MARDI GRAS - LENT - ASH WEDNESDAY

PALM SUNDAY - HOLY WEEK

YAHWEH SAYS…

Everyone seems to love a party – a chance to have a good time and be a part of an event. Otherwise, why would such big crowds make annual visits to Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Carnival in Rio de Janiero, two locations famous for big carnivals and gatherings. Those are big, crowded, noisy parties with food, drink, costumes and parades. Sounds like lots of fun, doesn’t it? But exactly what is it? Why don’t all people celebrate like this? Is it something we, as Yahweh’s people, should be doing? Is this supposed to be a fun time? Or is there a more serious background behind these ideas and customs?

MARDI GRAS / CARNIVAL

World Book Encyclopedia, 1975, volume 13, page 157 –

“MARDI GRAS is a gay, colorful celebration held on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins. The date of Mardi Gras depends on the date of Easter. The celebration takes place at the end of a long carnival season which begins on January 6, or Twelfth Night. It is celebrated in many Roman Catholic countries and other communities. Mardi Gras is a French term meaning fat Tuesday. The term arose from the custom of parading a fat ox through the streets of Paris on Shrove Tuesday.”

“French colonists introduced Mardi Gras into America in 1766. The custom became popular in New Orleans, La., and spread throughout the Southern States. Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in Alabama, Florida, and in eight parishes (counties) of Louisiana. The New Orleans celebration is the most famous.”

“Mardi Gras in New Orleans attracts tourists from everywhere. Street parades begin about two weeks before Mardi Gras Day. Societies called Krewes organize and pay for the parades and other activities. The best known Krewes are Comus, the oldest, founded in 1857, and Rex, founded in 1872. During the carnival season, the Krewes give balls and private parties. Their members parade in the streets in masks and fancy dress. A parade of beautiful floats and marching bands climaxes the carnival on Tuesday, Mardi Gras Day.”

“The Mardi Gras celebration goes back to an ancient Roman custom of merry-making before a period of fast. In Germany it is called Fastnacht, and in England it is called Pancake Day.”

Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Ivor H Evans, editor –

Page 684 – “Mardi Gras. Shrove Tuesday, the last day of the Lent Carnival in France. At Paris, a fat ox, crowned with a fillet, used to be paraded through the streets. It was accompanied by mock priests and a band of tin instruments in imitation of a Roman sacrificial procession.”

Page 191 – “Carnival. The season immediately preceding Lent, ending on Shrove Tuesday, and a period in many Roman Catholic countries devoted to amusement; hence, revelry, riotous amusement. From the Latin caro, carnis, flesh; levare, to remove; signifying the abstinence from meat during Lent.”

Festivals of the World, Elizabeth Breuilly, Joanne O’Brien and Martin Palmer, page 62 –

“Mardi Gras. Shrove Tuesday, the last day before Lent, is called “Mardi Gras” in French. Literally, it means “fat Tuesday” since it was a time of overindulgence to compensate for the forty days of fasting and self-deprivation that lay ahead. In the British Isles and North America, the dish of choice is normally pancakes, which use up eggs, sugar and milk. Pancake races still survive in England.”

“The carnivals that take place all over Europe at this time may have their roots in the Roman carnival of Saturnalia, which was an occasion for great celebration and feasting. The origin of the word ‘carnival’ is a matter of some dispute whether it derives from carne-vale – Latin for ‘farewell to flesh (or meat)’ – or from the Latin carnus navalis – the ‘ship of fools,’ in reference to pre-Christian festivities.”

Feasts and Festivals, Jacqueline Dineen –

Pages 30, 32 -- “In the days before food could be preserved by freezing or canning, it was often in short supply during the winter months when nothing was growing. Long ago, it was decided to combine this period when food was scarce with the Christian festival of ‘Lent’. Lent, which commemorates the time when Christ was in the wilderness without any food or water, used to be a period of strict fasting in Christian countries. Before the forty days of fasting began, people held carnivals and enjoyed themselves.”

“’Ash Wednesday,’ the first day of Lent, falls between 4 February and 10 March. The name refers to the time when Christians used to wear scratchy, uncomfortable sackcloth and have ashes sprinkled on their heads when they were repenting their sin, to remind them of Christ’s suffering. In some churches a similar ceremony is still carried out.”

“’Mothering Sunday,’ or ‘Mother’s Day,’ is held on the fourth Sunday in Lent. This used to be the one day when Christians did not have to fast. The day gets its name from the time when villagers took gifts to their ‘mother church’. Nowadays, it is a family occasion when children give cards and presents to their mother.”

New Orleans, Fodor’s Travel Publications, 2004, pages 61-64 –

“Mardi Gras (French for ‘fat Tuesday’) is the final day of Carnival, an entire Christian holiday season that begins on the Twelfth Night of Christmas and comes crashing to a halt on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Though Mardi Gras is technically merely one day in the season, practically speaking the term is used interchangeably with Carnival, especially as the season wears on and anticipation of the big day increases. As sometimes befalls the Christmas holiday, the religious associations of Carnival serve mainly as a pretext for weeks of indulgence. Also like Christmas, Carnival claims elaborately developed traditions of food, drink, and music.”

“On Mardi Gras Day, the entire city dons costumes, face paint, and masks, and takes to the streets for the final bash-of-a-celebration before Lent. It’s an official city holiday, with just about everyone but the police and bartenders taking the day off. People roam the streets, drinking Bloody Marys for breakfast and switching to beer in the afternoon, and admiring one another’s finery. Ragtag bands ramble about with horns and drums. Mardi Gras anthems pour from jam boxes, and king cakes (ring-shaped cakes topped with purple, green, and gold sugar) color the streets. Some dozen parades roll through the city’s streets along various routes, with large floats carrying riders who throw plastic beads and trinkets to onlookers. Apart from the parades and the street scene, nearly 200 Carnival balls, all with their own kings and queens, are held over the course of the season, hosted by individual Carnival organizations, called krewes.”

“In deference to the religious pretext for this holiday, Mardi Gras ‘ends’ with the arrival of Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season. At midnight on Tuesday night Downtown streets are cleared, and policemen in cars and on horses cruise through the French Quarter blaring from their loudspeakers ‘Mardi Gras is over. Go home’.”

SHROVE TUESDAY

World Book Encyclopedia, 1975, volume 17, page 362 –

“SHROVE TUESDAY is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Its name came from the old custom of confessing (being shriven) on that day. Shrove Tuesday is a time of rejoicing in many countries and communities. It is the last day of the carnival season of southern Europe, and corresponds to the Mardi Gras of the French and the Pancake Tuesday of the English.”

The Folklore Calendar, George Long, page 19 –

“SHROVE TUESDAY – This day is well known to country folk as Pancake Day. In medieval times the day was devoted to feasting, doubtless as a set-off to the dismal period of fasting which followed. It is supposed that pancakes were made on this day in order to use up the household stores of fats or butter, which before the Reformation were strictly forbidden to the people for the period of Lent. There are several interesting customs relating to pancakes which are still observed. One of these is the Pancake Bell, a survival of the pre-Reformation practices of calling the people to church to confess their sins on Shrove Tuesday, by ringing a bell. The name Shrove Tuesday, of course, refers to the fact that after confession the faithful were shriven.”

LENT

World Book Encyclopedia, 1975, volume 12,page 175--

“LENT is a religious season observed in the spring by Christian churches. It begins on Ash Wednesday, forty days before Easter, excluding Sundays, and ends on Easter Sunday. The term Lent comes from the Old English word lencten, which meant springtime. The word used in church liturgy is Quadragesima. Lent is part of the regular church year in the Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic churches, and churches that belong to the Anglican Communion. Many other churches hold religious services, meetings, or preaching missions to honor the Lenten season. Some churches prescribe a special book of devotions for Lent. In the Roman Catholic Church, each day of Lent has its special mass.”

“Many Christians observe Lent by fasting, performing penance, giving alms, abstaining from amusements, or not solemnizing marriages. The season originated as one of the spiritual preparations for Easter in remembrance of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It also symbolized the mourning of the Church, the bride, for the departure of Christ, the bridegroom. The length of time for observing Lent varied through the ages. For many years, it was considered a 36-day period of fast. By the reign of Charlemagne, about A. D. 800, four days were added, making it 40. This may have been done as a reminder of the 40 days that Jesus Christ fasted in the wilderness.”

Feasts and Festivals, Jacqueline Dineen –

Pages 30, 32 -- “In the days before food could be preserved by freezing or canning, it was often in short supply during the winter months when nothing was growing. Long ago, it was decided to combine this period when food was scarce with the Christian festival of ‘Lent’. Lent, which commemorates the time when Christ was in the wilderness without any food or water, used to be a period of strict fasting in Christian countries. Before the forty days of fasting began, people held carnivals and enjoyed themselves.”

“’Ash Wednesday,’ the first day of Lent, falls between 4 February and 10 March. The name refers to the time when Christians used to wear scratchy, uncomfortable sackcloth and have ashes sprinkled on their heads when they were repenting their sin, to remind them of Christ’s suffering. In some churches a similar ceremony is still carried out.”

“’Mothering Sunday,’ or ‘Mother’s Day,’ is held on the fourth Sunday in Lent. This used to be the one day when Christians did not have to fast. The day gets its name from the time when villagers took gifts to their ‘mother church’. Nowadays, it is a family occasion when children give cards and presents to their mother.”

Sacred Origins of Profound Things, Charles Panati –

Page 206 – “LENT: EARLIEST OBSERVANCE, FOURTH CENTURY – As the Church moved away from the fervor or apostolic times, peoples’ piety began to wan, and bishops cast about for some celebration that would deepen the devotional approach to Easter, climax of the spiritual year.”

“Many Christians had already reserved a period prior to Easter for fasting, confession, and schooling candidates for baptism on Easter Eve. But the time frame was never fixed, rules never formalized. Different groups of Christians followed different customs – some fasted several days, others several weeks. Some observed a total fast for exactly forty days (minus the Lord’s day, Sunday), a feast called Quadragesima, which would evolve into Lent.”

“Thus, by mid-fourth century, the duration of Lent – the word itself means ‘lengthening spring days,’ from the Indo-European langat-tin, ‘long’ + ‘day’ became more or less fixed at forty days, less Sundays; the time frame did not become official, though, until the eighth century.”

“What constituted a fast varied: no meat for forty days; no milk and eggs; or only one light meal a day.”

“… a fast can be as slight an inconvenience as abstaining from chocolate or ice cream for the duration. A token fast.”

ASH WEDNESDAY

World Book Encyclopedia, 1975, volume 1, page 733 –

“ASH WEDNESDAY is the first day of Lent. In Roman Catholic churches of the Latin Rite, ashes from the burned palms of the preceding year’s Palm Sunday are blessed. With these ashes, the priest marks a cross on the foreheads of the congregation, saying, ‘Remember, man, that dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return’ (Gen. 3:19). From Biblical times, sprinkling oneself with ashes has been a mark of sorrow for sin. To this meaning of penance, Ash Wednesday customs add a second lesson, a reminder of the need of preparing for a holy death. The churches of the Anglican Communion, as well as some other Protestant churches, observe the day. Eastern Rite churches do not. Their Lent begins on the preceding Monday.”

Sacred Origins of Profound Things, Charles Panati, page 206-207 –

“ASH WEDNESDAY: SIXTH CENTURY C.E. – The first day of Lent, a Wednesday, was always special, and it came to be called Ash Wednesday from a custom involving ashes, long a symbol for repentance. Early Christians approached the church altar to have the ashes of blessed palm leaves scored on their forehead in the shape of a cross – which more often than not resembled a smudge.”

“A worshiper wears the mark on his forehead throughout the day as a symbol of his sorrow for his sins. The blessed palm leaves that are burned to make the ashes are, in fact, ‘leftovers’ from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. This Lenten custom originated in the sixth century, during the papacy of Gregory the Great.”

Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Ivor H Evans, editor, page 52 –

“Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent, so called from the Roman Catholic custom of sprinkling on the heads of penitents the consecrated ashes of palms remaining from the previous Palm Sunday. The custom is of uncertain date but is commonly held to have been introduced by Gregory the Great (Pope 590-604).”

Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend, Maria Leach, editor, 1972 –

Page 82 – “Ash Wednesday The first day of Lent: so called from the ceremonial use of ashes as a symbol of penitence in the Roman Catholic Church. … At first ashes were administered only to public penitents who appeared barefoot and in penitential garb before the church door. As the number of penitents grew larger, ashes were administered to the entire congregation.”

“Ash Wednesday and the three days following originally were not a part of the Lenten period, but were added about 700 A.D. to make the fast days 40 in number (since the Sundays in Lent are not included as fast days) to correspond to the number of days Christ fasted.”

“Ash Wednesday is the beginning of a period of abstinence, quiet, and penance, in strong contrast to the preceding period of carnival.”

HOLY WEEK

Sacred Origins of Profound Things, Charles Panati, pages 207-210 –

“Palm Sunday observance is thought to have begun with the Christian Passover or Pascha, a celebration of Christ’s death and Resurrection. A Palm Sunday procession, replete with palm branches, is first mentioned in the travel writings of the Spanish nun Etheria. Rome itself did not stage regular Palm Sunday processions until late in the eleventh century.”

“Palm Sunday begins Holy Week, which follows Jesus’ activities day by day through his death. By the late fourth century all of the following feasts, major and minor, were being celebrated.”

“HOLY MONDAY. Twenty-four hours after Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, he’s thought to have cleansed the temple by chasing out money changers. … Holy Monday is commemorated with private meditation and Mass.”

“HOLY TUESDAY. Jesus addressed his disciples on the Mount of Olives, speaking about the sad destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of the last day. … Holy Tuesday is commemorated with private meditation and Mass.”

“HOLY WEDNESDAY. Once widely known as ‘Spy Wednesday’, this is the day Judas Iscariot agreed, for thirty pieces of silver, to show Jesus’ enemies where they could capture him easily without arousing the populace. Holy Wednesday is commemorated with private meditation and Mass.”

“MAUNDY THURSDAY. This is associated with three tragic and closely spaced events near the end of Jesus’ life: his Last Supper with the apostles, his Agony in the Garden, and his arrest.”

“The strange word ‘maundy’ is thought to be a corruption of the Latin mandatum, ‘commandment of God,’ and borrowed from Jesus’ words (as they appear in the Latin Vulgate) at the Last Supper: ‘A new commandment I give to you [Mandatum novum do vobis], that you love one another; even as I have loved you’ (John 13:34-35). Thus, traditionally, Thursday has been the day of ‘brotherly love’.”

“At the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, an ancient act of humility that has appealed to the imaginations of the people down through the ages. Kings washed the feet of the poor. Feudal lords washed the feet of serfs. Popes washed the feet of cardinals. During the Mardi Gras, a ceremony in which a priest washed the feet of the indigent was called a maunder – the term deriving from Christ’s ‘mandatum’ statement.”

“Maundy Thursday services have been varied and deeply symbolic of Christ’s arrest and predicament: altar candles are extinguished to symbolize the forces of darkness; the altar is bare and washed in preparation for Christ’s Resurrection; Hosts or wafers are consecrated in commemoration of Christ’s initiation of the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.”

“GOOD FRIDAY. Scourged and forced to carry his own cross, Christ is crucified on ‘Good’ Friday, the blackest day in Christian history.”

“Tre Ore, ‘Three Hours,’ is the name of the solemn service – from noon to 3:00 P.M. – that has represented over the ages Christ’s three hours on the cross. During the time Christians meditate on the Seven Lost Words of Christ, the Seven utterances Jesus delivered from the cross, called from the four Gospels.”

“HOLY SATURDAY. This brings both Holy Week and the forty-day season of Lent to a close. It was the day for baptisms in the early Church. Also, a tall ‘Paschal candle’ was lit, placed on the altar, and embedded with five grains of incense, representing Christ’s five wounds. The candle remained on the altar for forty days, a living presence of the risen Christ, until the feast of his Ascension into Heaven. Holy Saturday is also called Easter Eve. Thus, the period from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday is the most profound duration in the Christian calendar.”

A MORE ANCIENT IDEA

All of the research had gone back no further in history until recently. But there is a connection of ideas between Mardi Gras and the worship of Attis.

Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend, Maria Leach, editor, 1972, page 90

“Attis -- In Greek and Roman religion, a Phrygian god of vegetation, always worshipped in connection with the Great Mother. Attis was either of Semitic origin or was influenced by Semitic religion. His cult, centralized in Phrygia and Lydia, spread to Greece and finally throughout the Roman Empire.”

“His worship, characterized by frenzied orgies, was carried to Rome after the worship of Cybele had been adopted by the Romans in 204 B.C. … March 24 was known as the Day of Blood, for on this day the ceremonies reached their peak. They were characterized by blood-letting, the barbaric music of flutes and cymbals, and the whirling contortions of the lesser priesthood, who in a frenzy of excitement slashed themselves to bespatter the altar and the sacred tree with their blood. … On the next day the resurrection of Attis was celebrated in the form of a licentious carnival.”

Spirit of Antichrist -- Against The Hebrew God of Creation, Alan Knight, WPC Volume 2, 2^nd Edition –

Page 150-151 – “The Roman emperor Claudius (41 to 54 A.D.) first gave official sanction to public celebrations in honor of Attis. Following Claudius, additional emperors sponsored and enlarged those celebrations.”

“Whereas the spring celebrations in honor of the Mother were official state holidays, those in honor of Attis were intensely religious, promising personal salvation for all who submit themselves to the savior Attis and his mother.”

“This is what the Romans called ‘Holy Week’. Despite the name it was not a celebration of seven consecutive days. Instead it was multiple days scattered over the second half of March.”

“Holy Week began on March 15. The initial day was called Day of the Reeds and celebrated Attis’ early life. The reeds symbolized certain mythical events when he was abandoned as a child among reeds on the river Gallus. Reeds were cut and brought in procession to the temple. The cutting of reeds also symbolized Attis’ emasculation.”

“The next day, March 16, began a nine-day period of fasting and abstinence. There was a long list of foods to be given up, including bread, wine, fish and pork.”

“We now skip to March 22, the day called Entry of the Tree. This reenacted events associated with Attis’ death. According to some versions of the myth, Attis died at the foot of a tree, after which his spirit entered the tree. Therefore the activities on this day officially symbolize his death. An effigy of Attis together with ribbons are attached to a tree. The tree is then carried in procession into the temple where it lay in state as though it were Attis himself.”

“The following day, March 23, was the Day of Mourning. The faithful engage in rhythmic wailing to the accompaniment of crashing cymbals, in honor of their dead savior.”

Page 152 – “March 24, called the Day of Blood, was the final day of fasting. The priests whip themselves and sprinkle their blood on the effigy of Attis.”

“The climax of Holy Week was a late night vigil beginning on the 24^th and extending into the 25^th. The body of Attis (in the form of the tree, and effigy attached to the tree) is buried. A vigil is maintained past midnight and into the early hours of the 25^th. Suddenly the vigil erupts in joy, signaling the savior’s revival. This is the Hilaria,, which means ‘joyful’.”

Page 155-156 – “In the latter stages at Rome it promised access to heaven through the shed blood of their suffering savior Attis. There was even an immaculate conception. In one version of the myths a virgin conceived Attis by means of the fruit of the almond tree placed on her lap. The Great Mother was sometimes addressed as the Virgin. She was not considered literally a virgin. Rather, this expressed the idea of purity that came from ascetic rejection of the material world and the fact that Attis’ devotion to her ultimately was Platonic, because of his emasculation. She was also called Queen of Heaven, and she was both the mother of Attis and his spouse.”

“The spring Holy Week celebration depicted Attis dying and reviving after three days. The day of his death was portrayed primarily on March 22, the Day of the Tree, and he was revived three days later in the early morning hours of March 25. The 25^th also happened to be the day the Roman church originally chose to celebrate Christ’s death, an uncomfortable coincidence. Remember as well the Lenten-style nine-day fast leading up to the celebration of Attis’ revival.”

“Finally, one of the greatest attractions of the cult of the Great Mother was its theme of divine love similar to that promoted by the Christian faith. Salvation came from the Mother’s profound love for mankind, expressed in her relationship with Attis. And she in turn received total love and devotion from her grateful following, patterned on the love and total devotion expressed in the Attis myths,”

“The Attis cult’s connection between salvation and a suffering savior and shed blood was not Christian. Rather it evolved out of traditional Babylonian themes of the divine ruler Dumuzi.”

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

If you have celebrated these festivals in the past or if you are thinking about doing so today, please consider these questions first.

1. Are any of these celebrations found in Scripture?
2. Where did the idea of a long carnival season originate?
3. If these events are so important, why is there no mention of them in Scripture?
4. “Bishops cast about for some celebration.” Why? Based on what authority?
5. “An imitation of a Roman sacrificial procession.” Why? That is a pagan custom of the Saturnalia.
6. “A token fast.” What is the use of value? Doesn’t that make a mockery of what Yahshua did?
7. If they really wanted to commemorate Yahshua’s 40 days fast, why not be serious and do without ALL food and drink as He did? What about doing it for 40 days?
8. Check your Bible. Can you find any mention of the following:

A period of fasting in the spring.

Doing penance

Abstaining from amusements

Burning palm branches

Putting ashes on the forehead

Forbidding fat or butter

A “duty” of confession

No meat, milk or eggs for 40 days

Costumes or masks

A parade

To do any additional research on your own, just put “Mardi Gras” into any search engine and start to read. You will find descriptions of drunkenness and debauchery – not things that Yahweh wants his people involved in doing.

YAHWEH SAYS….

All of Yahweh’s festivals and celebrations are listed in Leviticus 23. He tells us which days we are to observe. The activities described above in this article are nowhere to be found or commanded in Scripture. So what does Yahweh have to say about these things?

Leviticus 18:3-5, 24-26, 29 3 – You shall not do according to the doings of the land of Egypt in which you lived; and you shall not do according to the doings of the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; nor shall you walk in their statues. 4 – You shall do My judgments and you shall keep My statutes, to walk in them; I am Yahweh your Elohim, 5 – and you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man do, he shall live by them. I am Yahweh. 24 – Do not defile yourself with all these, for with all these nations have been defiled, which I am expelling before you, 25 – and the land is defiled, and I will visit its iniquity on it; and the land is vomiting out its inhabitants; 26 – and you, you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not do any of all these disgusting acts; either the native nor the alien who is staying in your midst. 29 – For anyone who does any of these disgusting things, even the persons who are doing them, shall be cut off from the midst of their people.

Leviticus 20:23 And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out from before you, for all these they have done, and I am disgusted with them.

What about simply adding these to the religion we already practice?

Deuteronomy 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, to keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim which I command you.

Deuteronomy 12:28-32 28 – And you take heed to obey all these words which I am commanding you, in order that it may be well with you and with your sons after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the eyes of Yahweh your Elohim. 29 – When Yahweh your Elohim shall cut off the nations from before you, where you are going in to possess them, and you shall possess them, and shall live in their land, 30 – take heed to yourself that you not be snared to follow them after they have been destroyed before you; and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? And I shall do so, even I. 31 – You shall not do so to Yahweh your Elohim; for everything hateful to Yahweh, which He detests, they have done to their gods. For they have even burned their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 – All the things that I command you, take heed to do them, and you shall not add to it, nor take away from it.

Jeremiah 10:2 So says Yahweh, You shall not be goaded to the way of the nations; and do not be terrified at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are terrified at them.

Revelation 22:18-19 18 – For I testify together with everyone hearing the words of the prophecy of the Book: If anyone adds to these things, Yahweh will add upon him the plagues having been written in this Book. 19 – And if anyone takes away from the words of the Book of this prophecy, Yahweh will take away his part from the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and of the things having been written in this Book.

Yahweh is very particular that we follow only what He set forth and not man’s ideas or customs in worshipping something other than Him. Just how important is it to Him?

Acts 5:32 And we are His witnesses of these things, and so is also the Set-Apart Spirit, whom Elohim has given to them that obey Him.

Hebrews 5:8-9 8 - Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which He suffered, 9 – and being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

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Congregation of YHWH, Irving, TX.
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http://www.thecongregationofyhwh.org/ updated 05-24-18

VALENTINES

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A SYMBOL OF LOVE OR PAGANISM?

Just a day or so after Christmas, go in the stores and look in the greeting card sections. Do you find sales on leftover Christmas cards? No! You find valentines already stocked in the shelves. Why? What do valentines mean? Where did they originate? Where did the holiday come from? Is it scriptural?

As with many of the holidays, the interest and observance have grown each year and are becoming more and more important in the lives of people. As a child, I exchanged valentines with my classmates and we had a small party with cookies, candy and punch. That was it. It was not commercialized as it is today. But now the adults are involved as well. Many a man has gotten in trouble with his sweetheart because he forgot. She always expects roses or candy or a nice gift – as proof of his love. Sounds rather self-centered and selfish, doesn’t it?

HISTORICAL SOURCES

The World Book Encyclopedia, 1975 –

From volume 12, page 457 – “Lupercalia was an ancient Roman festival. It was celebrated on February 15 in honor of Faunus a rural Italian god. Faunus was later identified with Pan, the god of herds and fertility. The rites centered at the Lupercal, a cave in the Palantine Hill. Priests sacrificed goats and cut their skins into strips for lashes. Then they ran around the Palantine Hill, striking at all the women they met. The ceremonies also involved purification through the sacrifice of a dog. They were often mentioned in literature.”

From volume 20, page 203-205 – “The custom of exchanging valentines on February 14 can be traced to the English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer.”

“Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 as a festival of romance and affection. People send greeting cards called valentines to their sweethearts, their friends, and members of their families.”

“Valentine’s Day comes on the feast of two different Christian martyrs named Valentine. But the customs connected with the day have nothing to do with the lives of the saints. They probably come from an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia which took place every February 15. The festival honored Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, the god of nature.”

“Years ago, people held many beliefs in connection with Valentine’s Day. One of the oldest beliefs said that birds chose their mates on February 14.”

“Most Valentine’s Day customs were concerned with romance or the choice of a mate.”

”The Romans celebrated their feast of Lupercalia as a lovers’ festival for young people. Young men and women chose partners for the festival by drawing names by chance from a box. Then the partners exchanged gifts as a sign of affection. They usually continued to enjoy one another’s company long after the festival. Many such courtships ended in marriage.”

“After the spread of Christianity, churchmen tried to give Christian meaning to the pagan festival. In 496, Pope Gelasius changed the Lupercalia festival of February 15 to Saint Valentine’s Day on February 14. But the sentimental meaning of the old festival has remained to the present time.”

From volume 20, page 208 – “Historians know little about early celebrations of Valentine’s Day. According to Popular Antiquities, a book by John Brand published in 1877, people in England observed the holiday as early as 1446. In early days, young people chose their valentines by writing names on slips of paper, then drawing them by chance from a vase. An account of the celebration of the holiday in the 1700’s describes how social groups met ‘in the homes of gentry’ on the eve of Valentine’s Day to carry out this custom. After drawing lots, each young man wore the paper with his lady’s name on his sleeve for several days. The expression, ‘He wears his heart on his sleeve,’ probably came from this custom.”

From volume 4, page 949 – “Cupid was the Roman god of love. He is called Eros in Greek mythology.”

“The earliest images of Cupid show him as a handsome, athletic young man. By the mid-300’s B.C., he was portrayed as a chubby, naked infant with wings, holding a bow and arrows. A person shot with one of Cupid’s arrows supposedly fell in love.”

The Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, introduction by Robert Graves, pages 207-208 –

“Faunus was one of the first Roman rustic divinities and, above all, a fertility god. He also possessed the gift of prophecy and caused voices to be heard in the countryside. … Under the name Lupercus he had a temple on the Palantine, the Lupercal – the name of the grotto where the she-wolf suckled the twins, Romulus and Remus. The Lupercalia were celebrated on the fifteenth of February and were among the most important festivals on the Roman calendar. Their function was purificatory. Goats and he-goats were sacrificed, and perhaps dogs. After the animals were immolated two youths were led to the altar. The priests touched their brows with the bloody knife and wiped them with a wad of wool soaked in milk, after which the youths would burst out laughing. The priests of the college of the Luperci, half naked, draped only in the skins of the sacrificed goats, would then perform a ceremony during which women who wanted to become pregnant would hold out their hands and turn their backs to be struck with a whip of goat’s hide. Ovid gives a rather amusing explanation of the nudity of the Luperci. One day Faunus surprised Hercules and Omphale asleep in a grotto. Faunus wished to take advantage of the sleeping young woman, but the lovers had playfully exchanged garments. In the darkness Faunus did not notice this and, deceived by the softness of the robe Hercules was wearing, approached him instead of Omphale. He was, as can be imagined, rudely repulsed. To avoid such misadventures in the future, Faunus insisted that his priests should be naked when they celebrated his festivals. The Lupercalia were only suppressed in 494 A.D. by Pope Gelasius who replaced them by a festival in honour of the ritual Purification of the Virgin.”

Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, revised by Ivor H Evans

From page 1121 – “The ancient custom of choosing Valentines has only accidental relation to either saint, being essentially a relic of the old Roman Lupercalia (see Lupercal), or from association with the mating season of birds. It was marked by the giving of presents and nowadays by the sending of a card on which cupids, transfixed hearts, etc., are depicted.”

From page 665 – “Lupercal – In ancient Rome the spot where Romulus and Remus were suckled by the wolf (lupus). An annual festival, the Lupercalia was held there on 15 February, in honour of Lupercus the Lycaean Pan (so called because he protected the flocks from wolves). The name Lupercal is sometimes, inaccurately, used for the Lupercalia.”

The Folklore Calendar, George Long, pages 22-23 –

“…there is no connection whatever between any of the saints and martyrs named Valentine and the old customs associated with the day – save only the accident of date. The early Church, following its general policy of Christianising pagan customs rather than abolishing them, substituted the name of a saint for a pagan deity, prohibiting the more grossly sensual observances of paganism. As the festival of Lupercalia formerly commenced about the middle of February, it was very natural to rechristen this with the name of a saint who was martyred at the same period. The Lupercalia was dedicated to Pan and Juno, and one of the ceremonies consisted of placing the names of young women into a box from which they were drawn as chance directed. This seems clearly to indicate the origin of the mutual love missives which have become the main feature of the day.”

The World Holiday Book, Anneli Rufus –

From page “February 14” – “One thing is nearly certain: Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with either of the two third century martyrs who share the name Valentine and share this as their feast day.”

“The date is heavy with the scent of coupling. A medieval folk belief held that wild birds choose February 14 to begin their spring mating. The ancient Roman custom, enacted every year at February 15’s Lupercalia, of ‘lovers’ lots’ – drawing partners’ names at random from a box – enjoyed enduring popularity through the ages. In mid-sixteenth century France, Saint Francis de Sales struggled to abolish the custom. As a contemporary described it, Francis tried to interest his flock instead in the practice of ‘giving boys billets with the names of certain [female] saints for them to honor.’ One can imagine how well that went over.”

“Another old tradition held that the first person seen on the morning of the fourteenth (excepting blood relatives) would be that day’s ‘valentine’.”

From page “February 15” – “A wolf (lupa) according to legend nursed a pair of abandoned human twins in her cave (the Lupercal) on the Palantine Hill. These twins, Romulus and Remus, went on to found Rome…. At the Lupercalia, a band of priests called Luperci gathered at the Lupercal on the southwestern slope of the Palantine. Here they sacrificed goats and a puppy, and made offerings of a sacred grain mixture, the mola salsa.”

“One of Rome’s most important holidays, the Lupercalia began as an earthy fertility rite. Plutarch maintains that a slap from the februa” (goat-skin strips or thongs) granted the slappee many children and easy childbirth. The holiday lasted well into the Christian era, until Pope Gelasius I outlawed it in 494 C.E.”

Funk and Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend, 1950, page 654 –

Lupercalia – “The ceremony purified the land for the new year, February being the last month, and from this underlying concept (februare, to cleanse) the month took its name.”

COMMENTS

Here are some points to note and think about:

• The beginning roots of this holiday come straight from mythology, not truth.
• This day was originally in honor of gods and goddesses that Yahweh condemns.
• The day’s celebrations included the sacrifice of a dog – something never done in Yahweh’s word.
• The people continued this holiday, even as they came into the churches. The Pope couldn’t stop them so it was adopted and “Christianized.” Is it possible to “purify” a pagan custom?
• Valentine’s Day is not found listed among Yahweh’s days.
• Even if replaced with the “Purification of the Virgin,” it is still a celebration of man and not found in Scripture.
• The “valentines” didn’t start with Chaucer – their idea goes back to the drawing of the names and exchanging of gifts in ancient Rome.
• How many other pagan customs have been ‘re-christened’ with another name and given a new definition? Does it make it right?

SCRIPTURES

As you have probably already figured out, there are no Biblical references regarding this holiday. But there are some scriptures we can consider.

Leviticus 18:30 – “And you shall keep my charge, so as not to do any of the disgusting customs which were committed before you; and you shall not defile yourself with them; I am Yahweh your Elohim.”

Deuteronomy 12:29-32 – “29 – When Yahweh your Elohim shall cut off the nations before you, where you are going in to possess them, and you shall possess them, and shall live in their land, 30 – Take heed to yourself that you not be snared to follow them after they have been destroyed before you; and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, How did all these nations serve their gods? And I shall do so, even I. 31 – You shall not do so to Yahweh your Elohim; for everything hateful to Yahweh, which He detests, they have done to their gods. For they have even burned their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 – All the things that I command you, take heed to do them, and you shall not add to it, nor take away from it.”

Jeremiah 10:2 – “So says Yahweh, you shall not be goaded to the way of the nations…”

Yahweh gave us His high days in Leviticus 23. This holiday is not found there among them. He says we are not to add to what He gave us. So think about where that leaves this celebration.

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Congregation of YHWH, Irving, TX.
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http://www.thecongregationofyhwh.org/ updated 05-24-18

IS SATAN ATTACKING YOU?

OR COULD IT BE THE RESULT OF YAHWEH’S PROMISED CURSES?

STILL YET, COULD IT SIMPLY BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF MAKING POOR DECISIONS?

“Boy, Satan is really out to get me!” Have you ever heard anyone make that statement? Or maybe “The devil really has it in for me!” Sometimes that is the belief when life events go badly – people attribute all their troubles to Satan. But when things go well, then Yahweh is blessing them. Are those two contrasts really a fact? Can all events be due to either Satan or Yahweh? Or is there more to it than that?

People assume that because they call on Yahweh’s name and keep His Sabbath, that all will go well with them. There should be blessings and not troubles or failures, wealth rather than hard financial times, and good health in place of disease or pain. But it doesn’t seem to work that way. Instead we hear “Why hasn’t Yahweh healed me?” Or “Why doesn’t Yahweh answer my prayers?” And they will quote these following Scriptures, taken from the King James Version of the Bible:

Matthew 7:7-8 7-Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8-For everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.

Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

3 John 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.

But now take a look at these Scriptures.

John 14:13-14 13-And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14-If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.

Do you know what His name is? Do you use it? Or do you think it doesn’t matter by what name you call Him?

John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you.

Did you notice the “if” there? It means that there are conditions! The Greek word translated “abide” is #3306, meno. It means to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy). Do you abide in Him all the time or only turn to Him when you need help or want something? Do His words abide in you? Do you know what He said and taught? If not, how can you abide in His words?

John 7:16 You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

This promise of Him giving what you ask comes after you fulfill your part – bringing forth fruit. And it is to be fruit that will remain and not perish. What could that be? Could it be referring to the spiritual, and not physical?

Galatians 5:22-23 22-But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23-meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

I Corinthians 3:13-14 13-Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14-If any man’s work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

Anything considered a fruit that is physical (assets, money, food, family, a business, etc) can be destroyed by fire. Yahweh is interested in your growth in Him, not in the physical things you can accumulate or build up.

So maybe, in order to have our prayers answered, could there be some criteria that we must meet first? What name do you use? Are you abiding in Yahweh – acknowledging Yahweh, thanking Yahweh, praising Yahweh, and obeying Yahweh – daily?

But suppose you do all those things, and prayer still may not be answered. Why? There can be many reasons, some of them being:

1. What you are asking for may not be in Yahweh’s plan for you.

2. Your timing may not be in line with Yahweh’s timing.

3. Yahweh could be giving you a chance to learn patience.

4. Maybe His answer is simply “No”.

5. There could be a lesson for you to learn.

6. Does your request fit within Yahweh’s will or laws?

7. What is your attitude? Is your request selfish, unrealistic, vindictive, etc?

8. Could it be that Yahweh is trying you, to see if you will remain faithful to Him no matter what?

CHOICES AND DECISIONS

But let’s consider another direction. How much do your choices and decisions affect your requests? Do your actions play any part in Yahweh’s response or lack thereof?

For example, if an individual has smoked cigarettes, used drugs, drank too much alcohol, eaten too much of the wrong things for a long time, etc, it will damage the health. As the years go by and complications, disease or cancer appear, people will cry to Yahweh to be healed, even while they continue doing those things. How often does He jump in and correct all the problems? Or may He allow suffering to go on?

A person can cry out and repent for the damage they have done – and Yahweh will forgive. But in the majority of cases, the consequences continue!

As a personal example, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Before doing anything about it, I was anointed and sought healing from Yahweh. But a second test showed only that the blood sugar count was lower, but still remained too high. For a short time, I was somewhat depressed. Yahweh had not removed the problem, and I knew doctors could not. Physicians can give treatment or medication to help, but only Yahweh can do the healing. I just didn’t want to have to deal with the issue.

Then, in Sabbath services, the speaker said some things that got through to me. He used the example about a smoker not being healed. The lack of healing is not a punishment from Yahweh or Satan – it is simply a consequence of previous actions! I realized then that I would have to live with those consequences and deal with the situation.

The experience has helped me to learn a few things:

1. It provided me with another reason as to why Yahweh may not heal when asked.

2. In all our actions and decisions, we should count the cost first.

3. Whatever the consequences, accept the responsibility and deal with it.

This can apply to all sorts of situations, not just healing. Can you think of any examples in Scripture? There are many more than we can discuss here, but we will look at a few. You may need to read some before or after the verses given to get the context or full story.

I Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

ADAM AND EVE

Genesis 2:16-17 16-And Yahweh Elohim commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: 17-But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.

Genesis 3:6, 23-24 6-And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat. 23-Therefore Yahweh Elohim sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24-So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Adam and Eve had specific instructions not to do something and they did it anyway. Yes, it is true that Satan may have been persuasive, but the decision was theirs. They made a choice, carried it out and then had to deal with the consequences. They were evicted from their lovely home where everything was provided for them. They then had to toil for their food, endure suffering and pain and eventually die.

ABRAHAM

Abraham and Sarah had no children. They were elderly and Sarah was past the time of childbearing. Abraham sought Yahweh because, as far as things went, a servant would be his heir.

Genesis 15:4 – And behold, the word of Yahweh came unto him, saying, This shall not be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own bowels shall be your heir.

But as time went by, they got tired of waiting on Yahweh’s timing and took matters into their own hands. Sarah gave her maid to Abraham and she bore a son, named Ishmael. Then, after a few more years, Yahweh kept His promise and Sarah gave birth to a son, Isaac. Now Abraham had two sons, but one of them was not to be the heir? So what was the consequence? The loss of a son he dearly loved.

Genesis 21:9-12 9-And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne to Abraham, mocking, 10- Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. 11-And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12-And Elohim said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad, and because of your bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said unto you, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall your seed be called.

JACOB AND ESAU

Esau had been out in the fields and Jacob was cooking. Esau came in tired and hungry, to the point of fainting. He asked for food and Jacob asked for his birthright in return.

Genesis 25:33-34 33-And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he (Esau) swore unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34-Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Later, at the instigation of his mother, Jacob tricked his father and took the blessing that was intended for the firstborn, Esau. Esau came in and was upset when he learned what had happened.

Genesis 27:36 And he (Esau) said (to Isaac), Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have you not reserved a blessing for me?

Yes, Jacob took the blessing. But the birthright had been sold by Esau – Jacob did not steal it.

In days to come, though, Jacob would be tricked by Laban and given Leah as a wife rather than the promised Rachel. He also had problems with Laban changing the terms of their business transactions.

Did Satan interfere in these two men and their lives? Or was it due to the decisions, choices and actions carried out by them?

AN UNNAMED MAN

Yahweh gave instructions for His Sabbath to the Children of Israel.

Exodus 16:29-30 29-See, that for Yahweh has given you the sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide you every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30-So the people rested on the seventh day.

Numbers 15:32-36 32-And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33-And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34-And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35-And Yahweh said unto Moses, the man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 36-And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died: as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Did Satan attack this man? Or did he face the consequences of his own presumptuous actions?

MOSES AND AARON

When the Children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, water was sometimes a problem. Yahweh gave instructions on what to do.

Numbers 20:7-8, 11-12 7-And Yahweh spoke unto Moses, saying, 8-Take the rod, and gather you the assembly together, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak you unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their beasts drink. 11-And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 12-And Yahweh spoke to Moses, and Aaron, Because you believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

The consequences of their disobedience? Aaron saw his son Eleazar dressed in the priestly garments stripped from him and then he died on Mount Hor (Numbers 20:23-28). Moses repented deeply and appealed to Yahweh to allow him to enter the land, but Yahweh refused (Deuteronomy 3:23-28). He died after looking at the land from atop Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1-7).

KORAH

Look at the entire chapter of Numbers 16 to get the full background of what was going on here. Korah, who was a Levite, but not of Aaron’s family, challenged the leadership positions of Moses and Aaron. Korah and his cohorts felt that Moses and Aaron were taking too much on themselves and they wanted “a part of the action”. They didn’t realize who had put those two men in the leadership. So whom were they actually challenging? Yahweh! In the end, what were the consequences for them?

Numbers 16:31-33 31-And it came to pass, as he (Moses) had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them; 32-And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33-They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

Shouldn’t that event have been a warning for people to be careful of what they said against Moses and Aaron? No, because the next day, the people murmured against Moses and Aaron and charged them with killing Yahweh’s people. The consequence? Yahweh sent a plague through the congregation.

Numbers 16:49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.

KING DAVID

King David took another man’s wife, and when he learned she was pregnant, he arranged to have her husband die in battle. He coveted, committed adultery and murdered, directly breaking three of Yahweh’s commandments. What were the consequences to be? Yahweh sent the prophet Nathan to explain it to David.

2 Samuel 12:10-14 10-Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house; because you have displeased me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. 11-Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them unto your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12-For you did it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 13-And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Yahweh. And Nathan said unto David, Yahweh has also put away your sins; you shall not die. 14-Howbeit, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of Yahweh to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto you shall surely die.

David acknowledged his sin. He fasted and prayed for the child, but the consequences still stood.

Continuing with the idea of whether or not things can be blamed on Satan, sometimes people quickly jump to this story. It appears in two places, but is worded differently in them.

2 Samuel 24:1 And again the anger of Yahweh was kindled against David, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

I Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel.

Does this mean David had no choice in the matter? No. Joab tried to talk him out of it. He had a chance to change his mind, but he refused to.

The words “moved” in 2 Samuel and “provoked” in I Chronicles are the same Hebrew word, #5496, soot. It means to prick, to stimulate, to seduce; to entice, to allure, to instigate, to incite.

Now if someone entices or seduces or incites you to do something, do you have a choice in the matter? Of course you do. You don’t have to do what another is leading you toward. “Just say no.” The same is true of David. After it was done, David realized he had sinned and acknowledged it. He knew he was guilty. He knew he was responsible – not Satan, and not Yahweh. Then he had to face the consequences.

CHILDREN OF ISRAEL

Rather than print two long chapters, Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, we will let the reader look at these in their own Bibles. In Leviticus 26:1-13 and Deuteronomy 28:1-14, there are promises of the ways Yahweh would bless the Children of Israel IF His people would obey His voice. Then the remainder of those chapters outline the consequences they could expect to face if the did not obey. If they had to endure those curses listed, would that be due to Satan attacking them? No, it would be their fault – for disobedience. They were warned. And yes, through the years, they disobeyed – and faced these consequences.

GOOD CONSEQUENCES?

Now let’s change the viewpoint. In all the pages of Scripture, are there any examples of consequences being good?

ABRAHAM

Genesis 22:9-13, 15-18 9-And they (Abraham and Isaac) came to the place which Elohim had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10-And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11-And the angel of Yahweh called to him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, here I am. 12-And he said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do you anything unto him: for now I know that you fear Elohim, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. 13-And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 15-And the angel of Yahweh called to Abraham out of heaven a second time, 16-And said, By myself have I sworn says Yahweh, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: 17-That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18-and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice.

Abraham was prepared to carry out a command of Yahweh that seems totally unthinkable to us. Some have said that they would not have done this and would not even have gone as far as Abraham did. But then they would not have received the consequence – the blessing – that Abraham did. He was willing to obey because of the deep trust he had in Yahweh.

JOSEPH

Things looked bad for Joseph. His brothers had sold him into slavery in Egypt. His boss’s wife brought false charges against him and he landed in prison for two years. After interpreting a dream for Pharaoh, he was released and promoted and was second only to Pharaoh in the whole land. Because Yahweh revealed things to him, Joseph led the people in storing grain for seven years of famine. His story is found in Genesis 37-47.

The consequence of him being sold into slavery? An opportunity to save all his family as well as the entire Egyptian nation from starvation. And how did he see the situation?

Genesis 45:4-7 4-And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5-Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here: for Elohim did send me before you to preserve life. 6-For these two years has the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest, 7-And Elohim sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Imagine that! Sometimes what seems like a drastic situation to us can be setting the stage for Yahweh to do a great work in the future!

RAHAB

Rahab lived in the city of Jericho and knew the Children of Israel were coming. The city had heard news of what had happened to other cities that had already been taken. Rahab took in the two spies Joshua had sent to look things over. She could have been charged with treason for what she did, but she hid them from the king’s men. She had a purpose and made her request.

Joshua 2:11-14 11-And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your Elohim, he is Elohim in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 12-Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by Yahweh, since I have showed you kindness, that you will also show kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: 13-And that you will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14-And the men answered her, Our life for yours; if you utter not this our business, and it shall be, when Yahweh has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.

She acknowledged Yahweh. She followed their instructions. And what were the consequences of her faith?

Joshua 6:23-25 23-And the young men that were spies went in and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brothers, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. 24-And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Yahweh. 25-Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwells in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

HANNAH

Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Each year they went to Shiloh to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh. Peninnah had several children and continually provoked Hannah because Hannah was barren. One night at Shiloh, Hannah prayed and made a vow to Yahweh.

I Samuel 1:11, 19-20 11-And she vowed a vow, and said, O Yahweh of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give unto your handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto Yahweh all the days of his life, and there shall be no razor come upon his head. 19-…Yahweh remembered her. 20-Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, because I have asked him of Yahweh.

She had made a vow to Yahweh. Did she keep it?

I Samuel 1:24-28 24-And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of Yahweh in Shiloh: and the child was young. 25-And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. 26-And she said, Oh my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman that stood by you here, praying unto Yahweh. 27-For this child I prayed; and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of him; 28-Therefore also I have lent him to Yahweh; as long as he lives he shall be lent to Yahweh. And he worshipped Yahweh there.

She received the child she prayed for -- and then she gave him up. Were there other consequences? Blessings?

I Samuel 2:21 And Yahweh visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before Yahweh.

JOB

If anyone could have blamed all their misfortunes on Satan, it would have been Job. Who did he blame? Anyone? How did it start? Did Satan simply attack because he chose to do so?

Job 1:6-12 6-Now there was a day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan came also among them. 7-And Yahweh said unto Satan, From where do you come? Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8-And Yahweh said unto Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears Elohim, and eschews evil? 9-Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, Does Job fear Elohim for nothing? 10-Have you not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11-But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face. 12-And Yahweh said unto Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh.

So Satan struck. He destroyed Job’s children, his servants, and all his animals. What was Job’s reaction?

Job 1:20-22 20-Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. 21-And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away; blessed be the name of Yahweh. 22-In all this Job sinned not, nor charged Elohim foolishly.

He did not accuse Satan either. So Satan returned to Yahweh and sought to expand his attack, specifically upon Job’s body. Yahweh gave him permission, but Satan could not take Job’s life. He caused Job to be covered with boils all over his body. His wife told him to curse Elohim and die. Did he?

Job 2:10 But he said unto her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of Elohim, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

After enduring days of pain and suffering and listening to friends arguing with him, Yahweh finally stepped in. And Job’s consequence?

Job 42:12-13 12-So Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. 13-He had also seven sons and three daughters.

SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were young captives in Babylon. They were in positions of being counselors to the king. Then King Nebuchadnezzar had a huge golden image made and ordered everyone to fall down and worship the image. These three young men did not. The king threatened them with being thrown into the fiery furnace. Knowing the consequence of disobedience, they made their choice.

Daniel 3:16-18 16-Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter. 17-If it be so, our Eloahh (El/Elohim in Aramaic) whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O King. 18-But if not, be it known unto you, O King, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.

Nebuchadnezzar was enraged and had the fire increased seven fold. Then the three were thrown into the furnace and notice what the king saw.

Daniel 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the son of EL.

The king called them forth from the fire. Now note the outcome and the consequences.

Daniel 3:27-30 27-And the princes, governor, and captains, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28-Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said, Blessed be the Eloahh of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve or worship any god, except their own Eloahh. 29-Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the Eloahh of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other El that can deliver after this sort. 30-Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.

DANIEL

Daniel was also a captive in Babylon along with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He had risen higher in power till the king’s other presidents and princes became jealous and sought something against him. But they found no error or fault in him. By this time, kings had come and gone and now Darius was the ruler over Babylon. The jealous men plotted and convinced King Darius to issue a decree. The decree stated that for thirty days, anyone making a petition to any god or man except the king should be thrown in a den of lions. They were waiting to see what Daniel would do.

Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his Eloahh, as he did aforetime.

Of course those who had plotted were quick to accuse and remind the king what the decree had said. Though the king was distraught, Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. The king spent a very bad night and the next morning rushed to see if Daniel were safe. And the consequences?

Daniel 6:21-28 21-Then said Daniel unto the king, O King, live forever. 22-My Eloahh has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before you, O King, have I done no hurt. 23-Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his Eloahh. 24-And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, and their children, and their lives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. 25-Then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 26-I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble, and fear before the Eloahh of Daniel: for he is the living Eloahh, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. 27-He delivers and rescues, and he works signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. 28-So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

THE FUTURE?

What about the future for those who choose to obey His voice?

Revelation 14:1-5 1-And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads. 2-And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3-And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders, and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 4-These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto Yahweh and to the Lamb. 5-In their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of Yahweh.

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of Yahweh and of Messiah, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Revelation 21:7 He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his Elohim, and he shall be my son.

Wow! How’s that for consequences? Many people would love to have this reality of eternal life. But are they prepared to carry out the decisions and actions that will be necessary to achieve it? Or will they choose their own way and face the consequence of the lake of fire?

What about you? What consequences will you face? Are you willing to take that chance? And that responsibility? Or will you continue to make excuses for your problems, blaming them all on Satan?

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Congregation of YHWH, Irving, TX.
224 North Story Road  Suite #138

Irving, Texas 75061

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Dallas, Texas 75217-0309

Telephone: 1-800-867-0150

http://www.thecongregationofyhwh.org/ updated 05-24-18