Promise and Compromise: Joshua chapter 17

   Living in the Promised Land: A study in the book of Joshua

 To view this online: https://youtu.be/jUwioDSxZXM

2.     Overview. [For those online, see this book overview from The Bible Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqJlFF_eU  )

B.              Today’s lesson: Chapter  17       

Today we dig deeper into the relationship of the sons of Menasheh with each other and with the Lord himself. This is not only the geography lesson we began a couple of weeks ago. We see some interpersonal connection or misconnection and that may speak to you today in different ways. 

A.     Normal tribal allotment

The chapter begins with traditional lineage and listing. 

Now this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer and for the sons of Helek and for the sons of Asriel and for the sons of Shechem and for the sons of Hepher and for the sons of Shemida; these were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

First: (1-2) Normal sons of the firstborn of Joseph, Menasheh. Traditional lineage. Traditional distribution. All male, and all listed. But then the music changes and the scene is interrupted as we saw in the book of Numbers twice in our last series of studies. (bit.ly/Numbers2021 ). 

B.     The promises fulfilled

In verses 3-6, Zelophehad’s daughters return to the stage. We met them in Numbers (27.1-11, 36.1-13) and their argumentation was brilliant . The purpose of including this story at this point is to highlight the obedience of Joshua and Elazar. What was promised is fulfilled. Maybe that’s key in your understanding of God as well. Or how you should live your life in 2021. Do you make promises? To yourself, to others, to your boss, to your colleagues? And when you fail in keeping those promises, what do you do? The simple reminder here in these Zelophehad verses keeps me simple, and keeps me looking to the One who promises AND fulfills them. I’m going to learn from him rather than from the ways of the world. He is the faithful One. I should be like him.

And don’t you appreciate the boldness of the sisters? They had the promise. Then they went and got it done. My sister had a car accident a while back and her lawyer suggested that a certain sum would be forthcoming which would allow her to buy another car and get back to regular life. This week she was able to secure that cheque and will be replacing her totaled car, but not without chasing up the funding. Having the promise is great; securing the benefits is even better. 

God has made all kinds of promises to us, and when we are concluded in our class today, I’m going to ask the ones who remain in our Q and A session to list some. If you are watching live just now, start a list. What promises has God given you. Has he given those to everyone? What has he promised to Jewish people? What has he promised to the Church? 

Then, maybe add a column later today and ask yourself, what yet remains of those promises to be fulfilled? What must I do to secure the promise’s fulfillment? Or is it completely out of my hands? That’s for a future discussion to be sure.

Back to our text. The ladies were included in the genealogical listing of the Menasheh tribal units and thus would have been regularized in the Jubilee years when the tribe reconvened and reapportioned. In other words, this was not only for the 5 girls; it was for perpetuity.

C.     Compromise revisited

In our third section today (7-13) we see the ordinary layout of borders, actual borders next to the brook, the sea, Ephraim, Asher, etc. And we are sure that this is ‘back to normal’ for the author of Joshua to show the massive expanse of the tribe of Menasheh. Both sides of the Jordan are mentioned. Remember Menasheh is the tribe with half on each side by prearrangement with Moses during their wilderness wandering. You would think, if this were your mishpochah and you were reading the distribution of deeds in a year or two or twenty from this moment that you would feel a swell of pride arise. That’s my people and hey, look at the size of this land we have! But remember gifts are not for boasting; what you have been given is about the giver, not about the recipient. Be thankful. Be one who broadcasts the kindness of the donor. 

Are you like that with God? When he promises and he fulfills, do you shout his praise? Are you public about your gratitude for all his benefits? 

Psalm 103 says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, 

            And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

²           Bless the LORD, O my soul, 

            And forget none of His benefits;

³           Who pardons all your iniquities, 

            Who heals all your diseases;

⁴           Who redeems your life from the pit, 

            Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

⁵           Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

Listing God’s benefits, that may be another thing you can do today with that paper and pen in your hand. And when you see that list, command your soul to thank God. Yes, it’s an act of the will to thank the Lord. And gratitude is what will keep you hearing from him, keep you in his love, keep you as a child of the King. 

Now our text in Joshua takes a sudden turn, and it’s not the first time we’ve heard this phrase. 

“BUT the enemies were not comprehensively removed.” (15.63, 16.10, 17.12-13) That’s the rub. In fact, the failure of the Jewish people in removing the enemies of God from the Land seems to intensify through each of the reports here in Joshua. First in chapter 15 Judah fails. That’s all we see. Then last week we saw the accommodation of the Ephraimites in keeping some as workers. Clever, but not God’s plan. Then today in verses 12-13, we see the Menasheh folks failing to capture some of the territory itself. They seem to have entered a type of treaty with them due to their inability to reach a settlement. These Canaanites were stronger than Israel and refused to negotiate a long-lasting agreement.  The tribe compromised and this is chronicled as a mark against them. 

Remember we were to drive out the enemies. (Ex. 23.23) God would be involved and do so slowly. Then it would be over. Done. Dusted. Not to take on more employees. But we failed to live up to God’s promise and failed to trust him. What a waste. 

Compromise is ruinous to your life and to the life of your family, to your congregation, to a people. I’m not talking about negotiations between Labor and Liberal; I’m talking about personal choices to go against the clear direction of God. He says to give and we say maybe we will not be so generous, but give now and again. He says to pray and we say we don’t really need to take God so seriously. He says to believe and we say we may trust him a little but we also have to trust others who don’t even believe in him. We learn from others that being full-on is shameful and we will look like a Holy Joe or Josephine. Who wants to stand out from the crowd anyway?

Think of Lot, nephew of our father Abraham, who chose to live in Sodom rather than to stand outside it and to live a godly life. Think of King Saul who thought capturing some of the people (1 Samuel 15) would be better than destroying everything as he was instructed by the prophet Samuel. Compromise gets us in trouble and never works God’s pleasure. 

A promise is an oath, an agreement, and a future consideration. A compromise is a committal to something derogatory or objectionable; a prejudicial concession; a surrender as in  a compromise of character or right

When God speaks, let’s be people who believe the promises and stand firm in the face of compromising situations. Think of the Proverbs where the naïve are torn between promises and plans laid out by the parents and the compromises of the wayward and lost.

D.    Discontentment is the result of compromise

The tribe of Menasheh end up coveting for more. They already have the largest land mass of all the tribes, but in verse 14, they beg for more. As I pondered this chapter and saw the order of things in the way the author wrote, I’m reminded that promises made and received lead to thankfulness. Promises not fulfilled (due to our neglect or compromise) leads to coveting and a bad ending. 

Look, Joshua gives them the forest to clear and make new homes there. They argue against that! Malcontent people are never satisfied. They are entitled, they think. They want more. They have more but they want more yet. 

No wonder Yeshua said to the hoarding servant who had received a certain sum from the landowner, (Matthew 13) that what he had would be taken away. Beggars can’t be choosers. We ought to be thankful and receive God’s good love and promises, amen?

You have two options, discontent or gratitude. The choice is yours.

Invitation

Dear friends, do you have such a sense of God’s promises, of his forgiveness and God’s gracious presence today? Do you know that Yeshua initiated the New Covenant, that which Jeremiah predicted, on Passover nearly 2000 years ago? Have you met the one who was cursed on the Roman tree for you in Jerusalem? if you have never asked Yeshua to be your Saviour, today as we keep learning from Joshua, would you choose to believe the Lord of life?   Would you be willing to take a stand for him who took a stand and died on a Roman cross for you? We love Yeshua because in his death he accomplished salvation for all people. He took the curse we deserved to give us his righteousness which he deserved. Forgiveness is available because of the death of our messiah. 

If you’d like to receive him today, just now, join me as we pray.

Say something like this: “Father in Yeshua’s name, forgive me my sin, I was wrong to dismiss you and to disbelieve in you. I need your mercy. I deserve punishment but you are kind and merciful and I receive your grace. I repent. I receive Yeshua as my saviour and Lord. I will live because of my faith in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.

If you prayed that, please let us know of your profession by writing straightaway, won’t you? Bob@JewsforJesus.org.au We’d love to hear from you.

 

Conclusion

We are delighted you have joined us today. Please join us next week and learn with the others how you can stay on track in 2021 and beyond.   I hope to see you next week as we continue our studies in Joshua.  You will certainly see yourself in the readings and in the lessons. Next week we will look at chapter 18, in what I call “Apportionment Continued” and see what lessons we can draw for ourselves from the scenes there!

Hope to see you then… until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

 

 

Bibliography

Butler, Trent C., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 7. Joshua. Word, Waco, 1983.

Davis, Dale Ralph, Joshua: No Falling Words, Christian Focus, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland, 2019.

Hess, Richard. Tyndale Commentary Complete. 

Meyer, F.B., Joshua and the Land of Promise, Christian Literature Crusade, Ft Washington PA, 1977.

Pritchard, James, “The Bible reports on Gibeon.” Penn Museum, Expedition, 1961. Volume 3, Issue 4.

Sanders, J. Oswald, Promised-Land Living, Moody Press, Chicago, 1984.

Toms, Paul, This land is your land. Gospel Light Publishing, Glendale CA, 1977.

Weirsbe, Warren. Be Strong: Putting God's Power to Work in Your Life. David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs, 2010.

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D-Groups for this week

1)              Monday 11 am Sydney time. Led by James Howse

2)              Monday 7 pm, Sydney time, led by James White

(Contact our office for zoom details)

If you’d like to host a D-Group either online or in person, please contact bob@jewsforjesus.org.au for further details. It’s time to step up. Ponder this—who will be in your D-Group?

 

The Book of Joshua:   Outline.

 

C.     Entering the Land (Chapters 1-4)

a.     Chapter 1: A funeral and a promise (Leadership Lesson 1)

b.     Chapter 2: A harlot saves the day 

c.      Chapter 3: Go against the flow (Part 1)

d.     Chapter 4: Go against the flow (Part 2)

 

D.    Taking the Land (5-12)

a.     Chapter 5: Roll away iniquity: a study in sacraments 

b.     Chapter 6: Joshua fit d’battle ob Jericho

c.      Chapter 7: Getting it very wrong: Achan and his mistakes

d.     Chapter 8: Combat and Covenant

e.     Chapter 9: Common sense is not so common

f.      Chapter 10: Southern dominance

g.     Chapter 11: How not to win

h.     Chapter 12: God is faithful

 

E.     Possessing the Land (13-21)

a.     Chapter 13: Inheritance lessons

b.     Chapter 14:  Caleb as an example with a side of contentment

c.      Chapter 15: Geography lesson

d.     Chapter 16: God’s ways are not our ways

e.     Chapter 17: Promise vs compromise

f.      Chapter 18: Apportionment Continued

g.     Chapter 19: Apportionment (Part 2)

h.     Chapter 20: Provisions (Part 1)

i.       Chapter 21: Provisions (Part 2)

 

F.     Retaining the Land (22-24)

a.     Chapter 22: Can an altar alter anything?

b.     Chapter 23: Staying on edge

c.      Chapter 24: Three funerals and Renewing the covenant

 

The Seven Nations

 

1.     Amorite

2.     Canaanite

3.     Girgashite

4.     Hittite

5.     Hivite

6.     Jebusite 

7.     Perizzite 

 

 

 

 Josh. 17:1   Now this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer and for the sons of Helek and for the sons of Asriel and for the sons of Shechem and for the sons of Hepher and for the sons of Shemida; these were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

 

Josh. 17:3   However, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ⁴ They came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders, saying, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So according to the command of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. ⁵ Thus there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, ⁶ because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

 

Josh. 17:7   The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹ The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook and it ended at the sea. ¹⁰ The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. ¹¹ In Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, the third is Napheth. ¹² But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. ¹³ It came about when the sons of Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

 

Josh. 17:14   Then the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion for an inheritance, since I am a numerous people whom the LORD has thus far blessed?” ¹⁵ Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The sons of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have chariots of iron, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷ Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have chariots of iron and though they are strong.”

Finishing well? Gideon, the compromiser (Part 3 of 3)

By Bob Mendelsohn

Given in Moscow, Russia

5 June 2014

There are three levels of operations in most activities: planning, executing, debriefing. We certainly do that when we go to the streets. Ilya along with the team plans our sorties, we travel to them and evangelize, and then we come back sharing the stories of what God did while we were out there. In a way, our stories help Ilya frame the future as well, since our discussion tells him where we might go, and the all-essential reality of who gets along with whom, and who works well with one another.

When a military operation like the battle with the Midianites is recorded in Scripture, you can imagine that similar planning, execution and debriefing happens there. And today’s story, the final in the series on Gideon, is at times encouraging and at other times heartbreaking. The coward in chapter 6 became the conqueror in chapter 7, but he ends being a compromiser in chapter 8 and that’s not a good ending by any means.  Maybe we have to guard our hearts and minds as well, after victories gained, after prayers answered, after we see the Lord make a difference in our little world. We have to be on our guard lest we fail in this same way.

Let’s unpack the story in chapter 8, and then let’s consider the Bible and the many warnings there so that we don’t come up short ourselves in this matter of faith. Remember, though, no matter how far Gideon fell, that he is still listed in the book Hebrews, chapter 11, and thus still is considered a man of faith. He turned out ok, although by his compromises he fell short of God’s best for him. And we want the best for ourselves. And we want the best for each other, amen?

The story begins with controversy (.1-3)—the tribe of Ephraim, which was the 2nd largest of the 12 tribes, wants some of the spoils of the war. They want to gain some land that Israel had just gained against the Midianites. They are actually angry that Gideon didn’t include them. Maybe some of the ones who were dismissed, the 22,000 or the 9,700 were Ephraimites. We don’t know. But what we do know is that Gideon handled their complaint very well.

What should Ephraim have said to Gideon after the war? Hallelujah! Thanks be to God! But no, they wanted something for themselves. Shame on them. But Gideon was more righteous than I would have been.

The scene shifts east of the Jordan river where Gideon was chasing two more kings of the Midianites. You should think of them as lieutenants or generals and not kings like political leaders of countries. The Jewish city of Sukkot is in the territory of the tribe of Gad. (.5) Gideon asks for hospitality for his men and the leadership in Sukkot denies his request. What!? A Jew in the Middle East turning down his brothers in need of hospitality. What is that about?

My guess is that the leaders of Sukkot did not believe that Gideon would defeat the two chased kings. They were hedging their bets, thinking, “If Midian turns and conquers Gideon, then they will come back and beat us up. So we had better be neutral and not help our brothers in need, for safety’s sake.”

That’s terrible, but did you hear the reason? It is a matter of faith! They did not believe in Gideon and in the God of Gideon. No wonder they sent no one to the battle; no wonder they did not receive the team. Remember Rahab, the harlot, the prostitute in the Joshua story? She did receive the spies and was rewarded with salvation and with honorable mention in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. And she is an ancestor of King Messiah as well.

So the people of Sukkot are going to receive punishment when Gideon returns. You might think, “Wait, the people of Ephraim were not so good either. Why do the Gadites receive punishment?” Good question. The difference in the two tribes’ behavior is that the Sukkot and Peniel people were directly resisting the name and power of God; they were (in NT terms) blaspheming the Holy Spirit, even assisting the enemy. It was not personal in their case; it was rebellion and treason against the Almighty.

Gideon was chasing these two kings Zebah and Zalmunna, because they had killed his own brothers (.19) and when he found them they were with 15,000 men, as the other 120,000 had been killed. By the 300!! Gideon came upon the camp when they were (.11) unsuspecting, and the Hebrew uses the term “Betach” meaning “trusting.” Really we could say they were over-confident. The leaders ran away and Gideon and his men chased Zebah and Zalmunna and caught them. As well as the entire army!

Gideon brings back the two kings through the territory of Sukkot and says to the 77  men  (.14) that their taunting him was in vain. He exacts punishment on the people of Gad that day with thorns and briers from the field and the hills. He lays his brothers to ruin. Wow…the punishment was deep and vivid and clear.

Gideon returns to the camp on the west side of the Jordan River and kills the two kings Zebah and Zalmunna, and the people of Israel want to make him a king. He refuses.

If I read it right, and if this were the end of the story, it would be a very normal fairy tale story. And for many of us this is where we stop reading. God chose an available man, not very bold, and made him into a general and hero. Good ending.

Except that’s not the ending.

Remember the pattern of life in Israel in the book of Judges about which we spoke a couple days ago? I quote it to you from my lesson on Monday:

There is a pattern in the book of Judges, which you must see. Read chapter 2 later, but for now, here is the cycle:

1)    Israel is disobedient

2)    Israel cries out for help

3)    God delivers us from our enemies by means of available men and women

4)    We forget God and fall into sin again

If that pattern were to hold true, then we would see it in the life of Gideon and Israel here in chapter 8. And that’s exactly what we see.

The people ask Gideon to be their king (.22) and show their unbelief in the plans of God by this. Gideon well reminds them that God is to be their only king (.23) showing his faith again! Moses had warned Israel about this (When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’: Deut. 17.14) but it was a warning/ prophecy, not God’s plan from the beginning.

Look what the Psalmist writes about this time in Jewish history in Psalms

They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. (106.34-36)

That’s what we learn from the ephod that Gideon made. It might have been something like the garment the priests wore, but it was most probably an idol of gold to which the people came to worship. What a terrible ending to the coward turned conqueror. He had a good idea in refusing to be the king of the Jewish people, but he began living like a king. He had the people bring him gold and he collected over 40 pounds of it besides whatever he collected from the kings of Midian himself. $795,904 in today’s valuation with today’s price of gold. Yes, that would get me through the weekend.

The Bible says that Israel ‘played the harlot’ (.27) with the ephod. It says that Gideon had 70 wives and concubines, had a son whose name was “My God is king” and that son Abimelech later tried to rule the Jewish people. The ending sounds fairly bad, doesn’t it?

Look at the ending of the chapter. Israel falls and falls hard. No matter what God did for us; no matter how we saw Him work and supply and save us, no matter what the 300 did against the 135,000, we still turned away.

Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show kindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel. (8.33-35)

Brothers and sisters, the Word of God is clear. We are a chosen people. He chose us, not because we were so great, but in fact, because we were NOT so great. (Deut. 7.7) and chose us to represent him in the earth among the nations. We respond and we find eternity in Messiah. Then He uses us to go and proclaim Him to others and we ‘win the victory’ now and again. And the warning is clear. Listen carefully:

Do not be like the men of the tribe of Gad who played to win, even against their own brothers, not demonstrating hospitality, not living in faith, and chose to live apart from the rest of the community of faith.

Do not be like the 22,000 who were afraid and went to their homes missing the battle and the glory of seeing first hand God’s work.

Do not be like Israel who chose to live like the nations around her, and even though she saw God’s handiwork, Israel turned victory to idolatry, living for immorality and false worship.

Even though Gideon ended as a bit of a compromiser, and didn’t finish as well as he might have, his story is told us in 100 Bible verses to remind us that God uses ordinary people like us, who keep our eyes on God, and who trust Him to win victories.

Today we go out to share Messiah.

We go out to bring many to believe in Yeshua.

When we return and tell stories of victories, and you have been doing that every day, remember, don’t turn your stories and victories into an idol. He alone is King. He alone is our Focus of Worship. He alone is Lord, amen? Slava bogu!

It's Jewish to believe in Jesus

Lately a couple Jewish men in their 60s have professed faith in Messiah Yeshua. And their stories, half a world from one another, have the same ring to it. Their self-evaluation is twofold. One, they are more at peace and have a life that handles situations so much better as a result and two, they are still Jewish. Now to be fair, we've been saying and hearing this for a long time, but that these two gentlemen are saying it so clearly this month to me is noticeable.

"Don"* in the US South says, "ever since deciding to declare my acceptance of Yeshua, I have felt a greater sense of calmness and serenity.  I now know that this was and is the right decision, and the right path for me to follow.  The key to this sense of fulfillment and calmness is in the understanding that first and last, I AM STILL A JEW.  This is also the reason why continuing to be involved with the synagogue here doesn’t cause me any stress.  After all, I am the same person I was before – a committed Jew – just less conflicted over my thoughts and feelings about how to either accept or ignore Yeshua"

"Pete"* in Australia writes, " Just read the article on forgiveness. Thought you'd find some interest in it. 

Forgiveness is something that up until now has been somewhat very difficult for me to truly feel and provide. I admit to harbouring many thoughts and feelings of hate, revenge and scorn for some throughout my life until now, but somehow those harmful sentiments have become those of pity and sadness for those that had hurt me.  

The support of the Prince of peace in my life has been the most wonderful enhancement making my existence so much more fulfilling. 

Wishing you a true Shabbat Shalom. 

With love"

They both continue in synagogue. They both love the women in their lives and are continuing to live a stable life in that regard. God is overseeing their walk with Him and that's so comforting to those of us in ministry.  They still observe Shabbat. They will continue to study the Bible, including the Newer Testament. One has gone forward in immersion (Messianic mikveh) and the other will consider that, too. 

They are not the only ones doing this. My friend "Gavin"* has been walking with Messiah for a few years and only recently began sharing what he believes with others at his synagogue.  He finds it exciting and helpful to them, to those with whom he's sharing, to pass on to them what he believes.

Last Thursday night we had Bible study on Exodus chapter 9 and I shared about compromise and overcoming that in a 'face-like-flint' approach to life. I said, "Living a life of convictions makes others to know what we stand for, and gives them a chance to follow as well."

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I guess my feelings today are filled with pleasure as I ponder how these men and so many others are living honestly, living forthrightly, living a Jewish life in recognition of the Prince of Peace, Yeshua from Nazareth, who died for our sins and rose from the dead. He's awesome. He's worthy of your consideration also. Won't you ask Hashem who Yeshua is? And listen for the answer?

Shabbat shalom.

* Not his real name