By the time of the Feast of Dedication, the Jewish people had been exiled to Babylon and Assyria and could very easily have incorporated ‘foreign’ words into their vocabulary just as we have with the days of the week: Thursday for Thor, Wednesday for Odin, even Saturday for Saturn. Perhaps even to worship the God of Israel in their exile, they used the term shamash in order to remain alive.
Year: 2019
Land of No Midnight Sun
Our ‘home’ for the next two months is at Kathnu Lodging. In summer the suite is rented out nightly. We received an amazing deal and couldn’t resist the proximity to our daughter’s house. It has two bedrooms (and a futon couch) with a small furnished kitchen, dining table and huge beatifully designed bathroom. French doors lead outside to a small porch. As we sit on a hill, we can look down on the Kenai River and up to Mount Cecil.
Sabbath – Hebrew: Shabbat
In the gospels, Yeshua says in Matthew that he is ‘Lord of the Sabbath.’ This means he is Lord of the seventh-day Sabbath as that was the commandment given by God. Had he disobeyed that commandment or even changed that commandment to another day, he would have been a sinful man instead of our Savior.
Spirit – Hebrew: Ruach
Yeshua said that ‘blaspheming’ the ‘breath’ of God will never be forgiven in this world or the world to come. Blasphemy is multifaceted and begins with speaking offense to that which gives ‘life’ to our very souls – physical life and spiritual life. It is through the ‘breath’ that we are reborn in His Kingdom, and without that ‘breath,’ we remain dead in our sins to face judgment.