiver. Joshua didn't have an idea about what you were going to do, he just wanted to relieve that thing that kept him hard for so long. 

As you press your tongue on his leaking slit, Joshua moans involuntary, you looked so sinful dragging his cock inside of your mouth, cheeks full of his pretty dick. He looks hypnotized, by the way you bob your head on his hard length, your eyes locked with him— that powerful gaze you hold making him blush hard. 

You sucked his length hard, and the angel hisses, trying to control his hips as you dive his dick inside of your throat. His cock twitched with pleasure, and you could feel his orgasm approaching, with eyes shut, he moaned continuously, his abdomen trembling trying to hold that sensation that burned his body.

Joshua was the most angelical person below the gods that you ever knew. He walked around with those filled wings, his well structured body hidden by his white vest, and those heavenly eyes— But now he looked so perverse under your touch, his bottom lip bitten between his teeth, his hand holding the measure of your hair, while his cock was buried inside of your mouth. 

"Cum inside of my mouth." You whimper, your tongue licking his hard veins.

"C-cum? Inside? C-can I?" He stuttered unsure, he was hearing right? He can actually cum inside of your pretty lips? How did he miss this opportunity for so long?

Beads of cum escape him before you could even answer. The sticky cum, filling your mouth and as a result, leaking by the sides of your mouth. He cries, cries, and cries proud moans of your name, the first pleasure experience running from his toes to his last strand of hair.

His dick stands proudly hard even after he just cummed, and you raise your eyebrow surprised. Joshua still with the remaining pleasure running through his body, raised to kiss you, his tongue fighting yours as he tasted himself on your lips, later, licking the little residue of his cum that lazed on the corner of your mouth. 

After the kiss, a newfound determination glinted in Joshua's eyes. Eager to reciprocate the pleasure you had given him, he chewed his lip nervously, unsure of how to proceed. The angelic teachings he had followed never prepared him for sex, or to pleasure someone.

"What's on your mind, Joshua?" you inquired, your voice a sultry whisper that mingled with the rustling leaves.

 "I want to pleasure you like you just did for me, but I don't know how," he admitted, the vulnerability in his voice echoing the complexities of his celestial nature.

You reached out, your fingers tracing a gentle path along his cheek. 

He took a deep breath, his angelic features reflecting a blend of determination and curiosity. "Guide me, show me what you like," he whispered.

"I want you to do whatever you want''

Joshua, moved by a mixture of desire and uncertainty, took a step back to take a proper look at you. His eyes roamed over your figure, and you could feel the intensity of his gaze like a caress against your skin, laying your back on the ground, that feels soft since your wings made a nest for you to lay. 

He spread your legs, his soft fingers finding their way to your sopping cunt, since he saw you naked, it was like he couldn't take his eyes from your pussy. The digits explore your wet folds, and he moans at the feeling of your arousal getting his fingers drenched.

Taking a look at his fingers, glistening with your slick, he shoves his own fingers inside of his mouth, tasting your arousal. You moan at his action, and he closes his eyes, the taste making his cock twitch.

As he opens his eyes, he guides his fingers again to your cunt, when his fingers rub at your clit, you whimper his name. 

Joshua did this accidentally, but that beautiful sound you made, instincts Joshua to do the same movement against your bud, again, again and again. He was loving the view of your body squirming because of him. 

The little hole under your clit caught his attention, so he slid his two fingers in, making your back arch. "Yes! Yes! Oh fuck." 

Your hands grab his forearm, guiding him to pump his fingers in and out of your pussy, the wet sound echoing on Joshua's mind, making his cock ache 'cause he feels so hard. Your cunt leaks, and his fingers are buried inside of your spamming pussy, the delicate fingers making you drool, your eyes rolling back.

You squirmed under angel skillful touch, a sensation you hadn't anticipated after witnessing so much under the heavens. His fingers worked with a certain expertise, guided by your reactions. Amidst the pleasure that danced through the night, you found words caught between gasps and moans.

"You're far from being an angel," you admitted, the words escaping your lips in a breathy whisper.

As you watched Joshua, a flicker of something unusual caught your attention – a brief moment when his bright irises seemed to turn black, only to return to their angelic glow. His celestial face tilted with curiosity as your reaction unfolded before him. The subtle transformation left you momentarily unsettled.

His innocent gaze met yours, and he asked, "Did I do something wrong?" The innocence in his voice contrasted sharply with the skilled touch that pressed against the right spot, causing you to arch your back involuntarily.

You were far from composed, pleasure coursing through your veins, and you struggled to form a coherent response. Instead, a moan escaped your lips, and you found yourself unable to answer his question properly. 

"Y-your eyes," you stuttered, the unexpected flicker of darkness lingering in your mind as a knot tightened in your stomach. 

"What about my eyes?" he asked, attempting to talk to you while your pussy throbbed around his fingers, as your gasps and moans painted a different language.  "Tell me," Joshua urged, his angelic face tilting with genuine concern. But your response was lost inside of your pornographic moans.

The words you intended to speak were lost as a powerful wave of pleasure engulfed you. Your body spasmed uncontrollably, and Joshua's fingers, now slick with your arousal, continued to fuck you. A low hum of satisfaction escaped him as he witnessed the intensity of your release.

The world around you faded into white for a moment as the orgasm overtook your senses, leaving you in a state of blissful surrender. Your lips parted, and your throat couldn't pour any song, only the wet sinful sounds that your pussy made, as Joshua continued non stop. 

hold his forearm still, as oversensitivity lingered in the aftermath of pleasure. You took a deep breath, trying to regain composure, as Joshua's fingers withdrew, leaving you in the wake of the intense sensations.

"What was it about my eyes?"

"Your eyes... did they just... change?" The question hung in the air as Joshua's eyes flickered again, that momentary darkness replacing the celestial glow.

Joshua's eyes flickered again, as if in response to the conversation. "I don't know what you mean,"

"It's like, for a moment, they turn black, and then they're bright again,"

Joshua's eyes flickered once more, a subtle change that you keenly observed. "Did they do it again just now?" he asked, searching your face for any sign of confirmation.

The revelation about Joshua's changing eyes left you in a state of perplexity. Conflicting emotions swirled within you—fear mingled with an inexplicable arousal. As you nodded in acknowledgment, Joshua caught a glimpse of the mixture of emotions in your eyes.

Joshua, perceptive to the nuances of your emotions, caught a glimpse of the little scared eyes that betrayed the conflict within you.

 "Are you scared?" Joshua asked, his voice gentle, a reflection of the concern in his eyes.

It wasn't because you were a demon in the midst of mundane certainties in the world, that you didn't feel afraid, you were like any other human being in relation to your emotions, just like angels. So you hesitated before nodding again, admitting to the mix of emotions that surged within you.

Your black dark wings created contrast with your eyes that shone with uncertainty, while the angel and you were naked in the middle of the enchanted forest, which welcomed your bodies.

Joshua, sensing your vulnerability, reached out and gently cupped your face in his hands. His touch was tender, a contrast to the intensity of the revelations that had unfolded in the enchanted forest.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered, his eyes filled with a mix of regret and compassion. The glow of his celestial nature seemed to soften, as if trying to offer reassurance in the face of the unknown.

You leaned into his touch, the conflicting emotions within you slowly settling under the warmth of his hands. The fear and arousal still lingered, creating a complex emotional landscape that neither of you fully understood.

"I don't know what's happening," Joshua admitted, a hint of confusion in his voice. The mysterious flicker in his eyes remained an enigma.

"It's not just fear," you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. "It's... something else too."

As Joshua held you close, his hands gently caressing your face, he asked with a soft intensity, "What is it, then? What else are you feeling?" his voice a soft murmur that blended with the rustle of leaves in the enchanted forest. The shadows played on his features as he awaited your response, the moonlight casting a gentle glow over the scene.

"I want to feel you so bad," you confessed, the honesty hanging in the air like a secret unveiled.

Joshua, meeting your gaze, didn't respond immediately. The flicker of darkness in his eyes seemed to intensify for a moment, as if in response to the shared desire. Then, with a quiet sincerity, he admitted, "I want that too."

He leaned in, his lips brushing against yours in a hungry kiss. As the kiss deepened, the world around you seemed to fade away, leaving only the sensations of lips meeting in a passionate union. Joshua's touch, once angelically pure, now held a fervor that almost burned your skin.

As Joshua aligned with your core, a moan escaped your lips, swallowed by the passionate kiss that bound you both. The slick, intimate contact left you unable to focus on the kiss, your breath hitching with each movement.

Joshua, feeling the wetness and heat, hissed at the intensity of the sensation. His celestial mind, guided by an instinct he didn't fully understand, urged him into uncharted territory.

In the heat of the moment, you found yourself begging, your voice breathless and filled with desire. "Please," you whispered, the word escaping in a desperate plea, "put it inside."

Joshua, caught in the whirlwind of sensations and your urgent request, felt his breath struggle. His angelic features reflected the internal struggle between celestial restraint and the willing to fuck you.

"I... I can't resist," he admitted, his voice strained.  "I..." he hesitated, the conflict evident in his eyes. "I don't want to hurt you."

Teasingly, you whispered into Joshua's ear, "You're such a naughty angel, a sinner in this earth realm." Your words, laden with desire, seemed to stir something within him. His eyes flickered on and off, on and off, almost flashing, a subtle dance between the purity of an angel, and his alter ego. 

"You like being a little sinner, don't you?" you continued, your voice a seductive murmur. "Indulging in desires you never knew you had."

"I can't..." he began, the struggle evident in his voice. "I shouldn't..."

His eyes flickered on and off, a rapid dance of light and darkness. You could sense the internal battle waging within him, the struggle between celestial obedience and the enticing allure of earthly desires.

As you continued to playfully provoke him, he closed his eyes, a deep breath escaping him. The conflict etched on his face reflected the dichotomy of an angel losing himself to the irresistible pull of the shadows.

"You're testing me," he murmured, his voice a mixture of vulnerability and desire.

"You want this, don't you?" you continued, cooing. "You want to fuck this pussy, and let go all of those fucking heavenly rules and just feel this pussy tight around your cock."

His eyes flickered on and off in response.

"I never thought I'd see an angel like you so... tempted," you continued, your voice a seductive whisper.

You wrap a hand around his cock, the tips leaking precum, as you begin to stroke his dick, you caress the pink head with your thumb, adding to the sensory overload that seemed to consume him.

"I'm just teasing you," you whispered, a sultry tone lingering in the air. 

The playfulness in your voice was met with a warning from Joshua, his tone dropping into a more serious register, furrowing his brows and the clenching of his jaw. 

"I don't know if you should be doing that," he warned, his voice carrying a sense of caution. 

The sultry air seemed to vibrate with anticipation as you moaned, your voice carrying a hint of desire. You dared to ask Joshua, "So, what are you going to do?"

The flickering of his eyes intensified, a silent acknowledgment of the internal chaos. He struggled to find words, so Joshua took charge, seizing your hands and pinning them above your head, making your tits bounce. The sudden shift in dominance sent a jolt of electricity through your core. 

He groaned between his teeth, a low, guttural sound that betrayed the depth of his internal struggle, his head lowers a bit, taking a mouthful part of your tit, his tongue playing with your nipple, taking the lil' but between his teeth, making you throw your head back.

Heaven and Hell collided when Joshua pushed his dick slowly inside of your wet pussy, was electrifying, stretching you out in a way that left you breathless. Joshua, meeting your gaze, moaned deliciously at the new and overwhelming feelings. 

Your wet walls hug his dick, and his body trembles when his pelvis hits yours, signaling that his dick is already all inside of you. Joshua's hips moved in a rhythm that sent waves of pleasure through your body. His toned form towered over you, encouraging him to continue, your own body responded with a delicious rigidity to every stroke.

Joshua hides his face in the crook of your neck when you start to clench and unclench around his dick, his size making your pussy soak him. 

As Joshua released your hands, you wasted no time in wrapping them around his shoulders, your nails digging into his skin, and he moaned in response to the added sensation.

You squeak when Joshua takes his length off, then slams hard inside, making you pathetically spasm, his name leaves your mouth in a scream. 

"Oh?" His eyes widened with a mix of curiosity and satisfaction.

In the midst of your arching body and the heightened pleasure, he asked, "What is that?"

Joshua, after the surprising discovery, withdrew and then sheathed himself inside you again. The slow, deliberate movements created a rhythm that built steadily, each penetration sending waves of pleasure through your body as your abused g'spot it's hit every thrust.

He fucks your brains out with that angelical, innocent stupid face, while his big cock enters your gushing pussy so hard. 

You cunt traps him so tight that his hips stutter, he moans suffered in your ear, and your eyes roll to the back of your skull while you shamelessly cry, your vision turns blank, and your body tenses so hard that you're afraid to break a bone. 

Your pussy gushes cum like a waterfall. And Joshua continued to fuck you through your orgasm. In a final, primal act, Joshua growled, his hips slamming with unrelenting force until he reached the peak of his own ecstasy. 

As he filled you up with his cum, his pearly white wings unfolded, embracing both of you in an ethereal warmth amidst the winds of the enchanted forest, hugging tightly and creating a shield that seemed to protect your entwined bodies. 

His panting breaths whispered in your ear, and his arms, placed on each side of your head with his elbows anchored on the ground, provided a protective cradle. 

As your vision gradually returned, the world around you took shape in the moonlit clearing. However, the celestial and earthly union had left its mark. When you looked up, expecting to see the pearly white wings of Joshua, you were met with a startling transformation.

The once pearly white wings of Joshua, symbols of celestial purity, had transformed into black and dark ones. The ethereal feathers now matched the shadows that draped his being, a visual manifestation of the departure from the celestial realm.

Your heart pounded in your chest as you placed a hand on Joshua's neck, attempting to gently coax his face from the crook of your neck. When he opened his eyes, the once bright orbs were now dark, devouring you with a gaze that held a different energy. As you looked at him in shock, a realization dawned upon you — he was now just like you.

As Joshua noticed the intensity of your gaze, he asked, "What's wrong?" The concern in his voice was genuine, his darkened eyes reflecting a new awareness of the change that had occurred. In response to his question, he took a moment to glance at himself, as if seeing the transformation for the first time.

The realization seemed to wash over him, and his features shifted in a subtle acknowledgment of the altered reality. Joshua, with a newfound dark aura, looked at you with a mischievous, shit-eating grin. 

Joshua was now a fallen angel.

[shadowkoo]

mini requests

open | CLOSED

Hi! I'm opening my requests for the first time in nearly three years! I'm hoping by doing this sort of drabble game / mini fic requests that I can ease my way back into writing after my long hiatus. If you are interested in sending in a request, please continue reading for all the details. Thank you!

Rules + Requirements :

Follow me (if you are not already)

Reblog this post (boosts are appreciated)

Must be 18+ (minors please dni)

To Request:

Choose a group & member (1 only please)

Pick a genre (max of 3)

Select a prompt (max of 2)

Visit my askbox and use a similar format like this: "Can I request Taehyung (BTS) fluff, smut, and coworkers au with prompt #4"

*please make sure that you include the group in parenthesis after stating which member you're requesting

Groups + Members:

BTS - Seokjin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Namjoon, Jimin, Taehyung, Jungkook

EXO - Kai, Baekhyun, Sehun, Chanyeol, Chen, Suho, Kyungsoo, Xiumin, Lay

NCT - Taeyong, Taeil, Johnny, Yuta, Jaehyun, Doyoung, Ten, Winwin, Kun, Jungwoo, Mark, Xiaojun, Hendery, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Yangyang, Jisung

SVT - Vernon, Mingyu, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, Minghao, Woozi, Joshua, Hoshi, Junhui, Seokmin, Seungcheol

GOT7 - Jinyoung, Jackson, Bam, Yugyeom, Mark, Jaebeom, Youngjae

ATEEZ - Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, Jongho

MONSTA X - Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Jooheon, Changkyun

STRAY KIDS - Bang Chan, Minho, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, Jeongin

Genres + AUs:

Fluff

Smut

Angst

Enemies to lovers

Friends to lovers

Friends with benefits

Roommates

College

Coworkers

Meet Cute

Meet Ugly

Athlete (you may specify in your request)

Exes

Idol

*idol au means that they will be depicted as their real identities (as actual kpop idols & famous celebrities)

Prompts:

"Don't look at me like that. You know what that does to me."

"I wish I never met you."

"It's your lucky day."

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I can't stop thinking about you."

"Open your mouth."

"Why do you even care?"

"You're more important than you think."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Please leave."

"That's my final answer."

"Did you see that?" "See what?"

"What do you want from me?"

"God, you look so fucking good."

"You're unbelievable."

"Isn't that your mom?"

"I swear I've seen your face somewhere before."

"You're such a tease."

"Don't you dare lie to me."

"Who are the flowers for?"

"Don't forget that we're in public, baby."

"Are you scared? You should be."

"Please say something. Anything."

"Do you forgive me?"

"You forgot."

"You're crazy and I like it."

"Where are you taking me?"

"I think I'm in love with you."

"I need you. Now."

"What did you say?"

"Did you miss me?"

"I dare you."

"I bought you something."

"Is it supposed to taste like that?"

"Ew. Why does it look like that?"

"Baby are you close?" "No but the Uber is."

"How many doughnuts can I stack on it?"

"This is why no one likes you."

"Put your dick away, this is a Lowe's."

"Stop yelling at me!" "You’re panicking, you’ll crash the car." "It’s not everyday a demon crawls out of your trunk!"

"Who the fuck did I marry?"

This is the fifth letter you will write to them, and it will not be the last.

Six days after they left, the ticking behind the wall began.

A mob boss with a black eye and a jagged scar over his wrist sits alone in a dingy motel room. The kitten stares at him affectionately, oblivious to the danger they both are in. Oblivious to the mess it caused.

It happened concurrently, and so quickly. The moon started getting closer and brighter in the sky, and you started hearing them in the radio static.

With a palpable fury, the demon turns to you, ignoring the rubble of your kitchen, and sneers. "How did you summon me? You've pulled me out of chains centuries old." Frantically, you skim through your cookbook. "I don't know! I was trying to make soup!"

They held out a hand, an echo of the melody playing from their fingertips. "The world seems to dance to your tune," they spoke, their voice a captivating blend of amusement and intrigue. The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken questions.

Sometimes you question how everything could have turned out if that day had gone differently.

Chills creep down your spine as you peek through the cracked doorway. You're not supposed to be witnessing this. They'll kill you if they find out.

Free Space - send in your own prompt! Please keep it relatively short!

Disclaimers:

Not every request may be fulfilled, it is up to my discretion.

Word count may vary between requests (300 to 3k, etc.).

Unless requested otherwise, all fics will be written as female reader insert.

Please refer to the top of the original post to know whether requests are open or closed (reblogs may show something different).

Things I will NOT write: suicide, self-harm, animal abuse, underage sex, pedophilia, incest, vore, rape, non-consensual, or dubious sex.

[schatzwiederentdeckung]

Learning to Cultivate the Virtue of Fortitude

Before being able to learn about cultivating fortitude as a virtue in our "moral compass," we must first have an understanding of what fortitude even means. Fortitude--which sometimes is referred to as courage--is "a firmness of spirit, [and] steadiness of will in doing good despite obstacles in the performance of our daily duty." In other words, fortitude would seem to include a sort of virtuous stubbornness and a strong will to always do the right thing regardless of the circumstances. To have the courage to stand up and do what is right, even in the face of adversity. Fortitude is also described as both suppressing fear and limiting recklessness. It rests in between the two extremes and allows the individual to act with a virtuous medium we know to be courage. So based on this definition, these would be the traits that constitute the virtue itself. As for cultivating it, the individual must display these manners. As Aristotle points out within aretaic virtue theory, though, the individual must be displaying it for the right reasons and do so on a regularly occurring basis. These requirements mark that the actions of the person are truly virtuous--and when being applied to a cardinal virtue such as fortitude, the cultivation of it.

As we discussed in class, there is great importance of having moral exemplars in which to look to.

"The sight of a highly virtuous person living a life dedicated to moral causes can have a powerfully influential effect on other people’s moral behavior. As a rule, people are far more captivated by the example of a human life than by an ideational treatise. The extraordinary influence of moral exemplars is due in large part to this natural human preference for personal embodiments over abstract notions" (Anne Colby & William Damon, Some Do Care (1992)).

This quote from the Forward Into Memory webpage further emphasizes the importance of exemplars. With something like virtues being such a complex and somewhat abstract idea, it's hard to put meaning to it. It's one thing to explain what fortitude means, but do we actually knows what it MEANS until we have seen it lived out in a way that we can follow? And how are we supposed to know how to live virtuous lives if there are no relevant examples to reference and pattern our lives after?

When it comes to fortitude, I think that history gives us a few examples of people who have cultivated this virtue within their lives. Obviously humanity isn't perfect and therefore nobody can always perfectly embody every virtue, but there are distinct points in these individuals' lives that mark them as being reasonable exemplars for us to look at and follow. I know that while using religious examples might not sit well with everyone, they mean a lot to me and serve as great points of reference in my own life. People like Moses, Joshua, Job, David, Paul, and so forth are people that come to mind. Then of course is the greatest example through Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world took immense fortitude as he had the courage to withstand a death so excruciating and painful for the greater good. Through His death God's people could be reconciled and given eternal life. That and Jesus never lost sight of His mission and for doing good by others, even when He was facing adversity. I would argue He is the only perfect example of fortitude--along with other virtues--since Jesus was entirely sinless. As for the others, they displayed great courage time and time again despite the odds. Moses against Pharaoh as he led the Israelites out of slavery; David when he took down Goliath and had to flee enemies in the future--including King Saul; Paul continuing to proclaim the gospel and help people despite persecution; Job continuing to follow God in the midst of losing literally everything; and Joshua being courageous in battle against Canaan and leading the Israelites to victory even though they seemingly didn't stand a chance without God on their side. Their fortitude may have come easier knowing God was with them, but they are still admirable examples nonetheless. They still acted on the pursuit of good regardless of the circumstances they faced.

Other people in history have also displayed examples of cultivating fortitude in their own lives. Philip Jaisohn--whom we are reading about in class--is someone who pursues fortitude in different areas of his life. Despite being in the minority and being on the outs, he still courageously returns to Korea to enact democratic reform by launching a newspaper in hopes of enlightening his people. No matter the situation around him, he continues to pursue what is good for his people and their rights, and this is an example of how he displays fortitude. He doesn't give up.

Now, this is all well and good, but if fortitude is a cardinal virtue, then it must contribute somehow to human flourishing. How does fortitude relate to the satisfaction of a core human need? I think this can be a tricky aspect, but I do think it's applicable. Relating it to Galtung's core needs, I believe that fortitude plays a crucial role in helping an individual not only reach well-being, but also provides freedom and meaning. By striving to do the right thing and having a strong will in the midst of whatever circumstances are faced, the individual can have a sense of satisfaction within these needs. Fortitude allows us the capabilities to reach our full potential and to also help others do the same.

Finally, if we were to take the virtue of fortitude and try to find it in history, literature, or pop culture, where would we start? Where should we choose to enter the forest? I think this is an exceptionally difficult question and the best points of entry would highly depend on the context of what you hope to find and/or accomplish through your entering. If looking at fortitude as a virtue amongst the human race, I might say starting with the Bible and other earliest historical documents would be a starting point for assessing the species as a whole throughout time. If looking at fortitude in relation to the class topic of Korean peace history, starting with someone like Philip Jaisohn might be a good entry point. However, I think that to pick only one point of entry for all things related to the virtue of fortitude is a difficult task. But, if you can narrow down what it is you're looking at it for, then figuring out how to use history and other means to "enter" is going to be the most beneficial, I'd imagine. It also might help to enter the topic by doing some further preliminary research by reading Aristotle, philosophical websites, and so forth. These are just some ways that we can begin to assess fortitude throughout history, literature, and pop culture and "enter" into seeing its relationship on the world.

[almaqead]

"The Collect." From Surah 20. "Taha, the Char."

The world is reacting to another school shooting as if the last one wasn't sufficient for it to make a realization. There have been eight since school started this year. Our problems stem from the fact the government that is supposed to protect us and promote the general welfare is failing willfuflly and at times is the primary source of threat. So we are in an abusive relationship we cannot separate from only hope to live through.

This is the essence of the conflict between Moses, Aaron and the Pharaoh. Except Taha means everyone, from the bottom rung of society all the way up gets protection from corruption:

"The noun, adverb and preposition תחת (tahat) occurs about 500 times in the Old Testament. It primarily means "beneath" or "under". It occurs in expressions such as "under the sun" or "under one's feet" or "under the authority of" but note that our word isn't necessarily negative as it may indicate a firm support (of everlasting arms, Deuteronomy 33:27). Our word may indicate an equal exchange (an eye "for" an eye; Exodus 21:24), a successional exchange (to rule "instead of" or "after" one's father; 1 Kings 11:43) or a substitutory exchange (a ram instead of Isaac; Genesis 22:13).

Its derivatives are:

The adjective תחתון (tahton), meaning lower or lowest (Joshua 16:3, Isaiah 22:9, Ezekiel 40:18).

The adjective and substantive תחתי (tahti) or תחתית (tahtit), meaning low, below or lowest (Genesis 6:16, Job 41:16, Isaiah 44:23). Note that this word is spelled the same as the construct of the primary noun: 'instead of' or 'to the lower end of'."

Except in spite of overwhelming evidence, the White House has still decided to gamble with putting us all back into the everlasting arms of evil, an evil it has had four years to properly dispose of.

Donald Trump knew about and planned the massacre on October 7, 2023, and now the world will never be the same again. What can the world do when those charged with a duty to protect, to serve, to care will not do it?

About this the Surah says:

20: 77-82:

"And We surely inspired Moses, ˹saying,˺ “Leave with My servants ˹at night˺ and strike a dry passage for them across the sea. Have no fear of being overtaken, nor be concerned ˹of drowning˺.”

Then Pharaoh pursued them with his soldiers—but how overwhelming were the waters that submerged them!

And ˹so˺ Pharaoh led his people astray, and did not guide ˹them rightly˺.

O Children of Israel! We saved you from your enemy, and made an appointment with you1 on the right side of Mount Ṭûr, and sent down to you manna and quails,2

˹saying,˺ “Eat from the good things We have provided for you, but do not transgress in them, or My wrath will befall you. And whoever My wrath befalls is certainly doomed.

But I am truly Most Forgiving to whoever repents, believes, and does good, then persists on ˹true˺ guidance.”

Commentary:

Muhammad said the forces of a Pharaoh cannot be allowed to pursue those who revere a God of freedom. It is they who must undergo a great flood instead of the righteous. Joe Biden has to put Donald Trump on trial for what he has done, and he must do it today, this very hour. I have said it. The world is too unsettled for a Pharaoh and a weak law enforcement approach to continue to allow the sword of death to dangle over us: When will the next school shooting happen or when will Donald Trump and his sons rape another child and then extort the parents? When will the Republicans decide to betray one of our allies again and leave them fro dead? These are questions we cannot answer but must at least wonder about, and why are right and wrong so hard to figure out on this world?

"Indeed, Allah never wrongs ˹anyone˺—even by an atom’s weight.1 And if it is a good deed, He will multiply it many times over and will give a great reward out of His grace."-4:40.

The Quran says whoever believes in the truth and persists must not experience wrath. We have to collect on this promise. Joe Biden cannot leave the White House while the earth is submerged. If he does, he must be arrested. The world must fight with him and make him do his job, if he will not do it, then he has to suffer the consequences.

"As for the sky, He raised it ˹high˺, and set the balance ˹of justice˺- 55:7.

We have rules and laws and standards for the conduct of our governors, Taha is the greatest, it suggests the lowest are to receieve the greatest consideration. This is not how life on earth is being waged and little is being done to change it. There is great potential energy in suffering, if it is directed as God taught the Israelites in Egypt, in a Tur as the Surah says, "in a line, in a column."

The US Government owes a long line of persons an explanation and a reward, a future without a despot presiding over it. It is time it was made to recognize this. As for the other filth in Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Africa, anywhere that uses lies to inflict the people, we must resort to the Sharia, a commitment all Muslims make to follow the Way to the Oasis, to the Water of Freedom, to the truth- a requirement for the fulfillment of Taha:

"Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know."- 45:18

Sharia, Moses, and Taha go together- the explain the extension of the Water Cycle we discussed in Maryam- they are represent ways men educate, insulate and protect each other from drowning in the very thing that gives us life: civilization itself. Just look at all the death, disease, detritus and rubble we are leaving behind. We will harvest nothing from the land we have burnt, boiled, baked, or flooded.

Observe now the contrast to this, suggested within the etymology of the word Moses which is used above:

"Verb נשא (nasa') describes an upward motion, generally of something that is being pulled up and out so as to remove it. This verb occurs very often and can usually be translated with (1) to lift or lift up, (2) to bear or carry, and (3) to take or take away. An identical verb (or rather the same one used in a specialized way) means to loan on interest.

The practice of loaning on interest causes the principal sum to slowly but surely evaporate and was prohibited under Mosaic law. A third identical verb (or again the same one) means to deceive or beguile.

Verb משה (masha) means to draw or draw out, and appears to specifically describe a drawing out of waters: to extract from water."

God said "do not be concerned." But who among us right now is not concerned?

[jdgo51]

August 9, 2024

Focusing on the Pattern

Lisa Stackpole (Wisconsin, USA)

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it." - Joshua 1:8 (NIV)

'"I enjoy crocheting, particularly while watching TV. I often start a project when I hear that a friend is expecting a baby. I dig out my favorite patterns — those that aren’t too complicated. I usually pick a pattern I have made in the past and that I’m confident I can complete.

My recent project, a sweater, was progressing nicely until I was instructed to “join yarn at center under arm.” I studied the cloak-shaped garment. Under arm? I thought, There are no arms! I read back through the instructions. To my dismay, I realized that as I happily crocheted, I had overlooked an important step in the pattern. Annoyed, I ripped out two-thirds of my work.

Reflecting back, I realize that all too often we do this in life as well. We know enough of God’s word to proceed, assuming from our past experiences that we know God’s will. But if we aren’t continually refreshing our minds with the guidance God offers in scripture, it is easy to miss vital points — particularly with the noise of the world in the background. Keeping God’s word firmly in mind and reflecting on it helps us to follow God’s leading."' We often proceed along our journey and make choices we feel are correct from our personal experience. But if we were better in tune with God daily, He might steer us here or there and avoid delays or re-dos.

Today's Prayer

"Loving God, draw us often to your word so that we can more closely follow your will." Amen.

Psalm 119:9-16

"9 How can young people keep their paths pure? By guarding them according to what you’ve said. 10 I have sought you with all my heart. Don’t let me stray from any of your commandments! 11 I keep your word close, in my heart, so that I won’t sin against you. 12 You, LORD, are to be blessed! Teach me your statutes. 13 I will declare out loud all the rules you have spoken. 14 I rejoice in the content of your laws as if I were rejoicing over great wealth. 15 I will think about your precepts and examine all your paths. 16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget what you have said." I will appreciate your guidance and your direction. I will have joy knowing that you are the right choice. Always have in mind the things you have said. God's plan/path is the right one, always. Bless you all, today! Joe

[theprayerfulword]

May 10

Lamentations 3:22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end.

Joshua 1:9 [The Lord said to Joshua,] “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.

Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

John 10:27 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 So choose life in order that you may live… 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him.

May you know that the rejection you encounter in God's work is not about you, but about the Lord Who sent you and Whose work you are doing; He has known rejection before, is able to handle it, and is willing to experience it, even again, for the sake of those to whom He sends you. He is willing to be vulnerable to those He loves; His armor is against His enemy, never His people, even though the enemy attacks through the ones He seeks. 1 Samuel 8

May you hear God's Word and follow His ways, yielding your will to His, lest He oppose you in His loving-kindness, and may you not insist on your own desires, lest He gratify you in His displeasure. 1 Samuel 8

May you follow the law of God's love in your relationship to others, giving without restraint and accepting without judgment, and obey the rule of man in your expectation from others. 1 Samuel 8

May you be willing to wait on God for the gratification of your desires for worldly things, trusting His providence for the time and manner of their granting, knowing that He will not treat you so ill as to give you what you are not yet ready for. 1 Samuel 8

May you give preference to knowing your duty over learning your fortune, and rather seek God for meeting the needs of others over gaining a blessing for yourself. 1 Samuel 9

My child, release your will to Me that I may bring you into My work as you have said you wanted. Release your preconceived notions and imaginings of how I will use you, for the carnal mind does not know how to be abased. My kingdom's work is a work of servitude, not of titles and offices. As long as you have a position you are striving for, you are walking in the fleshly appetites and pride of life. As long as you strive to defend your reputation or have a personal interest in your own character, you have no part you can play in building My kingdom, for you are building your own. In My loving care, I will strip you of those things through which you identify yourself in the world, those things that you look with pride upon as your achievements, those names that you name with pride to others to show the road you have traveled and the distance you have come, and I will leave you bare before Me. I will give you your identity, My beloved one, and you will be known as one of Mine, for My honor and My power are known and recognized and obeyed among the powers and principalities of eternity. Of what benefit is man's honor in doing My work? Whose knee will quake and bend before any man's glory? Shed those trappings, My seeking one, and be known as one who follows the risen Christ and trusts in the providence of the glorious Father Who is able to bring all opposition to an end and reverse all injustice. His judgments are true and righteous, and His will shall be established in earth as it is in heaven, and shall stand for eternity. Stand in My name, My love, not your own.

May the focus and purpose of your daily work and service be to gain the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for God the Father has placed His seal of approval upon this very One. John 6

May your constant work and service to God be this: that you continually believe and persistently trust, through thought, intent, word, and deed, in the One Whom God has sent, for He is the bread of life. John 6

May the Lord save you and gather you from afar that you may give thanks to His holy name and boast in the triumph of His praiseworthy deeds for He is the Lord our God from everlasting to everlasting. Psalm 106

Just as righteousness, godliness, and justice will lift up and exalt a nation which walks in those paths, and sin will condemn, diminish, disgracefully reproach and make miserable any society which allows, practices, and embraces it, so will it be in the life of an individual; may you choose well. Proverbs 14:34

May you be as a servant who acts and deals wisely so that you gain the delight, approval, and favor of the king, for by the wisdom of his soul evil is overthrown. Proverbs 14:35

[casmong]

The Hope of Israel

“So for this reason I have called to see you and speak with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” Acts 28:20

For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.—The mention of “chain” in the singular agrees with the fact stated in Acts 28:30, that he was entrusted to the keeping of a single soldier.

The words “the hope [מִקְוֵ֤ה (miq·wêh)] of Israel [יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ (yiś·rā·’êl)]” occurs verbatim twice in Jeremiah's prophecy, a man who himself spent a long time being imprisoned for the faith and being ‘bound by chains’[ Jeremiah 14:8; 17:13], with both references making mention of YAH being a Saviour who saves, and that there is no other to save.

The word ‘hope’ is itself reference to a cord, as when Rahab hid the spies that came to asses how to conquer Jericho she hid them and after the city authorities were gone let them down through her window and made a covenant that they would rescue her from the destruction they would bring, and the token of the arrangement would be the scarlet [הַשָּׁנִ֨י (haš·šā·nî)] cord [תִּקְוַ֡ת (tiq·waṯ) חוּט֩ (ḥūṭ)] she used to facilitate their escape[Joshua 2:18]. A cord was made of twining strands of natural fibers together, which teaches of how our lives are intertwined with YAH and our Savior Jesus the Anointed.

The scripture carefully makes mentions of the chord being ‘scarlet’, which of course brings our minds and makes reference to the Saviour and Messiah, the 'hope of Israel', who in the Messianic prayer of Psalm 22 started with 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?' and then later continues on to say "but I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.- Psalm 22:6

The Mention of "am a worm" [תוֹלַ֣עַת (ṯō·w·la·‘aṯ) - worm, scarlet stuff, crimson] alludes to 'coccus ilicis' or scarlet worm, where when the female is ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body permanently to the trunk of a tree, and would deposit her eggs beneath her body where they would be protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. It is from the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. It was this scarlet blood stain that was used to color the cord Rahab used to allow the spies to escape all these years before, and it will be the blood stain of Jesus that also saves us.

This hope of Israel also referred to the hope of the resurrection as previously mentioned [Acts 26:6,7], where Jesus will return as the realization of the things hoped for of Messiah, and the evidence of things yet to be seen; of Jesus the Christ the Anointed [One], who is himself the hope of Israel.

The context was that Paul was already a prisoner in Judea, and more that forty Jews covenanted themselves to assassinate Paul for preaching Jesus[Acts 23:12], and had made arrangements with the ruling Jewish Council (viz Sanhedrin) to invite Paul for an audience, so that their co-conspirators and murderous assassins could kill Paul. Paul's nephew heard of the plot and eventually informed Paul who being a Roman citizen made arrangement with the 'chief captain' [Gk χιλίαρχος, ου, ὁ (chiliarchos) - chilliarch, a commander of a thousand men, a military tribune] who dispatched two centurion and two hundred men, who safely brought Paul to Caesarea before Antonius Felix the procurator (viz governor) and ranking Roman official in charge of Judea and Samaria. Caesarea in Palestine or Caesarea Maritima was at the time the administrative headquarters of the Roman procurators and of the Roman garrison in Palestine.

After the Jewish rulers and their eloquent orator Tertullus 'descended' from Jerusalem to Caesarea and were unable to persuade Felix to hand Paul over to them. Eventually after two years Felix was replaced by Porcius Festus (~55 AD), who sent Paul to Rome to stand trial under Emperor Nero. Even though Paul was again able to argue his point, that he did not violate Jewish, nor Roman laws, nor committed treason against Caesar, but because Festus was newly appointed in the notoriously rebellious province, he wanted to gain good will among the rambunctious Jews, and so intended to send Paul to be tried before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. To avoid being handed over to the Jews who wanted to kill him, he appealed to Caesar, and being that he was a Roman citizen they were obligated to grant his request.

So in that context, Paul is saying that the only reason he is bound with a chain is because he preached Jesus Christ, the hope of Israel; and since he was actually innocent according to Jewish and Roman laws and customs, the only reason why he was a prisoner bound with a chain is because of the gospel he believed and preached.

The connotation of the hope of Israel is that the hope of Israel is a Saviour and Deliverer and Redeemer, and when the things hoped for come to fruition those who trust and place their confidence in the hope of Israel will be safe.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Books of the Bible: Old Testament (1 of 2) The Books of the Bible in order with introductions and summaries for the Old Testament.

The Five Books of the Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

Genesis The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Christian Old Testament. Genesis speaks of beginnings and is foundational to the understanding of the rest of the Bible. It is supremely a book that speaks about relationships, highlighting those between God and his creation, between God and humankind, and between human beings.

Exodus The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Christian Old Testament. Exodus describes the history of the Israelites leaving Egypt after slavery. The book lays a foundational theology in which God reveals his name, his attributes, his redemption, his law and how he is to be worshiped.

Leviticus The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Christian Old Testament. Leviticus receives its name from the Septuagint (the pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament) and means "concerning the Levites" (the priests of Israel). It serves as a manual of regulations enabling the holy King to set up his earthly throne among the people of his kingdom. It explains how they are to be his holy people and to worship him in a holy manner.

Numbers The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Christian Old Testament. Numbers relates the story of Israel's journey from Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab on the border of Canaan. The book tells of the murmuring and rebellion of God's people and of their subsequent judgment.

Deuteronomy The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Christian Old Testament. Deuteronomy ("repetition of the Law") serves as a reminder to God's people about His covenant. The book is a "pause" before Joshua's conquest begins and a reminder of what God required.

Historical Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles

Joshua Joshua is a story of conquest and fulfillment for the people of God. After many years of slavery in Egypt and 40 years in the desert, the Israelites were finally allowed to enter the land promised to their fathers.

Judges The book of Judges depicts the life of Israel in the Promised Land—from the death of Joshua to the rise of the monarchy. It tells of urgent appeals to God in times of crisis and apostasy, moving the Lord to raise up leaders (judges) through whom He throws off foreign oppressors and restores the land to peace.

Ruth The book of Ruth has been called one of the best examples of short narrative ever written. It presents an account of the remnant of true faith and piety in the period of the judges through the fall and restoration of Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth (an ancestor of King David and Jesus).

1 Samuel Samuel relates God's establishment of a political system in Israel headed by a human king. Through Samuel's life, we see the rise of the monarchy and the tragedy of its first king, Saul.

2 Samuel After the failure of King Saul, 2 Samuel depicts David as a true (though imperfect) representative of the ideal theocratic king. Under David's rule the Lord caused the nation to prosper, to defeat its enemies, and to realize the fulfillment of His promises.

1 Kings 1 Kings continues the account of the monarchy in Israel and God's involvement through the prophets. After David, his son Solomon ascends the throne of a united kingdom, but this unity only lasts during his reign. The book explores how each subsequent king in Israel and Judah answers God's call—or, as often happens, fails to listen.

2 Kings 2 Kings carries the historical account of Judah and Israel forward. The kings of each nation are judged in light of their obedience to the covenant with God. Ultimately, the people of both nations are exiled for disobedience.

1 Chronicles Just as the author of Kings had organized and interpreted Israel's history to address the needs of the exiled community, so the writer of 1 Chronicles wrote for the restored community another history.

2 Chronicles 2 Chronicles continues the account of Israel's history with an eye for restoration of those who had returned from exile.

Books of Poetry and Songs: Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah

Ezra The book of Ezra relates how God's covenant people were restored from Babylonian exile to the covenant land as a theocratic (kingdom of God) community even while continuing under foreign rule.

Nehemiah Closely related to the book of Ezra, Nehemiah chronicles the return of this "cupbearer to the king" and the challenges he and the other Israelites face in their restored homeland.

Esther Esther records the institution of the annual festival of Purim through the historical account of Esther, a Jewish girl who becomes queen of Persia and saves her people from destruction.

[yellahoneysworld]

Bible Study Time‼️

So Joshua 1:8 states - study THIS book of instruction manually , meditate on it - day and night, so you will be sure to OBEY everything written in it . Only then will you prosper in everything that you do .

So to me this is stood out because it was saying we should obey the laws of Christ according to the book of the Bible . When i went back to refer to the book of Joshua i stumbled across the Deuteronomy 32 where Moses was about to die and was told by God to have Joshua lead the Israelites into their new land crossing the Jordan River. God instructed Moses to give the Israelites the law through Joshua and if they didn’t obey the law their would be serious consequences to forsaking God and turning away from God . God is very jealous , Even til this day . He wants all of your attention . He wants you to turn to him every day of your life because he is the only person who can fix what is going on . When the Israelites entered the land they did things of the unspeakable . And before they knew ; God knew which is why he set those rules . This was the observation of free will for me . God knows what you are going to do before you do it , he is of all knowing . Why do you think every time you do something “your way” it leads to disaster or you never get the desired outcome . I want all my friends to go to God with something today whole heartedly . Turn to him . Start off with simple prayer and ask him to lead u down the path that is made specifically for YOU . He wants you to get closer so you can lead a prosperous life . The life he wants for you is far better than anything materialistic or financial . We tend of idolize money and as the journey continues you will realize turning to God will give you everything you need and more . He blesses for a reason, you just have to choose him the same way he chose you . 🩷🎯

[torahtantra]

Parsha 18. Mishpatim. “The Tenets.” From Exodus 21:1 - 24:18.

Mish= to supoort

Pa= to break

Tim= to honor

The Torah was written in partnership between God and men called Founders in order to give continual rise to sentience within all human generations. There are 7, starting with Adam and Eve, who are One Flesh, and then six male and six female couples that follow.

They form what is called the Menorah, or Lamp that has provided the basis for the Light of Reason for thousands of years. The Decrees provide law and order so the fire dancing on the wick of the Seven Flames does not go out.

The Mishpatim, the "vows to be broken and kept" are subtle versions of these, explaining choices the mind must make as to the master it is going to serve: truth or delusion.

At this stage of the Torah, we are around 11 or 12 years old; we have been told we can't stay home in Egypt forever, and the way to adulthood is laced with requirements and responsibilities including the laws of mankind the practice of religion as context.

We don't get to lose our innocence until Joshua breaches Jericho sometime in the future.

First are the Rules:

Laws About Slaves

SLAVES are traits we force into service of the Skills, the 12 and the 70. Analyze these verses using this as the basis for their firm understanding.

Threes, Sixes, Sevens, and Tens refer to the Days of Evolution and the Decrees.

Copulation is between ideas and their desired fruits. Jacob, the Follower, fuchked Leah, the Bountiful Cow and produced sons and one daughter. Sons are the ambitions, girls are the means.

ex.

The ��unloved” Leah bore seven of Jacob's children—six sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, as well as a daughter, Dinah.

Follower plus the working cow=

Leadership, honor, unity, praise, friendliness, the village of honor, and government.

"When a good student intercourses with work, honorable leadership in a government that unifies the people through friendship an honorable nation is the result."

All of the Torah is a massive mantra just like this.

Hebrews are "those that have crossed over, have grown up." Hebrew slaves are highly desirable:

21 “Now these are the hrules that you shall set before them. 

2 When you buy a Hebrew slave,1 he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 

3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 

4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. 

5 But jif the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 

6 then his master shall bring him to kGod, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

The Master is the intellect, and it must undergo evolution, and it must partner with other skills and traits if it is to earn its adolescent male slave boy self freedom in society at large.

Daughters are boys too, they like real girls can get filthy from intercourse with persons of fell ideals; they are supposed to be redeemed by healthy intercourse with the very best boys, for free, unless she is a really really good whore then money [effort] is no object:

7 “When a man lsells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has designated her2 for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. 

9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or mher marital rights. 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

=Bat Mitzvah.

see

Maimonides (Hil’ Avadim 4:2), based on Talmud Kiddushin 20a, writes that a man should sell all his possessions, including the clothes off his back, to avoid having to sell his daughter. Furthermore, if after selling his daughter he comes upon more money, he is immediately obligated to redeem her from bondage – and the courts force him to do so if he is unwilling (Kiddushin 18a). Thus, clearly, selling one’s daughter into slavery is viewed as an absolute last resort – where the father’s poverty has become so dire as to leave him with literally no alternative. Nevertheless, since poverty does and always has existed, the Torah does permit carrying out such a sale when the circumstances truly require it.

In terms of the details of the sale, the laws are not as severe as might first appear. First of all, a girl is not sold into absolute bondage. The buyer does not own her in body as a true slave. She is more the equivalent of a domestic servant – who works for her master while being paid in food, clothing and shelter. She can only be sold when she is considered a minor in Jewish law – i.e., under the age of twelve (Bat Mitzvah) and before she has developed signs of maturity. As soon as she does reach this stage, she immediately goes free. She also goes free after a maximum of six years of bondage or when the Jubilee year arrives, whichever comes first – as does a male Jewish slave (Mishna Kiddushin 1:2). And as above, as soon as her father acquires the money to buy her back he must do so.

5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to kGod, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

This is best explained by Deuteronomy 15 which explains slavery to the one who brings you to God is everlasting, God will always have your ear and you will always have His:

15 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 

2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. 

3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. 

4 However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 

5 if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 

6 For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.

12 n“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. 13 But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. 14 But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.

"A cunning man understands his steps." The Proverb says.

From Proverbs 14: 8-14:

8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,     but the folly of fools is deception.

9 Fools mock at making amends for sin,     but goodwill is found among the upright.

10 Each heart knows its own bitterness,     and no one else can share its joy.

11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed,     but the tent of the upright will flourish.

12 There is a way that appears to be right,     but in the end it leads to death.

13 Even in laughter the heart may ache,     and rejoicing may end in grief.

14 The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,     and the good rewarded for theirs.

15 The simple believe anything,     but the prudent give thought to their steps.

16 The wise fear the Lord and shun evil,     but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.

17 A quick-tempered person does foolish things,     and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.

18 The simple inherit folly,     but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.

16 r“Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found sin possession of him, shall be put to death.

=Hypocrisy.

17 “Whoever curses3 his father or his mother shall be put to death.

18 “When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, 19 then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.

=Don't be so hard on the Beav, man. A bed, a stone, a staff, this is the dream of Jacob before he became Israel.

20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod [ruff!] and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.

=Slaves are aspects of self one must force to do work. No one dies while they are being forced to grow up, no matter how hard it seems. To be struck by a rod means someone with an adult penis has the right to make persons without one to work without question or recompense.

As for "striking":

22 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and vhe shall pay as the wjudges determine. 

23 But if there is harm,4 then you shall pay xlife for life, 24 yeye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

26 “When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. 27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.

Eyes= attitude, goodwill towards others. There are good and evil eyes.

Teeth= teeth grow up and fall out. Bad habits are very much the same.

Hands= protection. Protection is given it is also provided.

Feet= acts of submission to the Tenets.

Oxes: Oxes are preachers. They represent the strength needed to fathom the Lessons.

28 “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the zox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. 

29 But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. 

30 If aa ransom is imposed on him, then vhe shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. 

31 If it gores a man’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. 

32 If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master bthirty shekels5 of silver, and zthe ox shall be stoned.

-> Stones are the Skills in the Ephod. Obviously if a preacher boy gets out of control, get him stoned.

-> -> Obviously we can't Oxboys, Rabbis, goring and butting people using the Tenets as his horns.

->->-> 30 is the number of "common things" one must use to pay their master if one acts like an Oxboy.

Here is what the Talmud says about the number 30:

Avoth Chapter 5 MISHNAH 21. HE USED TO SAY: FIVE YEARS [IS THE AGE] FOR [THE STUDY OF] SCRIPTURE, TEN-FOR [THE STUDY OF] MISHNAH, THIRTEEN-FOR [BECOMING SUBJECT TO] COMMANDMENTS, FIFTEEN-FOR [THE STUDY OF] TALMUD, EIGHTEEN- FOR THE [BRIDAL] CANOPY, TWENTY — FOR PURSUING, THIRTY-FOR [FULL] STRENGTH,[1] FORTY — FOR UNDERSTANDING, FIFTY- FOR [ABILITY TO GIVE] COUNSEL, SIXTY-FOR MATURE AGE, SEVENTY-FOR A HOARY HEAD, EIGHTY [IS A SIGN OF SUPERADDED] STRENGTH, NINETY [IS THE AGE] FOR [A] BENDING [FIGURE], AT A HUNDRED, ONE IS AS ONE THAT IS DEAD, HAVING PASSED AND CEASED FROM THE WORLD.

30 was also the age Joseph began his reign over Egypt.

Laws About Restitution

33 “When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.

-> Donkeys are the Messianic process. Pits are places in which refined men (oxes) and donkeys get stuck. Oxes and Donkeys are the source of all hope in this world. They are expensive and one must pay whatever is needed to rescue them in time and effort.

35 “When one man’s ox butts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. 36 Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.

Stealing. Stealing is to steal hope. it is the opposite of Chesed or Grace.

The inner dimension of tiferet is "mercy" or "empathy" (rachamim) - the ability of the soul to feel for another person. Stealing (or robbing) is obviously the direct antithesis of this: in order to steal, an individual must forget about the other person's feelings. Stealing and robbing thus blemish, i.e. weaken, the power of tiferet above.

This is the mystical significance of the double restitution, for the thief causes a blemish above, in the concealed levels, while the robber causes a blemish in the revealed levels.

22 1 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and cfour sheep for a sheep. 2 2 If a thief is found dbreaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, 3 but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He3 shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4 If the stolen beast fis found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep he shall pay double.

Stealing. Stealing is to steal hope. it is the opposite of Chesed or Grace.

The inner dimension of tiferet is "mercy" or "empathy" (rachamim) - the ability of the soul to feel for another person. Stealing (or robbing) is obviously the direct antithesis of this: in order to steal, an individual must forget about the other person's feelings. Stealing and robbing thus blemish, i.e. weaken, the power of tiferet above.

This is the mystical significance of the double restitution, for the thief causes a blemish above, in the concealed levels, while the robber causes a blemish in the revealed levels.

->Five Oxen for One, Four Sheep for One, the only place this happens is in the battle of Four and Five Kings.

5 “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard."

For this we need Isaiah 5: We must not let Israel and its people, the vineyard and the vines get trampled. If we were to do that, we would have to rebuild and provide the world with a new one:

The Song of the Vineyard

5 I will sing for the one I love     a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard     on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones     and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it     and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,     but it yielded only bad fruit.

3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,     judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard     than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes,     why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you     what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge,     and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall,     and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland,     neither pruned nor cultivated,     and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds     not to rain on it.”

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty     is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah     are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;     for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Woes and Judgments

8 Woe to you who add house to house     and join field to field till no space is left     and you live alone in the land.

9 The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,     the fine mansions left without occupants. 10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[a] of wine;     a homer[b] of seed will yield only an ephah[c] of grain.”

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning     to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night     till they are inflamed with wine. 12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,     pipes and timbrels and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,     no respect for the work of his hands. 13 Therefore my people will go into exile     for lack of understanding; those of high rank will die of hunger     and the common people will be parched with thirst. 14 Therefore Death expands its jaws,     opening wide its mouth; into it will descend their nobles and masses     with all their brawlers and revelers. 15 So people will be brought low     and everyone humbled,     the eyes of the arrogant humbled. 16 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice,     and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts. 17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;     lambs will feed[d] among the ruins of the rich.

18 Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,     and wickedness as with cart ropes,

6 “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.

=Thorns are immaturity. We covered this at the feet of Sinai. If someone starts gossiping, lying and propagandizing, he needs to stop and start telling the truth.

7 “If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man’s house, then, if the thief is found, ghe shall pay double. 8 If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. 9 For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.

10 “If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, 

11 han oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. 

12 But if iit is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. 13 If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.

14 “If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. 15 If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.4

To borrow "being Jewish" from other Jews is to "see the Creator's Purposes become actualized. "

You may not practice Judaism, go to temple, or call yourself an Israelite, ie, borrow it from a relative or neighbor then defame the faith by engaging in corruption or hypocrisy or rebranding in anyway.

If you do this, you have to look good, feel good, and do good or it is as if you have not borrowed and returned on the investment properly or made restitution.

It is also appropriate to support the faith with money, time, practice and a stellar reputation. The best to pay the price for being a Jew is results: The world must grow, change, and benefit from life beamed to it through a Jewish filter.

Laws About Social Justice

16 j“If a man seduces a virgin5 who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price6 for her and make her his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, jhe shall pay money equal to the kbride-price for virgins.

18 l“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

=A sorceress is the mother of anti-Semite. Just Kill the bitch.

 19 m“Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.

=Do not have sex someone who acts like an animal. If you lie with an animal, you will surely regret it and then you must get bitten by the Bronze Snake in order to recover. This is also what is meant by the next Tenet:

20 n“Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.7

"God, not the gazelles." Too many gazelles creates a herd. Just saying.

21 o“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22 pYou shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 

23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

25 t“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 uIf ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? 

"And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate."

28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

29 “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. xThe firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 30 yYou shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: zseven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

31 a“You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore byou shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; cyou shall throw it to the dogs.

23 d“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a emalicious witness. 2 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, 3 fnor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.

4 g“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

=Religious intolerance is not permitted in Judaism.

6 h“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. 7 dKeep far from a false charge, and ido not kill the innocent and righteous, for jI will not acquit the wicked. 8 kAnd you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

9 l“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

 Laws About the Sabbath and Festivals

10 “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.

=Seven Years are extensions of the Seven Days. At the end of the Seven Years' cultivation of the Tenets, the world should be covered in vineyards and orchards with more "food animals" being reared in the "fields".

Vineyards are civilization, olive orchards are the dividends, peace on earth, goodwill towards men, plenty to eat, plenty of work, plenty of fun.

12 “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.

Thus ends Parsha Mishpatim, "the Tenets", numbered 18 of 54 contained in the Holy Torah.

[dailyaudiobible]

05/01/2023 DAB Transcript

Judges 13:1-14:20, John 1:29-51, Psalms 102:1-28, Proverbs 14:15-16

Today is the 1st day of May welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we greet a brand-new shiny sparkly month. And we’re just kinda getting going in this brand-new week. Today is the 121st day of the year. That's hard to believe. It really does not seem like we’ve come so far into the year yet but we have and we got here how we get everywhere - day by day, step-by-step. And, so, this is our 121st step of the year out of 365 steps. So, we are well underway. We began the book of John, the gospel of John the yesterday. So, that's where we’re situated at least when we get to the New Testament, but in the Old Testament, we are continuing our journey through the book of Judges, which kind of gives us an overview of…of those who led Israel between Joshua's death and the emergence of…of the monarchy, of Kings in Israel. And today we will begin the story of one of the more famous judges, his name is Samson. We’re reading from the English Standard Version this week and today, Judges, chapters 13 and 14.

Commentary:

Okay. So, as we begin this fifth month of the year in our journey through it let's just kind of recap where we are. We’re working our way through the book of Judges and as we know several centuries go by in the book of Judges. It’s kind of a transitional period between the time that Joshua, who led them across the Jordan River between his time of leading and the time that the children of Israel decided to establish a kingdom, a monarchy and set a king over them. And, so, between that time, the centuries between that time, the judges ruled. And we’re far enough into the book of Judges that we know everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes and a judge would come and restore order and lead people back to God, but they would then pretty much immediately after the judge was gone go back and do what was right in their own eyes, which would lead them into other obstacles and then another judge would rise up. And, so, some of these judges we get to know pretty well and some of…some of them we just have a sentence about. But we’re kind of doing a survey of who led Israel after Joshua. And today we met the judge named Samson, which is a fascinating story. Samson's parents had no children. His mother was barren. That is a recurring theme as we go through the Scriptures. It's the backdrop for a number of stories that we encounter in the Bible. And there is an angelic visitation with the promise of a child and the woman tells her husband, whose name is Manoah about it and he basically says if he comes back come to me right away. We need to know what we’re supposed to do. And that's what happens. And, so, there is a discussion about what's supposed to happen, and Samson is to be a Nazirite from birth. The spirit of the Lord will be upon him, and we’ll get to see how that plays out as we continue the story forward tomorrow. But as his story does unfold we…we will be able to see, yes indeed the people are doing what is right in their own eyes, and they’re kind of all over the map and it's a volatile time for the children of Israel, but within the story of Samson is also an embedded mirror that becomes a good hard look into our own lives. And, so, as we continue the story of Samson we have much to learn.

And then as were navigating our way into the final gospel, the gospel of John, we find ourselves again at the Jordan River, which is also a place that we visit a lot as we navigate through the Scriptures. But we are back at the Jordan River and Jesus is beginning His ministry, and a loose group of people are beginning to find their way to Jesus. He's calling them forward and they’re beginning to band together around Him and it gives us a chance to just look at who Jesus picked to be His closest friends, the people that He was going to invest His earthly life into. I mean let’s think about it for a second. The Almighty God decides to incarnate Himself into human form and become a human being and He has much to do but one of the things that He is going to do is invest in enormous amounts of time into specific human beings lives, that they may carry the story forward. Like you would think, God has His pick of the best of the best of the best of the people and yet we don't find any depictions where there's a job interview where Jesus is sitting across a rock from somebody else going over their work experience and education. I mean, these guys, these guys were not even literate, very likely that they were illiterates or just a basic understanding. And He didn't seem to be looking for the most muscular, the biggest people, who could be His bodyguards or the strongest people. He was looking for the smartest people he could find. He didn’t look at anybody and go, they’re…they would…they would make a great speechwriter for me. He was looking for open hearts, people with eyes to see and ears to hear. Those were the qualifications. And, so, it's kind of counterintuitive because we look at how Jesus chose to invest His life into, and He chose to equip the ill equipped. And those people went on to change the whole world. And that is our story friends. We’re not equipped for this. No matter what we think, no matter what we think we know, to be an ambassador for the most-high God, same thing is going to hold true. Do we have an open heart? Do we have open hands? Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear? Because we have all been invited to come and follow Him. And, so, may we…we rejoice that He didn't come to choose the elite he came to choose those who were ready to hear, and may that be us.

Prayer:

Jesus, we invite You into that. It is our intention to do whatever that we can that is in our power to open ourselves to You and Your ways, to learn from You, to be comforted by You, to be disciplined by You, to be directed and guided by You. And the first step is for us to realize that without You we are nothing and we know nothing. We think we know a lot, but it is Your Holy Spirit's guidance and direction that we need. And, so, as we continue to navigate through the book of John help us to listen and learn as true disciples who are following You. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

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And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey there from beautiful Cincinnati OH this is Daniel Johnson junior it has been a little while since I've reached out here. And brothers and sisters I just…I have not been…I’ve…I’ve felt like I've not been doing very well. See, as I'm…as I’m recording this it is Saturday April the 22nd I think it is…yeah Saturday April 22nd and I am…let's see it has been over a month and a week…by the time that I do wind up getting paid it would have been two months that I have not had any income at all. And that's messed with my head a lot. You know, I had been unemployed prior to that for six months, nothing coming from it and, you know, not being able to be bring any income into my family. Fortunately, my wife has some money, my daughter she…she has a job, but it's not been nearly enough for us to live on. I felt a tremendous amount of guilt and I've let the enemy oppress me in this area and let me think less of myself in this area even though i do have a job that I’m starting on Monday, and I did…I have done work to get work. I've let the enemy oppress me in this area and I just…just think less of myself and I've gone to idols to try to comfort what it is that I'm feeling. It's just not been…it's not…I've not been very healthy in the way that I've dealt with this. And I am committed to getting back up every time that I fall. You know, fall down seven times get up eight. So, from beautiful Cincinnati OH, God bless you all. Thank you and make it a great day.

Good morning this is Helen in Durham and…actually in Pennsylvania at the moment visiting our grandson and family and I feel compelled to let you all pray with me please for tomorrow. Our grandson Carter who has shown that he has a real interest in God and actually even has prayed to God and heard His voice. So, I have…really feel the Lord wants to move in his life. He has…he wants to go to church with us tomorrow morning. And I'm also praying that either his dad who we have a long history of difficulty with, or his mom will go with us as well. Anyway Lord, I just want to lift up this family. I just feel like there are things that You really want to do in their lives and that You are poised to do those things. Lord, I have great faith that You really want to build little Carter, seven years old, into a man of God whose already heard Your voice. And Lord, just fills me with expectation for what You could do in his little life. And there’s so many negative issues that have gone on in families, addictions and different things of that sort Lord. I just want to lift up this Young family and pray that You will make end ways, especially through Carter but through my son who knows about You Lord, that You would soften his heart to want to follow You, that You would build greater faith into the mom and this little girl who's only two that we’re celebrating her birthday, that lord even You will move into her life as well. So, i just really have great hope for this family.

Hi DAB family this is Thankful and Still and I was calling in response to the January 28th community prayer. I heard a mama of a son named Quincy and I just want you to know that I am praying. I'm praying for your son and my son because it sounds identical to what I'm experiencing with mine, my boy. But I’ll just pray for them. Heavenly Father, I thank You. I thank You and I praise You for the blessings of children. I thank You that they are unique in their ways, that You created them for a purpose Lord before You set the foundations of the earth. And we thank You for our children that are…are created in Your image to serve and to do the works that You set up for them that are just so unique to them Lord. I thank You for their walk. I thank You for the experiences they're having God, even though we as mothers don't know what's going on when they're out. God I just know that You're there and You know, and You are with them heavenly Father. We pray that You would surround our children with people that are of You with Your angels, with people that will speak wisdom and life and love into them, God, that will spark interest in things of above like things that are beyond them, themselves. Grow them, inspire them Lord to draw near to You. Draw near to them as well. And we just praise You for the victory for salvation and for children that are gonna serve You and do just miraculous things for You God. And give us momma’s peace as we wait for You to do Your will in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Scripture tells us beware when you think you're standing lest you fall now that's some good scriptural advice that's applicable to us all because all of us at times have made plans and have at times unforeseen circumstances pop up that takes the control totally out of their own hands and we find ourselves at the mercy of the wind not knowing when where how things are going to end we get so angry at that point that we want to hit something till it cracks frustration aggravation satanic attacks driving us till we reach our wits end and that's usually the point where we ask the father to step in because he says many are the afflictions of the righteous but he also says that out of them all he will rescue us and he does over and over again his grace mercy faith love and kindness has no end Jesus savior please pilot me take control and set me free

blindtony1016@gmail.com. Like to give a shout out to Michelle from LA and I'd also like to give a shout…shout out to Rebecca from Michigan. Know that you're both are being prayed for daily and loved thought of often. And once again Brian and the Hardin family thank you for this wonderful podcast for god's Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowing y'all. All right, bye-bye.

Hey, my adorable DAB family, this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel. Wanted to pray for our sister Melissa from Albertville AL concerning your nephew, Elijah. Father, I come on behalf of your daughter Melissa's nephew Elijah and I plead the precious blood of the lamb Jesus the Christ over his life where the enemy is putting out and assault to ravish this young man's mind and life. He doesn't want anything to do with you oh God. And I pray that you would demolish the walls that have been erected to stand in the way of this young man's life. I pray God that you would surround him on every side and I pray that you would destroy the stronghold and the yoke of bondage that the enemy has been able to gain access into his world. O God set this young man's mind free and do a mighty work of healing deliverance breakthrough and salvation to the glory of your great name I pray. Amen. Be encouraged sis. God's got your nephew. Family if you would be so kind to be in prayer for LOV's daughter, Tanya Gordon. She had a heart attack on yesterday. Today is the 22nd and they had to put two stents and…and they did a blood transfusion this morning. They're still running tests to determine what's going on with her blood. There seems to be some issues with her blood And, so, I'm asking that you please lift up LOV's daughter Tanya Gordon for healing in Jesus’ name. Love you family.

[lesfeldickbiblestudy]

  Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 2 * PART 2 * BOOK 69 KINSMAN REDEEMER – PART 2 Rev. 5; Ruth; I Corinthians 15:1-4 Okay, this is a Bible study, so we’re going to get right back in and continue on this whole concept of redemption.  Now, like I said, I think in the opening remarks of the last program, the only way that we can understand what Revelation 5 is really talking about – the whole idea of being a “kinsman redeemer” - we have to go back to the Book of Ruth. I just shared with the class here in the studio, my daughter asked for a study on the Book of Ruth a couple of years ago. Every once in a while she’d say, “Daddy, when are you going to teach Ruth?”  So, just before we left this morning, I said, “Well, Honey, we’re going to teach Ruth today.”   She was thrilled. So, turn to Ruth chapter 1 verse 1. For a little backdrop, the Book of Ruth takes place probably in the first half of the period of time when Israel was ruled by judges.  In other words, you remember Joshua led the people into the land of Canaan. They conquered the land and instead of setting up a king, God continued to rule the Nation of Israel by way of the judges. Some of the judges were good. Some weren’t so good.  It doesn’t say which judge was ruling. We just have to guess that this little episode took place sometime in the first half of that 300 and some years that God ruled Israel through the judges.   We do know there was a famine in Israel at that time. Always remember, God told Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when things got tough in Canaan – where should they never go?  Down into Egypt. Egypt, of course, was always a picture of the world.  In this case, it’s Moab.  God could have just as well said, now when things get tough up there in the land of Israel, don’t go to Moab.  I’ll take care of you.  But here we have an instance that I think by Divine plan, or however you want to put it, this little Jewish family couldn’t handle the drought and the famine up there in the area of Bethlehem.  So they go down to Moab. Now you have to know your Middle Eastern geography.  Moab was in the area south of the Dead Sea and maybe a little bit east.  It wasn’t all that far, but in antiquity of course, a hundred miles is quite a distance.  All right, let’s pick it up in chapter 1 verse 1. Ruth 1:1a “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, (There’s our time indication.) that there was a famine in the land. (That is the land of Israel, which has now been taken from the Canaanites.) And a certain man of Bethlehem-Judah went to sojourn (or to live for a period of time) in the country of Moab,...” Now again, who remembers where Moab came from?  Well, Moab was one of the two sons sired by Lot and his own daughters.  Consequently, there was a stigma on the Moabites. The Jews were really not to have a lot to do with them, although according to Levitical law a Moabitess woman could marry into the Israelites but not visa versa. All right, so here’s where we’ve got the setting now.  This Jewish family, because of the lack of food and income, they were evidently financially destitute because as we’re going to see later on in the book, what was the state of the land that they owned?  It was mortgaged. They were in debt. They probably weren’t capable of making any payments, so they just simply up and leave.  But remember, the land is still in their name, even though they have now left the country.  Okay, here’s the Jewish family then. Ruth 1:2 “And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons was Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-Judah.  (The same Bethlehem that we speak of at the birth of Christ) And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.” We’re going to just take this verse-by-verse. Otherwise we might miss some of the little tidbits that we shouldn’t have missed. Ruth 1:3 “And Elimelech, Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.” Now, there’s a period, near as can tell historically, of about ten years.

  Ten years from the beginning of the Book of Ruth until the end.  In this ten-year period, her husband dies and the two sons, which of course is to be expected, marry Moabite girls.  All right, so they came to the country of Moab and only Naomi was left and her two sons. Ruth 1:4-5 “And they took them wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth: and they dwelled there (Here it is.) about ten years.  5. And Mahlon and Chilion died, also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.”  Now you know, whenever I consider things like this, I have to feel that this is all part of God’s Sovereign design.  Everything in Scripture happened for a purpose.  I think it’s the same way today. We talk with our company a lot of times, and when you look back and at the time you just wonder, why did God put us through such a time of distress?  But, years later you can look back and you can see exactly why.  It was all part of His plan to get us where He wants us.  Well, the end result of all this, I’m sure you all realize, is that this Ruth the Moabitess becomes, I think, the great-grandmother of King David.  She comes into the lineage.  Well, that’s not an accident.  That’s the Divine purpose. All right, so here we have a famine that drives one little Jewish family down into Moab where the two sons take wives of the Moabite girls, one of whom is Ruth.  Ruth is going to end up in the genealogy of Christ.  That can’t just be an accident.  This is Divine appointment.  Okay, verse 5, and the two boys died.  Imagine, first the husband and now the two sons shortly after they’ve married, and evidently before they even had children. Ruth 1:5-6 “And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. 6. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, (the two girls from Moab) that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people (up in Israel) in giving them bread.”  In other words, the famine was over. They were now harvesting crops once again.  Now verse 7: Ruth 1:7-9 “Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8. And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, and ye have dealt with the dead, (in other words, reference to her sons) and with me. 9. The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.  Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.” In other words, there was a real affinity between this mother-in-law and her two Moabitess daughters-in-law. Ruth 1:10-12a “And the girls said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. (And Naomi just begged them. I can hear it!) 11. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me?  are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12. Turn again, my daughters, go your way;…”  In other words, stay here in your home country of Moab. Ruth 1:12b-14 “…for I am too old to have an husband, If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also tonight, and should also bear sons; 13. Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? (Well, of course not.) would ye stay for them from having husbands?  No, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me. 14. And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah (she simply) kissed her mother-in-law (goodbye); but (Now again, this is all, I’m sure, in God’s Divine purposes.) Ruth (stays or) clave unto Naomi.”  Now here is the part that I think raises questions, verse 15. Ruth 1:15 “And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her (What?) gods: (Isn’t that a scary word?  So, what were they?  They were idolaters.

  Worshipping idols.  Naomi says to her daughter-in-law--) return thou after thy sister-in-law.” Go back to your people.  Go back to your gods.  All right, now verse 16. Ruth 1:16 “And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whether thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: (Now, if you don’t mind underlining your Bible, underline this next statement.  This is crucial to the whole story.) thy people (Israel) shall be my people, and thy God (What?) my God:” Now, we have to realize that in the Old Testament economy we’re under a whole different set of circumstances when it comes to believing and salvation. Like I’ve said over and over on this program, I don’t claim to have all the answers.  There are a lot of things that are questionable and I just can’t answer.  But here again, knowing that Ruth is going to end up in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, she must have been a believer that one day will be in Glory with the rest of us, whereas Orpah went back to the pagan gods and idols of Moab.  All right, so remember that Ruth has now made a profession, I guess we could say, of faith when she says, “Thy God shall be my God.” Ruth 1:17a “Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried:…”  In other words, she has no intent of ever coming back to Moab.  All right, the two of them take off from Moab and go back up to Bethlehem, up there in the environs of Jerusalem.  When she gets back home, after having been gone ten years, remember, all of her friends and neighbors exclaimed in verse 19. Ruth 1:19b-21 “…is this Naomi?  (Is this Elimelech’s wife?) 20. And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: (In the Hebrew that word meant bitter.) for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.  21. I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?” So, you have to take from that, that Naomi was a solid Jewish believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  She certainly wasn’t destitute of faith.  All right, verse 22. Ruth 1:22 “So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of (What?) barley harvest.”  Now here again, this is all in God’s planning.  Never lose sight of that.  Why at the beginning of barley harvest?  Well, it’s going to mean everything, because it’s all going to revolve around the fields and the gleanings and the harvest of barley.  Had she come in a month later, that wouldn’t have been the case. That’s what I like to point out in Scripture. The thing that keeps flying around in my head all the time and I guess I’ve got to share it.  You go all the way up into the New Testament.  Why, out of the blue, does God send Peter up to the house of Cornelius?  I know this is a far stretch from Ruth, but on the other hand it shows how everything God does is for a purpose, even though it may be twelve or fourteen years out ahead. Why does Peter go up to the house of Cornelius?  Well, not only did God want the house of Cornelius saved, those Gentile men, but the far greater purpose was that twelve years later when it almost seemed as though the Jewish church in Jerusalem was going to knock Paul’s ministry in the head and end it, Peter remembers what?  The house of Cornelius.  And Peter says, wait a minute.  Wait a minute. twelve years ago, a long time ago, God showed me that He will save Gentiles.  And what was the whole purpose?  To come to Paul’s defense. All right, now the same way here.  All of this, the timing is perfect.  Had they come back a month later, harvest would have been over. These scenarios that led to the culmination of everything wouldn’t have been appropriate.  That’s what you have to learn as you study Scripture. All right, now here we come to the “kinsman redeemer” aspect of this little Book of Ruth, which

is tied to Revelation chapter 5 when God the Son will be the “kinsman redeemer” of planet earth.  Okay, verse 1 chapter 2: Ruth 2:1a “And Naomi had a (What?) kinsman…”  Now underline that. That’s the key word here.  Naomi has a kinsman!  What’s a kinsman?  Well, a relative, a near relative - probably an uncle or a cousin.  Somebody that was close. Ruth 2:1 “And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth,…”  Now wait a minute.  What’s Naomi’s financial state?  She’s broke!  Naomi the poor woman is broke!  But she still has title to a piece of land.  Don’t forget that now. Here again I’ve got to always remind people that this whole concept of owning and deeding and recording property isn’t a western invention.  That isn’t something that came out of America.  It goes all the way back to antiquity.  Clear back here in the time of the judges and going on back of course to Jacob and Abraham, like I’m always pointing out when I’m showing Israel has land deeded to them, they were already having land deeded.  They recorded it.  That was the purpose of these mortgages. I guess I’d better jump back up to today.  If you’ve got a piece of property and it’s mortgaged, who knows about it?  Anybody that wants to go to the courthouse.  It’s there. You can find the mortgage on anybody that you can think of. They have to let you see what’s mortgaged.  Well, what’s the purpose?  So that some scam artist doesn’t come along and sell it twice.  Then you’re buying property that you have no right to.  So the whole idea of recording mortgages is the protection of the innocent.  It’s no different back here.  Here we have a piece of ground that is mortgaged.  It’s still in Naomi’s name, but she’s too poor to do anything about it.  She probably doesn’t even have enough money to buy the seed to plant the crop. Ruth 2:1c-2a “…a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; (Naomi’s husband) and his name was Boaz. 2. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn…” Now remember, they didn’t have corn as we in America understand corn.  It was either barley or wheat and so forth. It’s already said it is the barley harvest.  So, she wants to go and glean in the barley fields. Ruth 2:2b-3 “…Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of barley after him in whose sight I shall find grace.  And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. (I love this next verse. Ruth leaves.  She goes out to the fields.)  3. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers:  and her hap (That little three lettered word – underline it.  What is it?) (It was her hap.  Now I suppose in our English language we would say she happened.)  was to light (land) on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.” I was reading the other night that way back in the beginning of our English language the Scots up there in Scotland translated this word much like we would say, “It was her good luck.”  We don’t like to use the word luck. I don’t, because as believers we’re not dependant on luck.  But, on the other hand, we are happenstance at times. It was all, again, in God’s divine purposes, although it’s to us an accidental event. All right, it is the same way here.  She didn’t pick out a particular field and set her eyes and go there.  She was more or less following, I suppose, other gleaners, other poor people. But it was her good fortune. It was “her hap to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of (Whom?  Of her father-in-law who has now died) Elimelech.” Ruth 2:4-5 “And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. (You’ve got to pick up from the language here that this Boaz was a believing Jew.  He was a righteous Jew.) And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.  5. Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel (or whose maid) is this?” Can you picture it?  Boaz is evidently a rather young single man.

  And naturally he caught that there’s a strange girl in the field that he didn’t know.  Now again, you know these communities are small.  Having grown up in a small farming community, like a lot of you have, everybody knows everybody.  And all of sudden a stranger comes into the midst, hey, they stick out like a sore thumb.  Well, so did Ruth.  She just stuck out like a sore thumb.  Boaz says who’s that? Ruth 2:6-8a “And the servant that was set over the reapers (the manager of the field,) answered and said, It is the Moabitess damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:  7. And she said, I pray you, (Ruth speaking) let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: (in other words, among the stems of grain) so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. 8. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter?  Go not to glean in another field,…” What’s happening?  Oh!  God’s at work!  Now, don’t try to put anything immoral in here.  This is all the divine purpose of God to bring this Moabite girl, Ruth, into the genealogy of Jesus Christ.  All right, reading on. Ruth 2:8b “Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast (close) by my maidens:” Now you’ve got to remember, they had servants in those days, or what we later on called slaves.  But nevertheless, Boaz with his wealth had control of these servitude kinds of people.  Ruth and Naomi are flat broke financially. So, she is actually amongst those that are the poorest of the poor.  That’s why they are gleaning.  Boaz continues: Ruth 2:9 “Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged (or already instructed) the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the water vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.”  Ruth 2:10 “Then she (Ruth)  fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?”  I have to insert also what kind of a stranger?  A poor one.  She had no wealth.  She had no money.  She was poor and a stranger.  All right, now verse 11, here is the Lord at work. Ruth 2:11-12 “And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. 12. The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, (Here comes the man’s faith.) under whose wings thou art come to (What?) trust.”  Now, trust is the Old Testament word that is equal to our New Testament word what?  Faith.  You don’t see the word faith so much in the Old Testament.  It’s always trust.  But it’s the same thing.  It’s synonymous.  In fact, I want to say there are three words that are synonymous: trust and faith and believe.  They all mean the same thing.   All right, here we have the faith element coming in.  Boaz is impressed by the fact that this young woman, out of an idolatrous environment, has now come into the relationship of Israel’s God and under His wings.  My, what a beautiful picture for someone coming into a place of faith and trust. Ruth 2:13 “Then she said, (Ruth) Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord; (Now the word lord is small l. That was merely a term of respect.  It has nothing to do with Deity.  It was like we use the word sir.) Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.”  (I’m a foreigner.) Ruth 2:14 “And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime you come hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar.   And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn (or grain), and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.

” See how Boaz is just constantly doing the best for her. Ruth 2:15 “And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:” Now, what’s that?  Well, a gleaner would come in after the main harvest had been taken out, as we stressed here several weeks back, and they would pick up one stem at a time.  But Boaz was now telling her, you don’t have to just depend on what’s laying on the ground that the reapers have left.  You go into the bundles.  You don’t have to wait and go all over acres and acres to gather.  He says you go into the sheaves, or what I always grew up understanding as the bundles of grain. Ruth 2:16-17 “And let fall also some of the handfuls on purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. 17. So she gleaned in the field unto evening, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah (one bushel and three pints of barley).”  Pretty good day’s work for a gleaner.  All right, God is doing all of this by divine purpose to bring this young Moabite girl into a marriage relationship with Boaz. From that union will come one of the forefathers of King David.  So, as you read this little Book of Ruth, always look at the divine purposes behind every bit of it.

[keeganbooks]

KNOWING YOUR BIBLE

February 19. 2023: Dear Friends, This blog will be the last blog of the current series on important people and events in the Bible. Focusing on familiar people and events that many have heard, or even read about in the Bible, broadens the understanding of what God is trying to teach to the reader and student of the Bible. Remember the more one reads and studies the Bible, the more one learns about God and his influences on people’s lives. Also keep in mind that the Bible is God’s Holy Word to its readers. In 2nd Timothy, chapter 3, verses 16-18, it is written “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”

This series began on August 7,2022 and continued through November 13. 2022, after which time, because of the holidays, the series was placed on hold until   January 8, 2023.  At that time the series was restarted and has continued through today. If time allows, return to the beginning of the series on August 7, 2022, by going to keeganbooks.com. and review the series, blog by blog, to refresh and refine the knowledge that has been learned in this series. The series provides a broad base of knowledge that will enhance learning and understanding of the Bible.  And in the future, again review the series when able, just to keep the knowledge learned in the series at the forefront to be used throughout one’s Bible study.

Last week, a partial review of some of the important people written about in the Old Testament was discussed with specific Bible verses listed to help in locating where in the Bible the person or persons were located to be read about. In this week’s blog, verses with some of the rest of the people and events in the Old Testament and the New Testament will be listed. Because of space limitations, the amount of verses may be limited.

                 MAY GOD BLESS YOUR BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK !

The rules of Passover: Exodus chapter 11; The Exodus from Egypt: Exodus, chapters 12, 13 and 14; The crossing over into the Promised Land: Joshua, chapters 3 and 4.The fall of Israel 722 BCE: 2nd Kings, chapter 17, verses 3-23. The fall of Judah, 586 BCE: 2nd Kings chapters 24 and 25. The rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem: Ezra, chapters 3-5. Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem: Nehemiah, chapter 3; King David wrote approximately 50% of the Psalm. His son, King Solomon wrote the Wisdom Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. The Prophet Books extend forward towards the New Testament after the book of Ecclesiastes. The Prophet books are divided by the size of the book with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel’ being considered the Major Prophets Books due to their larger size.The rest of the Prophet Books after Daniel being considered Minor Prophet Books. Daniel and the Lions Den: Daniel, chapter 6; Jonah and the Whale, Jonah, chapter 1.     THE NEW TESTAMENT: Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is the most important person in the Bible and in the world. His birth  life, death, and resurrection, can be found in the first 4 books of the New Testament, the Gospel books, of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. With the coming of the Lent Season, beginning on Ash Wednesday, this week, consider reading 1 or 2 of the gospel books during Lent. Reading 1-2 chapters a day will provide so much information about Jesus. Jesus’ birth is recorded in Matthew, chapter 1, verses 18-25, and Luke chapter 2. Jesus’ life is recorded all through the Gospel books. The recording of Jesus’ death and resurrection can be found in Matthew, chapters 26, 27 and 28; Mark, chapters 14, verses 32 through chapter 16; Luke, chapter 22, verses 47 through chapters 23 and 24, and John, chapters 18 through chapter 21. The names and lives of Jesus’ 12 disciples can be found throughout the Gospel books. Refer to last week’s blog for names of the disciples and other important people written about in the New Testament. Next week, we will begin a series on Lent that will last until Easter. I hope you each have a great week!

[lotus-duckies]

Today my reading consisted of "What does the bible say about divination/tarot"

For christian witches who are unsure or people who say divination/tarot is evil or. whatever.

People have already pointed out that any instance of condemnation of divination is associated with the burning of your children which God detests, however I will also provide to you More Information I have found

The scripture people often point to is Deuteronomy 18, wherein occult practices are included and says "When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God."

I will point out that 1) this is in the old testament, and some people believe all rules were nullifed with Jesus and I am one of those people since the old testament explicitly says some foods are unclean and in the new testament it explicitly says all food is made clean.

Also this scripture is guidence for the nations who were given new land by God, and this land contains people who are not of God. At this time, only the Jews had the word of God, and the people it refers to are the pagans. There are some instances of the old testament that talks about pagans and their practices and beliefs and they are rejected in favor of the one christians believe is The One True God. (see: joseph 10:2-4 for more on this)

The occult practices are referring to pagans who do not have the word of God.

Casting lots, or cleromancy, is often said in the bible. It is a method of divination (seeking guidence from a higher power) and dividation wherein you may throw something like dice or flipping coins or sticks, etc. It's probably one of the things that has been thoroughly cemented in my head since it was said so much and I had no idea what it was.

Some christians may remember that when Jesus was being crucified, lots were casts for His clothes.

In Joshua 18, the tribes of Isreal were being given land from God and they were to figure out which tribe will inherit what land. It is said, Joshua 18:5-6 “You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north. After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord our God.”

And in Acts 1, after Jesus was crucified and Judas killed himself, the disciples needed someone to replace Judas to witness to the resurrection of Christ and be able to continue their ministry as apostles. It is said, “So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.”"

In both of these passages, they perform an act of divination, casting lots, and it is noted in both that it is performed in the presense of God and they pray to God for guidence through the lots.

Those reading this may feel free to take this up to their own interpretation, but I believe that divination and tarot is biblically okay, given the evidence, so long as you do it in the name of God.

[steveezekiel]

GOD’S COVENANT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF NAME

1. "When Abram was ninety nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said unto him, "I am Almighty God [El Shaddai]; WALK BEFORE ME AND BE BLAMELESS [perfect].

2. "And I WILL MAKE MY COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND YOU, and will multiply you exceedingly”

Genesis 17:1,2 (NKJV)

• For God to cut a covenant with someone: Perfection also known as maturity would be required of such.

- When you walk with God to the point whereby He decided to cut a covenant with you, it means you have been consistent in your walk with Him.

- God does not cut a covenant with everyone, but with those who keep His words, those who are faithful and steady in their relationship with Him.

- God promises to multiply Abraham exceedingly. That Abraham shall be a father of many nations (Genesis 17:4).

- His name Abram shall be changed to Abraham, for He [God] has made him father of many nations (Genesis 17:5).

- God said He will make Abraham exceedingly fruitful and will make nations of him, and kings shall come from him (Genesis 17:6).

- That God will be a God to Abraham and his seed—descendants (Genesis 17:7).

- God will give to Abraham and his seed the land where he was a stranger, all the land of Canaan—for everlasting possession and He will be their God (Genesis 17:8).

“Also I give to you and your descendants [seed] after you, the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:8 (NKJV)

- That Abraham shall keep the covenant between him and God and his seed. The sign of the covenant is the circumcision of every male child.

10. "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants [seed] after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;

11. "and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

Genesis 17:10,11 (NKJV)

• God is a COVENANT keeping God

- The covenant He made with Abraham had terms and conditions. If Abraham abided with the terms and conditions of the covenant, he shall be blessed.

- However, If anyone refused to abide with the terms of the covenant among his descendants, such will be cut off from his people.

"And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Genesis 17:14 (NKJV)

- If God cut a covenant with you, He expects you to abide with the terms of the covenant.

- God is principled, He is not haphazard. And if you want to enjoy your walk with Him, you want to partake and enjoy the benefits of the kingdom, you have to pay attention to His words, instructions or commands given you by Him (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3).

- The instructions or commands in question are the ones given through the written Word or the ones given specifically by the Holy Spirit.

"But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, THIS ONE WILL BE BLESSED IN WHAT HE DOES."

James 1:25 (NKJV)

- God demanded Perfection or maturity from Abraham before He cut a covenant with him, likewise He does from you and me (Genesis 17:1).

15. "but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

16. because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

1 Peter 1:15,16 (NKJV)

• God changed Abraham’s name from ‘Abram’ to Abraham. This signifies the importance of name.

- God did change the name of several other people in the Bible. If you bear a name that does not glorify God, or a name that brings curses, you have to change the name.

- God did change Abraham’s and Sarah's name (Genesis 17:5,15).

- And Jacob's name was also changed to Israel meaning "God strives," "God rules," "God heals," or "he strives against God."

"Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel [prince with God]; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

Genesis 32:27,28 (NKJV)

- Also, God gave Jedidiah which means beloved of the LORD to Solomon when he was born (2 Samuel 12:24,25).

- Jesus also changed Simon's name to Cephas or Peter meaning a rock, being an unstable man (John 1:42; Matthew 16:18).

- Is your name bringing blessings to you? Or it does bring curses?

• Name is IMPORTANT and it is PROPHETIC!

- Your name prophecies your future. In other words, your name predicts your future.

- Name also speaks about purpose and assignment: "And you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS [Yahweh saves or salvation is from Yahweh]." (Luke 1:31).

Jesus' name defined His purpose and assignment on earth.

- To further stress or emphasize the importance of name: Someone who was given a name Jabez which means sorrow or PAIN, had to pray for a change in his life (1 Chronicles 4:9,10).

When he did that, things changed for him, his territory was enlarged, God’s hand of protections and blessings came on him.

9. "Now Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez [he will cause pain], saying, "BECAUSE I BORE HIM IN PAIN."

10. And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, THAT I MAY NOT CAUSE PAIN!" So God GRANTED him what he REQUESTED."

1 Chronicles 4:9,10 (NKJV)

- Do not just pick a name, when naming your child, ministry, business, organisation, or whatever; let the Holy Spirit guide you.

- When naming a child, you need to wait on the Lord to receive the name that God would want you to give the child—a covenant name from God, not the name you picked or chosen randomly.

• You will not fail in Jesus name.

Peace!