Ruth's Road

Weekly Gleanings Once you have a Hebrew lens to see bridal language in the scriptures, you realize it is everywhere! Matt. 24:36 says, But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. If you have followed our page and read my book, Finding the Afikoman: encountering Jesus in the spring feasts, You will understand that this phrase is referring to an ancient Jewish wedding when after the first phase, the betrothal ceremony, the br...idegroom goes away... for about a year to build a wedding chamber onto his father’s house. When the father says it meets his specifications , the bridegroom is then free to go get his bride in order to complete the marriage by bringing her to the bridal chamber to consummate their union. So, no man knows the day or hour is saying that no one knows when the bridegroom, known as the thief in the night, will go to abduct the bride, only the father knows. The bridegroom would go to the bride’s house accompanied by four men carrying a bridal carriage with poles on their shoulders. This act of carrying away the bride to take her to the groom’s chamber was called, nissuin, from the word, nasa meaning to lift up and carry away for marriage. Now let’s look at the next verse about Noah. Matt. 24: 37 says, But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. This is such an interesting verse; especially when you see it in this same theme of bridal imagery. This made me curious to read the story of Noah’s ark again and a verse in Genesis 7:17 jumped out at me: Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. When I looked up the Hebrew word for lifted up, I was blown away! It is the same Hebrew root, nasa, to carry away for intimacy. Then, I read further in Matt. 24: 38-40 which says, For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. I was reading in the One New Man Bible and read the footnote to this verse. It said, The Greek word ‘taken’ is paralambano used here and in verse 41 and speaks of a bride being taken to her bridegroom. I will not comment any further and I pray that the excitement I felt in these verses will hit you the same way they did me. I did a full teaching on this in my second book, Watching and Waiting: encountering Jesus in the fall feasts. By Christie Eisner #ruthsroad #gleaings

"Weekly Torah Portion" As I read today's portions, I couldn't help but notice that they contain some classic verses that are oft quoted. They represented very significant thoughts and truths that we carry as the people of the Living God. I can memorize them; quote them; sing them, and be moved by them; but do I let them change me? In chapter 6 of Isaiah beginning in verse 9, after Isaiah is taken up and experiences one of the ultimate moments flesh and blood can enter into, ...he is given these words to deliver to the children of Israel: "He said, "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Not what I had hoped for; I was expecting an ‘invitation’ to this same experience! Like God saying through Isaiah: Go tell my people, to come up and be with Me as see what you have just seen! It’s kind of the ‘mirror’ of what happened when Moses was standing on the glorious sea of glass (same place John was taken on Patmos)...and yet down below, the people were worshiping a golden calf. Maybe it’s not enough for our leaders or faith history to have great experience that we can quote or discuss Let’s get past condemnation here, and realize God’s heart; this is what He wants for each of us; not a select few. In Exodus 19 He says: ...you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people...and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Notice He doesn’t just say you will have priests; not just a priestly class; a nation of priests! Lord, through Holy Spirit help us read of some of the men and women of God that have entered into those living encounters with You, and begin to see the open doors available to us, as You beckon us to come and be with you; to sup with you, even as Moses did. May you have the kingdom of priests; a holy nation, that you have yearned for all these years by john e Why do we share the Torah & Haftorah? The Torah portions are like the riverbanks that ebb and flow with the feasts throughout the year. We’re not saying there’s any sort of religious duty related to celebrating the sabbath or following the portions. We are extending an invitation to walk in the word together and help create a community for those that desire fellowship with a vision. What is the Torah portion? It’s basically a bible reading plan to set the Jewish community on the path of being in the word of God together and reading all the first five books of the bible (known as the five books of Moses, by the Jews). What is a Haftorah? A series of selections from the books of Nevi'im (the prophets) of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice. #ruthsroad #torahportion

Gleanings In Exodus 6:7, God makes the declaration to the children of Israel enslaved in Egypt, I will take you as My people and I will be your God. This sounds like a wedding vow to me and when God says, I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt (Jer. 31:32), He is a Bridegroom leading them to a mountain for marriage. In Judaism, a friend of the bridegroom is the one who escorts the bride to the bridegroom. Moses accomplishes this task in Ex. 19:1...7 which says, And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. There was a trumpet blast from God that came first, letting Moses know it was time to present the Bride, Israel, to her God (Ex. 19:16,19). ...and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. This trumpet blast is known in Judaism as the first trump. There are three main blasts of the shofar at three of the Lev.23 feasts. These are: -The first trump, blown at Shavuot calling God’s Bride, Israel to a mountain for marriage. -The last trump, blown at Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets), calling God’s Bride Jew and Gentile to a wedding chamber (chuppah) in the future. -The great trump, blown at Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), during a year of Jubilee calling God’s Bride out of a wedding chuppah with Jesus in the future. I rest my case the whole Bible is a love story of unfathomable proportions and it really does end where Jesus and His Bride live happily ever after. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Cor. 15:51-52 By Christie Eisner #ruthsroad #gleanings

"Weekly Torah Portion" Sometimes when I read a section of scripture I feel like I’m such a ‘peewee’ and don’t know much or see much. In some ways it actually helps me to be open to Holy Spirit showing me something that may not be so obvious, involving His heart instead of just my head. I’m sure if one were to spend an extended time in these verses in Judges, it would be a ‘gold mine’ of heart revelation. It’s kind of cool that both Exodus and Judges have songs that give more... of a ‘heavenly’, rather than just a merely historical perspective on the events that the Children of Israel had just gone through. (we might even make note of that, and maybe look back on some of our experiences and turn them into song) Anyway, the singing recounting of the events seem to ‘weave’ heaven and earth together; giving a fuller perspective and insight. Take some time with both ‘songs’ (Exodus 15:1-21 and Judges 5:1-31) and let the words ‘wash’ over you without trying to figure them out; feel the feeling; let them move you. What is the Lord trying to awaken in your spirit? Let’s experiment with not becoming an expert, but a lover! The Lord God; the Holy One of Israel, put these songs in for a reason...let’s take some time to ‘drink it in’...kind of a heavenly interlude. Let’s slow down and not be in a hurry and spend some time here, and the atmosphere around us may change, even if we don’t come to any great understanding of the verses. Wouldn’t it be amazing if God cared about that, as much as extracting theology from these songs...enjoy! by john e Why do we share the Torah & Haftorah? The Torah portions are like the riverbanks that ebb and flow with the feasts throughout the year. We’re not saying there’s any sort of religious duty related to celebrating the sabbath or following the portions. We are extending an invite to walk in the word together and help create a community for those that desire fellowship with a vision. What is the Torah portion? It’s basically a bible reading plan to set the Jewish community on the path of being in the word of God together and reading all the first five books of the bible (known as the five books of Moses, by the Jews). What is a Haftorah? A series of selections from the books of Nevi'im (the prophets) of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice. #ruthsroad #weeklytorahportion

Gleanings Whenever I read the book of Exodus, I feel the mounting tension that something is about to break out some critical mass has been reached and God’s presence is brooding over His people. It is time. The 400 years of captivity that God forewarned Abraham about, is coming to an end. The sin of the Amorites(Gen.15:16) and the cup of evil on the earth has been filled to the brim and is running over. It was time for God to intervene and come down. And the Lord sa...id: I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians The Hebrew word when God comes down or descends from heaven is, Yarad. This word is used in Genesis 11, when the evil empire under Nimrod brags about having a one world language and is building the tower of Babel. The enemy uses the phrase, Come let us, making a proud exclamation of their plan to rule the world. And they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves I love God’s reply; He says: Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. God’s Us is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Who went down, YARAD... I believe, literally descended from heaven and dealt with the power of Satan who has always tried to usurp God’s rulership and plan to redeem the earth. So now we are in Exodus 3 and God is ready to foil the enemy’s plan again. He has set His affections on a people and will stop at nothing to deliver them from bondage in order to take them to a mountain for marriage. When Pharaoh refused to let them go, God came down, annihilated a whole advanced civilization with His mighty outstretched arm and left Pharoah floating in the Red Sea. I wonder if we are living in another time in history when the cup of evil is overflowing, the enemy is strutting around thinking there is unity in his world-wide power plan, and he forgot to include in his calculations our powerful, almighty God that does not hesitate to yarad, come down! Lord, let it be soon. By Christie Eisner #ruthsroad #gleanings

Sometimes when I read the torah portion and the haftorah, I struggle to see the ‘connection’ between the two. I realize these were done through the ‘agency’ of man and not officially ordained of God, but He must have inspired them to be able to bring these forth. I have to ‘put down’ my Greek thinking at times to see how they fit together; sometimes obvious, but also mostly subtle with a ‘heart’ connection or underlying spirit of what is going on in the torah portion. Today... we find ourselves in a time years after leaving Egypt and yet, here is Egypt in the lives and thoughts of the Children of Israel...you would think that when the Lord God Almighty judged the gods of Egypt in Exodus, the people would have taken the ‘opportunity’ to turn to the real God; the One that is the God of the Children of Israel. (A good lesson here is that when the Lord delivers us personally from any of the false gods or destructive issues in our lives; that we turn fully to Him, and not return to that behavior or ‘influence’) Jeremiah is having a ‘conversation’ about judgement upon Egypt and a warning to Israel, not to be caught up with what is coming, that is meant again, ultimately, to judge the gods of Egypt. It’s interesting how He uses other ungodly nations to judge ungodly nations...He is so efficient! So though Israel deserves at least some of the ‘overflow’ of this judgement upon the gods of Egypt; He provides a way out with a promise of the future. Today if we find ourselves, where we maybe shouldn’t be, or the recipient of circumstances connected to some bad choices; let's turn to this loving God we serve and expect; not just what we think we may ‘deserve’, but let’s look to His promises upon our lives and what He has saved us for. It’s for the joy that was set before Him...there is a coming wedding with the Jewish Man Christ Jesus and His beautiful bride (Jew and Gentile), made so by the shed blood of our Bridegroom God. Be blessed today, and spend some time rejoicing in your salvation! by john eisner Why do we share the Torah & Haftorah? The Torah portions are like the riverbanks that ebb and flow with the feasts throughout the year. We’re not saying there’s any sort of religious duty related to celebrating the sabbath or following the portions. We are extending an invite to walk in the word together and help create a community for those that desire fellowship with a vision. What is the Torah portion? It’s basically a bible reading plan to set the Jewish community on the path of being in the word of God together and reading all the first five books of the bible (known as the five books of Moses, by the Jews). What is a Haftorah? A series of selections from the books of Nevi'im (the prophets) of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice. #ruthsroad #weeklytorahportion