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Tazria: A Seed Restored

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Gospel of John: Out of His Belly

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This teaching reveals the significance of Yeshua’s statement “out of his belly” by examining the Gihon Spring, the mainwatersystem water supply for Jerusalem and the Pool of Shiloach where the ceremony of the water drawing took place at Sukkot. It ties the Holy Spirit to the actions of the High Priest as he ascended to the Temple complex, through the Water Gate, in order to pour out the water from his golden vessel onto the altar.

 

 

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Gospel of John: Last Great Day of the Festival

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The last great day of the festival in John seven is Hoshanah Rabbah or the day of the Great Salvation, which takes etrogplace on the seventh day of Sukkot. The themes of this day are connected to freedom, deliverance and salvation for Israel from all her enemies. Also discussed in this program is the taking of the aravah (willows), the hakafot circuits around the altar, the exalted guests and the ceremony of the Rejoicing in the Water Drawing.

 

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Shemini: Sign of the 8th Day the Veil is Removed”

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Click on the link to hear Diana’s audio teaching from Shemini.veil

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Written version:

Shalom, and welcome to this week’s Torah portion Shemini, which means “eighth.”

We begin with Aharon and sons, who were called to remain in the Tent of Meeting seven full days while Moshe performed the inauguration service. This is key. Moshe is doing all the work; but they were to remain there for a seven-day period until the day of completion of these days of consecration were fulfilled. There’s a lot of emphasis on this seven-day period in which Aharon and his sons would be consecrated. The idea that they were to remain at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting day and night for a seven-day period was so that they would not die. What we find here is that Moshe is functioning in the role of high priest during these seven days of consecration, or as some translate, the “inauguration” of the “Mishkan,” or Tabernacle. And the seven days represent this present age in which we live. The last day, the seventh day, is “The Day of the Lord,” the “Messianic Kingdom”, or the “Malkhut Shamayim;” and all this functions in the context of “time”. Outside of time we have the eighth day, or what the rabbis call “the World to Come.”

This is the pattern of Moshe and the Messiah. Here we have Moshe functioning as the high priest, erecting the Tabernacle and preparing it for the service of the priesthood. And that priesthood would be handed off to Aharon and sons, whose service would function in the context of the physical world. The Tabernacle, in a sense, represented the temporary place of the presence of God in this physical world. Thus Moshe performed a temporary service. Messiah would perform the same duty permanently.

Now, on the eighth day, Scripture says Moshe called out to Aharon and sons and to all the elders of Israel. Aharon and sons were to take various animals for the sin offering, the burnt offering, the peace offering; they were also to take the “minchah” or the meal offering. The Hebrew word that is applied to the sin offering and the burnt offering is “tamim.” Though translated “unblemished,” it really means “complete” or “whole” or blameless. If they do this the Father, HaShem, will be revealed to them. So the Eighth Day would represent the presence of a Holy God. This is the very revelation of God in His fullness. And it is related to the place of the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant sits. That is the place where He is revealed in the fullness of His glory. This is the place of His Throne room, with the Ark of the Covenant representing His throne. All of this is reserved for the eighth day.

So the role of the priest takes place over the course of the seven days, or 7,000 years. And the role of the priest was to prepare the people through atonement, by the blood of animals, to come into the Presence of God. They did experience the fullness of His Presence. We find the first day of the first month was said to be the Eighth Day of the inauguration period. It tells us that on “that day” the Tabernacle was permanently erected and now the priests, Aharon and sons, assume their new role. You can find that in Exodus 40:1 (CJB). “Adonai said to Moshe, ‘On the first day of the first month, you are to set up the “mishkan,” [the tabernacle, the tent of meeting]. Put in it the Ark for the Testimony, and conceal the Ark with the curtain.’” The Hebrew word for curtain is “parokhet.” In Exodus 40:17 it says on the first day of the first month of the second year the “mishkan” was set up. So they associate this Eighth Day with this period in which the Tabernacle is permanently erected.

Now in Vayikra, Leviticus 9:7, Moshe speaks to Aharon and tells him to “draw near” (karav) to the altar and do your sin offerings and your burnt offerings, etc. And now you’re going to atone (kapar) for yourself and for the people and then do the work of the service of the Tabernacle. This word “kapar” is used two times: first, the high priest would make atonement for himself and his family, and then also for the people. This is to prepare the people for the Eighth Day. Eventually Aharon replaces Moshe as the High Priest for the work of the priesthood for this Present Age. The priesthood always functions in the context of the “mishkan,” the Tabernacle, and the Temple (Mikdash). Moshe, the first priest, erected the Tabernacle and consecrated it, and this is a picture of Messiah serving as High Priest. Then the picture is of the World to Come.

Now, Aharon’s name is interesting. It contains the letters aleph, hey, resh and nun, and has a value of 256. The word for Ark is “aron,” and if we add a “hey” in front, it is “haAron,” (the ark) and has the exact same letters: hey, aleph, resh, nun, and therefore also has a value of 256. What’s interesting to me is that the expression “l'olam va-ed,” which means eternal or forever, is also the World to Come. So now we have an association between Aharon, who has replaced Moshe, and the Ark, where the service of the high priest would take place in the Holy of Holies, and “l’olam va-ed,” the eternal world or the World to Come or the Eighth Day (Shemini). Inside the word “aron” is the word for light (רוא) aleph, vav, resh. Now I did not mention the vav when I spelled out the ark “ha-aron.” That’s because the vav is sometimes there and sometimes not. Regardless, the word “light” comes from Aron. In the place where the Ark sits is all light, and the fullness of that light is a picture of Day. This is the Holy of Holies and again represents the Eighth Day. And the light of the world comes out from there. Of course, we know that is Messiah Yeshua, who is the Light of the World; and the idea of the light of the world is related to the Torah, which is said to be hidden behind the façade of the physical. So the “parokhet,” the curtain, the cloth between the Tent of Meeting and the Holy of Holies, separates the physical world from the World to Come, which will be revealed at the Eighth Day.

So let’s talk about the word “kapar” (רפכ). It means, “to atone”. The root is kaf, pey, and resh. “Kapparot,” is a lid or a cover. So “kapar,” is to atone and also a protective covering that goes over something. It can also mean, (more abstractly) “reconcile,” “forgive,” “mercy,” “cleanse,” - all these things. The word “kapar” has a value of 300, which is a number associated with redemption in Scripture. Now you might recognize “Yom Kippur,” the Day of Atonement, which is actually “Yom haKippurim,” and is the Day of Redemption. In Genesis 6:14, Noah was commanded to make an ark, or “tevah,” which is a picture of the Temple. It was made out of gopher or most likely cedar wood, contained many rooms, and was covered “kapar,” inside and outside in “koper,” which is pitch. Hopefully you see the connection between those two words.

Now the ark was to be 300 cubits in length, like the value of 300 for kapar, as well as being 30 cubits high. The number 3 or 30 or 300 or 3,000 is a number often associated with redemption, and is connected to the imagery of the Temple. The “tevah,” the ark, a picture of the Temple, was a place of protection for Noah and his family; but it was also a place of Noah’s service as a priest during the time of the flood. We have this same pattern in the seven days in the Tabernacle. Here Noach is performing his duties as a priest until the time they exit the ark. The atonement and the work of the priesthood always function in the context of the House of the Lord. You can read about the “kapporet,” which is the cover on the Ark, in Exodus 25. The word “kapparot” is used seven times, as well as, the word “keruvim,” what is translated cherubim. Both Kapporet and Keruvim are connected to the seven days or 7000 years of this Present age during which atonement takes place.

Another word connected to “kapar” is “parokhet” which has the same letters as “kapar,” kaf, pey, and resh only in a different order with the letter tav on the end. Tav is a letter that means a sign; so the “paroket” is the sign of the cover or the sign of atonement. What is the sign? When the “parohket” is removed we can enter into the Presence of God in the Holy of Holies. Atonement has been received. Once the veil is removed, we can enter into His Presence passing from the Tent of Meeting into the Holy of Holies, from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies. This is the place where the throne is revealed, and no longer concealed behind the veil.

The ark was made of “shittim” wood. It is made of wood, according to the sages, because the Torah is called the “tree of life” for all those who hold fast to it (Proverbs 3:18). The “shittim” wood (according to Rabbi Culi) can be broken down by letters: sheen, tet, yod, mem. Rabbi Culi said the “sheen” was for “shalom,” peace, the “tet” was for “tovah,” good, the “yod” was for “Yeshua,” salvation, and the “mem” was for “mechilah,” forgiveness. So it is interesting how the Ark of the Covenant is associated with peace and good, and Yeshua and salvation, and forgiveness?

The Ark was covered inside and outside with a layer of pure gold. The sages in their commentaries, and in particular, Rashi, say the Ark was actually made of three open boxes, one of wood and two of gold. The wooden box was placed in an outer larger gold box and then a smaller gold box was placed inside the wooden box. Therefore the wooden box was covered on the inside and the outside with gold. Of course, the wood box doesn’t have near the value of the gold boxes. The wooden box held the Torah, the two stone tablets; and the Levites carried the Ark of the Covenant from place to place on their shoulders. It even mentions that the two Levites in front would actually walk backwards so that they could face the Ark.

Now let’s turn to the gold used to make the cover for the ark. Again, the Ark cover is called the “kapparot”. Rashi said the Ark needed a cover because it was completely open on top. He also said that the cover itself weighed a lot. We don’t find the specifics on the cover’s thickness; but it was said to be very heavy, and that it was something a man could not make himself. Therefore, according to Rashi, it required a miracle. What the sages also say is that the Keruvim, or the cherubim, were beaten out of the same piece of gold as the Ark cover. So it was one complete unit of gold. They were not made separately, that is the cover and the Keruvim. The keruvim were not separately attached to the cover; but were beaten and hammered out of one, giant piece of gold. The gold was beaten in the middle so the two ends would protrude upward forming the keruvim. It is interesting their wings would be spread upwards. The idea is that man must always lift up his eyes because, as it tells us in Luke 21:28 (KJV), “Look up, for your redemption draws nigh.” The tablets were placed in the Ark and were to remain there. They were not to be removed for any reason.

Let’s jump to Hebrews 4:14. This book is filled with all kinds of imagery that connects to Leviticus 9. For example, in Hebrews 4:14 we find the “Kohen gadol,” the revelation of the great high priest. He passed through to the highest heaven, which is outside the dimension of time. It is Yeshua the Son of God, who is able to empathize with our weakness. He was tempted as we are in every way; but, of course, he didn’t sin. It speaks of letting us confidently approach the throne from which God gives grace so that we may receive mercy (referring to the mercy seat, “kaparot”), and find grace in our time of need. So the Throne of glory is the Ark, and the cover over it, the “kapparot” called the mercy seat. Hebrews 9:11 in particular, (please read Hebrews 9 and 10), tells us that behind the second “paroket” (the veil) was a tent called the holiest place. The Ark of the Covenant was there and it was covered with gold. In the ark were the manna, Aharon’s rod that sprouted, and the stone tablets. Again, above it were the “keruvim,” who were supposed to represent the “shekinah,” the place of the indwelling presence of God. It was said the “keruvim” cast their shadow or image on the Ark.

Now we know the High Priest in Temple times, and certainly in the Tabernacle, could only enter once a year bringing the blood of bulls and goats into the Holy of Holies on behalf of himself and his family, and then for the sins committed by the people. This represents the picture of the service of the priests during the seven days or the 7,000 years. On the Eighth Day, or the World to Come, we can enter the Holy of Holies on earth as it is in heaven but not by the blood of goats but by the shed blood of Yeshua the Messiah; then people are set free forever (“l’olam vayed”). And, of course, He offered himself as that offering. So as the priests served as the mediator of the covenant between heaven and earth; so too Yeshua mediates between the Father and us to enable us to receive our promised eternal inheritance.

All of this is simply a copy or image of what takes place in heaven. Messiah has entered, outside the dimension of time, into the heavenly realm by His resurrection. Now He’s in a resurrected body that can be present in the Holy of Holies. He will appear at the end of the age, after the seven days are complete, in order to completely do away with sin. He exists outside of time currently, but there’s an overlap. We have the World to Come overlapping the Present Age we live in. Yes, His atoning work is done; and now we wait patiently to be delivered completely from death so that we can enter into the presence of God in our resurrected bodies.

In the meantime, the offerings remain. They are the reminders, rehearsals, and instructions to teach and prepare us how to draw into the presence of God at the appointed time; and we still have our high priest functioning in that capacity for us. Hebrews 10:19 (CJB) tells us we have confidence to enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Yeshua, a new and living way which He inaugurated to us through the veil because now the “parokhet” has been removed. That is the sign that the atonement has been accepted. Now we have a new High Priest in the House of God who functions like Moshe; so we wait patiently until that time when we are resurrected from the dead like He is. Then it will be the Eighth Day, and we will come into His presence permanently.

Gospel of John: Bread of Heaven

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In this teaching, a contrast is made between bread that comes up from the earth, and manna, which comes down from breadheaven. The teaching also links the manna to the leftovers and the double portion on the sixth day when Israel was in the wilderness. This adds to the significance of the manna in Messianic times because the concept of the bread of heaven is related to the resurrection of the dead.

 

 

 

 

Audio

The Offerings: Food for the Body

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Click on the link to hear Diana’s audio teaching from Tzav.

photo credit: templeinstitute.org
photo credit: templeinstitute.org

Part 1 - Audio

Tzav (Leviticus 6:1-8:36)

Shalom, this is Dr. Diana Dye and welcome to this week’s portion from Leviticus or Vayikra called Tzav, which means, “to command.” This week follows up from last week; we have a repeated list of the various offerings. The command Tzav is actually given to Aharon and his sons. It is a specific commandment for the high priest, and it extends down to the priesthood that would follow from his line. So we are going from the tabernacle all the way to the final future third temple. It is a specific message through the high priest to those who would mediate between heaven and earth; that is, between God and man. And there is a connection to the offerings. It is also a message of our Messiah, who is our mediator and the one who represents what we would call the eternal priesthood because he mediates between us, and our Heavenly Father, for all eternity.

The theme here is the idea of the temple as a literal body. In the same way a body cannot survive without food, neither can the temple. (if the temple in fact is a picture of the body). My premise is that the Temple is really the picture of our Heavenly Father in this world if He had a body. Obviously He doesn’t live in this world. He lives outside of time. The temple represents the image or imprint on this physical world. It is also a picture of the body of “one new man.”

The offerings, then, become the food supply for the body. They are the foundation of all the temple services and ceremonies. In the same way a body needs food to live, also the temple as a picture of a body needs food to live. The act of choosing, preparing, slaughtering, and roasting the meat on the fire is the act of getting food ready for the Father himself. By preparing the offerings, making the offerings and bringing them before the Father, it is an act of His will being exercised in this earth.

The sages say that the act of eating in the temple truly is an act of worship. The Father’s food is first mentioned in terms of the burnt offering, which was the offering that was totally consumed. The only part left of that offering was the skins, which were given to the priests. The priests were the ones who ate all the other offerings at certain times and in certain places designated in the temple complex. Whether the offering was determined to be a holy offering or a most holy offering hinged on where it would be eaten. [And so you would rather be in the inner courtyard, the Azarah around the temple complex or perhaps in the court of the women and in another courtyard. And then, of course, the people themselves would eat the offerings.] For instance, lambs for Passover were eaten by the people and their families.

In a sense, God established the offerings as “fuel” for His body. The offerings are an act of worship and reveal a complete submission to God. This is the way a man exercises the Father’s will on earth. This is the message of the offerings. Again, the Temple as a body cannot exist without food, so the food for the Temple was the offerings; and the food is then to do the will of the Father.

Look at Romans 12:1. What does it say? “I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as [a sacrifice CJB] an offering, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical ‘Temple worship’ for you.” This is how we bring our will to him. What pleases Him is to do His will. So something is being communicated here about offering ourselves, which is a part of the Temple worship. Worship in the Temple was about the offerings and the eating of those offerings. The Hebrew word there is “korbanot.” Korban is the singular. The offering comes from the root “ka-rav,” which means to “draw near” to the Father. So it is as we draw near we are able to do His will on earth as it is in heaven.

Now if we look at Numbers 28:2, this chapter really ties together with Leviticus 6 because the first part of the chapter is dealing with the daily burnt offering; and this is what we see first mentioned in this Torah portion Tzav in Leviticus 6. The daily burnt offering in Hebrew is the “tamid korban olah.” “Olah” means “to raise up” or to be raised. It is the elevation offering. “Tamid” means daily. So it says, “Command the Children of Israel and say to them: [this is key; I want you to listen closely] My offering, My food for My offering made by fires, a sweet savor to me, you will observe to offer to Me in their appointed time.” So His offerings can be called bread, “lechem,” food as it is translated “et karbani lachmi,” My offering, My food.

The sages considered the Torah as being referred to as food. We can read about that in Proverbs 9:5. Actually starting in verse one it says, “Wisdom has built herself a house; … She has prepared her food, spiced her wine, and she has set her table.” This is really altar imagery in the temple. In verse five it says, “Come and eat my food!” So, just as it is impossible to exist without food, it is impossible for the world to exist without the Torah. Again this expression comes in Numbers 28:2 in Hebrew: “karbani lachmi l’eshai”.My aroma is satisfying and you are to guard to offer Me it in its appointed time.” There is an appointed time to bring the burnt offering, which was two times daily, in the morning and in the early evening or late afternoon.

Chapters 28 and 29 in Numbers talk about the additional offerings. They are called the “mussaf,” but I don’t want to go into that at this time. Just to reiterate, He says in Numbers 28:2, “My offering, My food for My offerings made by fires, a sweet savor to Me, you will observe to offer to Me in their appointed time.” Again, these are the daily appointed times. You are probably familiar with the Weekly appointed time that would be Shabbat. And the Festival appointed times would be the various festivals in the months, specifically the first and the seventh months. But these are the daily appointed times.

According to the sages, God refers to the blood that is placed on the altar as “My offering.” The parts that are burned up on the altar were called his “food,” and everything else that is burned was called “My fires.” There is an emphasis in Numbers 28 on My offerings, My food and My fires and that the aroma that comes from the burnt offering being totally consumed is satisfying. It is referring to the satisfaction that God feels: “that I spoke and My will has been done.” So there is a relationship between, My food, My offering, and My fires and that sweet aroma - acted out as His will has been done. I want to emphasize this because there is a connection between His food and His will being done in the place of His Presence.

This is finally going to make sense based on a passage of scripture I have puzzled over in John 4:33-34. I would recommend reading the entire chapter, but you are most likely familiar with it: the woman at the well in Samaria. The appointed time here would be Shavuot, also called the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. After the dialogue between Yeshua and the woman at the well, the Talmidim show up. They are concerned about Yeshua. They urge him to eat something. And He answers, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” The Talmidim look at one another and ask, “Could somebody have brought him some food?” And He answers, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to bring his work to completion.”

Yeshua’s work is being brought to completion and is connected to the offering service, that is, the work of atonement through the altar service. Yeshua is the picture of the burnt offering completely consumed, the Father’s food; and He perfectly exercises the Father’s will on earth as it is in heaven. Again, God refers to the blood that is placed on the altar as “My offering,” the parts that are burned up on the altar as “My food;” and everything else is burned for “My fires.” And that aroma is His will being done on earth.

Now, I want to point out that in Leviticus 6:2 it says, “This is the “Torat” (Torah) for the burnt offering, the “olah,” which goes up atop the firewood on the altar all night long until morning. In this way the fire (the Hebrew word is “mokday”) of the altar will be kept burning. What is very interesting about this word “mokday,” which can be translated “flame” or “fire” or “hearth”, is that it has a small letter Mem to start; and it relates, according to the sages, to the Messiah and the future redemption. This letter Mem is very small if you’re reading it in the Torah scroll. The Mem has a value of 40. The Mem has two shapes. When you put a Mem at the beginning or in the middle of a word, it is called an “Open Mem.” When it is placed at the close of a word it is called the “Mem Sofeet,” or the final form; this is a “Closed Mem.”

The sages tell us that the “Open Mem” means the Torah revealed, speaking of the first tablets of stone; and the “Closed Mem” means the Torah concealed, speaking of the second tablets, which I relate to the tablets written on our hearts. But again, it has a value of 40, as Moshe was 40 days on the mountain two times, Yeshua 40 days in the wilderness. Mem is connected to water - “mayim.” You are familiar with that. It has a Mem on either end. Mayim (water) is also a word that can mean blood. The life is in the blood and the body is almost all made up of water. What our sages tell us also is that the true water is the Torah. That is the only thing that can quench thirst.

So we go back to the woman at the well in John chapter four. She comes to the well and is thirsty; and she asks, “Where can I get this living water?” Yeshua tells her, “Whoever drinks the water I will give him will never thirst again.” and she, of course, asks for this water. Now this all takes place at Shavuot. Then after this dialogue between the two [it goes into the whole food thing again]My food is to do the will of the Father.” again relates to the offerings. So the Mem represents the living water of the Torah.

Now what is interesting is that this particular Torah portion is often read around the time of Pesach. The small Mem relates to Pesach because it is the first redemption; and the Pesach is related to numerous different Mems. So at Pesach we have matzah, maror, Moshe the deliverer; we have “Mah nishtanah” or the four questions; we have Miriam the sister of Moshe and we have Mitzrayim, Egypt, the place of their exile.

Night is related to exile in Egypt, and “Mitzrayim” for Egypt has the Mem on both ends, the beginning and the end, just like mayim. So the first redemption has the children of Israel going through the sea and is connected to the “Open Mem”, while the exile is connected to the “Closed Mem” and the redemption. So the coming of the Messianic Kingdom has to do with the “Closed Mem” or redemption. And redemption is based on repentance, which is the theme of Passover: repentance, cleansing, forgiveness, etc. All of this, according to the sages, is related to the Messiah. Now the question is why is Mem diminished? To me, when Leviticus was written, obviously the Messiah had not yet come and performed His atoning work. So perhaps the reason the Mem is small is because the fullness of the kingdom had not yet come. Again I mention that nighttime was a metaphor for the exile, or the “galut,” but the day coming represents the Kingdom. You’ll notice in Leviticus 6 that the offerings would burn all night into morning and that the new offering would be put on the fire in the morning.

I would like to close with a quote from Leviticus Rabbah 7.2. It says that if a person repents it is regarded as if he had gone up to Jerusalem, rebuilt the Temple and the altar, and brought on it all the offerings of the Torah. So the key to all this for me has been the idea of doing the Father’s will; that is, the act of bringing the food that relates to His will being done and is expressed in Yeshua saying, “My food is doing the will of the father.”

Gospel of John: Five Loaves and Two Fish

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This session focuses on the significance of the various numbers as they relate to the Messianic kingdom. It examines fishthe 5000 fed, the 5 loaves of bread, and the 2 fish, which all point to the 7000-year plan of God. In addition there is a discussion on the significance of the 12 loaves that are leftover. See how this ties to the leftover manna that became infested with worms when eaten on the regular days of the week and how this contrasts with the leftovers that were eaten for Shabbat.

 

 

 

Part 1 - Audio

Pekudei: The Mishkan Raised Up

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Click on the link to hear Diana’s audio teaching from Pekudei.mishkan

Part 1 - Audio

V’yakhel: The Mishkan Resembles a Body

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Click on the link to hear Diana’s audio teaching from V'yakhel.mishkan

Part 1 - Audio

Gospel of John: Pool Called Bethesda

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This session compares the experience of the crippled man at the pool of Bethsaida with Israel and their time at Kadesh.bethesda Just as this man waited 38 years to be healed as he tried to enter the waters in the pool, so too the generation of Israel waited 38 years as they camped in the wilderness. There is also a discussion on the significance of the water moving in the pool based on a similar action in Genesis chapter One.

 

Part 1

Part 1 - Audio