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Started by LovingNeighbor at 08-24-2007 5:41 PM. Topic has 0 replies.

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08-24-2007, 5:41 PM

LovingNeighbor is not online. Last active: 7/31/2008 12:55:54 AM LovingNeighbor

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Names

Names
For Parasha Shemot
By Lovingneighbor 1-13-2007

This weeks Parasha is in the book of Exodus also called Shemot, and is called Shemot which means 'Names'. In this weeks parasha:

- Yosef died and all his brothers and Yisra'el grew and filled the land
- A new King feared Yisra'el so he put burdens upon them but they kept growing
- The King told the Hebrew midwives to kill the male babies but they didn't
- Pharaoh asked the midwives why they didn't kill the male babies
- Pharaoh commanded all the people if they have a son they shall cast him into the river
- 2 levites had a child and made an ark for him and put him in the river
- Pharaoh's daughter found him and took him for a son to her and called his name Moshe
- When Moshe was grown he saw an Egyptian smite a Hebrew and he slew him
- Moshe saw 2 Hebrews fighting and when he asked why they said who made you judge over us
- When Pharaoh heard about the Egyptian he wanted to slay Moshe but he fled to Midyan
- When the 7 daughters came to water their flocks some men drove them away but Moshe helped them
- Re'u'el gave Moshe Tzipporah his daughter to marry and she bore him Gershom
- It came to pass the king died and Elohim heard the cry of Yisra'el
- The angel of YHWH appeared to Moshe in a fiery bush
- YHWH tells Moshe He has come to deliver Yisra'el from Egypt and He will send Moshe to Pharaoh
- Moshe said they will not believe me and they will ask your name
- Moshe is told to tell the elders YHWH promises to bring them out of Egypt and give them the promised land
- YHWH gave him a sign to show and told him to cast his rod to the ground and it became a serpent
- YHWH told him to put his hand in his bosom and it became leperous
- YHWH said if they don't believe the first 2 signs pour water of the river on the ground and it will become blood
- Moshe complained he wasn't a good speaker and YHWH said Aharon shall speak for you
- Moshe told Yitro he was going to return to Egypt
- It came to pass YHWH was going to kill Moshe but tzipporah circumcised his son so He didn't
- Moshe met Aharon and they went to tell the people and show the signs
- Then they went to Pharaoh and told him to let Yisra'el go
- Pharaoh made them start to gether their own straw to make bricks
- The children of Yisra'el asked Pharaoh why they must now also gather their own straw
- The people were angry with Moshe and Aharon so Moshe prayed to YHWH
- Haftarah - The sending of a prophet to Yahudah and the remembering of the time in the wilderness

In this weeks portion we have a simple concepts that is embodied in the name of the portion Shemot or names. To understand this concept we must first understand what name means. Shem in Hebrew spelled Shin, mem which in the ancient Hebrew is press the waters this reminds me of the vibrating upon the waters in the beginning of creation then Elohim said let their be light. Name in the Hebrew also means authority. So the spirit of Elohim pressed upon the waters and spoke things into creation by His authority. So what does this have to do with this weeks portion. Yosef had a great name in Egypt and then he died and his name or authority was replaced by a new pharoah who feared the people and put them into bondage. It was a struggle for names. He wanted his name to rule over their name. The lesser trying to rule over the greater is a theme common in so many parts of life. Like the children at the tower of Bavel who wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to give themselves a bigger name and they would take it by their own hand.

This theme has funny counterparts to today's culture. In the messianic movement many people have decided to rename themselves with more Hebrew names. This in my oppinion is not right. YHWH has given the authority to your parents to name you just as Elohim gave Adam the usthority to name the animals. A person cannot take it upon themselves to change their own name. In the scriptures name changes have come from Elohim. I can't recall anyone just renaming themselves. The spiritual ramifications are people trying to take something not given to them. I recently went into a chat room and sang a song and the person in charge who people were calling rabbi said I should use more Hebrew words and not use the word God but Elohim. As he was kindly correcting me I almost told him what I thought but it was his chat room and so I kindly said I had some songs more Hebrew then others. My feeling is that many people who are not Jewish or should I say were not raised in a Jewish culture try so hard to look the part that they think even saying a bunch of Hebrew words somehow makes you more into what you want to be. That phrase "want to be" when said fast is probably where we get the phrase wannabe. In this movement many are seeking to get to what they call their Hebrew roots or they have been Christian and later find out they have Jewish lineage in their family. Though they have not been raised around any culture of Judaism they suddenly are justified in clothing themselves in traditions from cultures they never knew and are not a part of. That is a wannabe. Your culture is what your raised in and what is around your way of life. People have to stop trying so hard to be somehting they aren't and start following the true Elohim. Looking like a culture your not has nothing to do with worshipping Elohim. Immerse yourself in obediance and study not in trinkets and tradition.

Just as Moshe was raised in the sulture of Egypt, though he wasn't an Egyptian by blood he was not a wannabe because he lived in the culture around him. He wasn't faking. When he found out that was not who he was I don't think he tried to go and pick up a culture but just stripped away the things of the past and searched to follow the true Elohim. People follow their eyes though and the things they can see. This is like the signs needed to convince Yisra'el Moshe was sent by Elohim. They believed their eyes but only for a short time. because just like Moshe your true colors always come out and with a little closer observation the real followers of YHWH will be revealed in the wilderness. Haven't people seen that YHWH is concerned with the inner man more than the outer man. Yet I see it all the time that people wannabe covered on the outside in Jewish or Hebrew things and traditions and yet being part of that culture wasn't the great reward but those who obeyed YHWH were His people. No you don't have to use a Hebrew word every other word nor is it impressive. the people in that chat room were groping at anythng Hebrew in my opinion. They played Hebrew music even though most didn't even know what it was saying. If you want to be enamored be enamored in Elohim and not foolishness.

So what does it have to do with the name of Elohim? His name is His authority over your life from the inside out. If you want a new name then obey YHWH and He can rename you if He so chooses. Stop trying to make a name for yourselves by writing books, or opening synagogues, or ruling over others who have less knowledge than you. The problem has always been a problem with names. Others have tried to give themselves different names. Whether it is satan trying to rule over more than what was given, or Eve trying to rename herself by giving herself a higher authority than her husband, or the countless pastors and preachers and people calling themselves rabbis or desiring to lead others. More blood has been shed and wrong done by this flawed character trait than just about any other. Let's seek our own name, the one YHWH gives us. Let's learn our role in His kingdom and stop trying to change it. Repeatedly they accused Moshe of doing things for is own gain because that is what they do and how they think. There is always a battle between those trying to make a name for themselves and those who will not follow them. The self exalted against the humble who only seek to fulfill the authority Elohim gives them. Another man cannot rule over someone elses servant and those who say they follow YHWH are always fighting over position trying to rule over the servants of YHWH. The exodus is a classic story of the name of Pharoah vs. the name of YHWH. The deciding factor lies with who you obey. Revealing the name of every man and woman is what the exodus is all about. In the end we see whose name is what and the greatness of it. May we all be humble and take the name of YHWH. Shalom!
A disciple should diligently search for the truth and humbly deny and reconsider it's possession.

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