Footsteps of Messiah
Messiah's Secret Snowstorm
In last week's newsletter, we examined the Passover setting of Gideon's calling and battle with the Midianites, Amalekites, and people of the East. When that battle was over, he returned to Sukkot and punished the 77 elders with thorns for not giving his little army bread and water to sustain them as they pursued the enemy:
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Then he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he disciplined (knew, yada) the men of Succoth with them. (Ju 8:16)
Gideon “knew” the 77 elders of Sukkot with thorns. Seventy-seven in Hebrew gematria spells az, or goat. The goats were separated from the sheep in Israel. Soon, the Footsteps of Messiah will be be heard on the mountains with Good News for those expecting him and punishment for those living as though he will not return.
“Messiah is hidden in the north.”
This expectation of Messiah in Jewish tradition is based on Scripture, which offers a play-on word: tzafon. Tzafon means north, but it also means hidden. One example is in this Psalm:
- For on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; He will hide me in the secret place of His tent; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, and I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. (Ps 27:5-6 NASB)
These verses reference something known, a tent that goes by various names: the Mishkan (Tabernacle) or Ohel Moed, otherwise translated as the Tent of Meeting. The Ohel, or Tent, was a place where Israel offered daily sacrifices, where the Presence dwelled, and where the moedim, or feasts, were centered.
The tent was movable, unlike the permanent residence in the Temple in Jerusalem. In the wilderness, the Israelites followed the Ark, which was the Mercy Seat of the Tent, when it moved. In Jerusalem, they walked to it three times per year. The constant is that whether in the wilderness or Jerusalem, the Israelites found Mercy at the appointed times of the feasts. With such great emphasis upon the moedim, the Tent remaining a safe meeting place in a time of trouble is not a new idea of sanctification, but merely a continuation of what the Bible has taught to the faithful for thousands of years.
In Hebrew, the clue to the “secret” of the Tent of Meeting is found in its reference to the Sukkah and a hint to Queen Esther:
כִּי יִצְפְּנֵנִי בְּסֻכֹּה בְּיוֹם רָעָה יַסְתִּרֵנִי בְּסֵתֶר אָהֳלוֹ
A more literal translation of Psalm 27:5 is:
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“Because He will hide me in the sukkah on an evil day; He will secret me in a secret.”
There is a doubled satar, yistireni and b’seter, “He will secret me in a secret.” Esther’s name is related to this shoresh. The Scroll of Esther is a great “secret” working of YHVH behind the scenes to save His people. Within the Megillat Esther is concealed the story of Joseph and an emphasis on the feasts, especially the fall feasts: Rosh HaShanah [kingship/throne/decrees] Yom Kippur [king’s inner chamber], and Sukkot [Asaph, Hadassah]. Esther's Mysteries Behind the Mask exposes those incredible prophecies.
The play-on words of the “secret secret” is the hiding place, or “my north, my hiding” in the Sukkah on The Day of Evil. Matthew Six is a “secret secret” chapter in which Yeshua emphasizes “the Father, Who is in secret.” Read the whole chapter, and you’re reading a summary of the main themes of Purim from the Scroll of Esther. It is in Matthew Six that we learn the Disciple’s Prayer, a prayer especially fitted to the Day of Evil:
- Our Father, who is in heaven,
- Hallowed be Your name.
- Your kingdom come.
- Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
- Give us this day our daily bread.
- And forgive us our debts,
- As we also have forgiven our debtors.
- And do not lead us into temptation,
- but deliver us from evil. (Mt 6:9-13)
Let’s put this in the context of the “clouds of glory” that we've learned about in the Exodus from Egypt. When the Israelites left Egypt, they stopped at Sukkot. It is there that the rabbis say they entered "Sukkot of glory" or "Clouds of Glory":
- In the Disciples' Prayer, Yeshua highlights the Kingdom and repentance, the two main themes of Rosh HaShanah and the fall feasts.
- Once gathered into the cloud Sukkot of Glory, then one receives daily manna.
- Since we have forgiven those who sinned against us before Rosh HaShanah, then the request is that our debts also be canceled.
- The final request is for entry into the Cloud instead of the evil Day of temptation for the unrepentant.
Being hidden in the North finds another context in Psalm 48:
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Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King. In its palaces, God has made Himself known as a stronghold.” (Ps 48:2-3)
The “far north” position of Mount Zion is also where palaces are located. It is thought that the Palace of Messiah is in the Garden of Eden, just above Mount Zion. Far north is perhaps not the best translation. The hindmost part of the north is better from other contexts. Dan’s banner camped in the north, faced out for protection, and the Tabernacle would have been located on the extreme north’s “backside.” Messiah is said to be “concealed in the north.” Think of the tribes facing out of the gates of Jerusalem to judge the nations.
“Palace” in Hebrew is armon אַרְמוֹן:
The two-letter shoresh ram רמ usually indicates something elevated and high, creating wordplay:
Rameses – high horse/ram sus
Aram – exalted, people of the palace
Armon – castle, palace,
Hermon – elevated mountain
Elohim has “made Himself known” [נוֹדַע] in Zion’s palaces, perhaps alluding to Yeshua’s need to “know” his disciples to admit them to the only true high place, the Kingdom of Heaven. Mount Hermon, pictured above, in some traditions is the location of the Transfiguration.
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Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James, and his brother John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, I will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” (Mt 17:1-5)
Perhaps the disciples realized they’d been shown one of the palaces of Zion, and for this reason thought it appropriate to erect three sukkot, connecting Hermon as a palace to the gathering into Sukkot of Glory when Messiah returned from the North, or hidden palace. He made himself “known” to them.
Hermon is a location in Israel that dependably produces snow. Yeshua may have been showing them his "hiding place” in the coming exile, a place with storehouses of snow for the coming day of Judgment for the nations. Sukkot is also The Feast of the Nations. The nations will either feast WITH Yeshua in Sukkot of Glory, or they will BE the feast of unclean birds. Everyone will be KNOWN, either with residence in the Divine Sukkah, or with thorns and briers of Judgment.
- “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, and have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for a time of distress, for a day of war and battle?” (Job 38:22-23)
The many tormenting afflictions of Revelation include pestilence and painful boils. The comparison of snow to the judgment of leprosy is not random, for ”green” tzaraat of the beard for a man or woman (Le 13:29) typically comes from pride and evil speech, called lashon hara. The Pale Horse of Revelation is chloros, the same yellowish-green color of "speech leprosy" in Leviticus. The Day of Evil suggests the proud “speaking” sins of the world are being judged:
Lashon hara ☞ The LORD furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand inside the fold of your robe.” So he put his hand inside the fold, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. (Ex 4:6)
Pride & Lashon hara ☞ But when the cloud had withdrawn from above the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. (Nu 12:10)
Pride & Lashon hara ☞ “Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman [an Aramean] shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence afflicted with leprosy, as white as snow. (2 Ki 5:27)
With this context in our pockets, let’s review Psalm 27:6 with amplification of the Hebrew:
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“And now [atah, “at this specified time”] my head [roshi] will be lifted up [yarum] above my enemies around me [savivotai], and I will offer sacrifices in His tent [ahalo] with shouts [teruah] of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.”
Let’s put the hints together from last week and this week:
- At the specified time and season, my head will be lifted up into the secret Cloud for judgment on Rosh HaShanah, the head of the year/change, a time of the turn of the year as the moedim cycle around like the Rivers of Eden. My Beloved will turn from Judgment, and I will be judged from the Mercy Seat and will offer sacrifices of praise in His Ohel Moed, the Tent of the Feast, with a shofar sound of joy while He judges the enemies turning below me around the Tent.
If we read the whole Psalm 27, we find more gems:
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“For my father and my mother have forsaken [departed from] me, but the LORD will take me up [אָסַף,asaf].” (Ps 27:10)
Asaf is the shoresh of Yosef’s name, which means, “He will add,” or “He will gather.” Joseph's mother was taken in death, and his father was separated from him when Joseph was only 17 years old.
The secrets of Esther, the secret place, include the story of Yosef, and how the Hidden One hides His own in The Day of Evil. He gathers them to Himself in the Tent of the Moed where Mercy reigns. It was during the days of Passover that Queen Esther, whose parents had departed this earth, called the Jews to fast with her for deliverance from the Day of Evil approaching. Even before this courageous orphan went before the Persian king, the King of Kings had lifted up her head to salvation and deliverance. Both Joseph and Esther managed to gather their people with secret plans and secret identities.
They were hidden in the storm of the Evil Day, and in the snow days to come, those who know the sound of the teruah will be taken up into Sukkot of Glory. And so shall they ever walk in the Divine Presence. The moedim are the appointed times for us to lift up our heads: Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot. Yes, yes, yes.
The shoresh ram is used twice in Psalm 27:5-6. He sets me UP [yeromemeni] on a rock and will LIFT [yarum] my head above my enemies. What you hear is a beast kingdom that had not yet arisen, but which would arise and lift itself above the Temple and its people: Rome. Although the red beast Rome destroyed the daily sacrifice, it cannot destroy the sacrifices in the highest place, the Kingdom just above Mount Zion. Next week, we will investigate the image of the beast, its last kingdom Rome, and red Rome's daughters, identifying "the fullness of the Gentiles." (Ro 11:25)
We plan to live stream at the regular time on YouTube on Shabbat. B'azrat HaShem, we'll see you at approximately 4:00 pm Eastern.
The Sukkot tour is full, but...
Scroll all the way down to read more about the waiting list with Blossoming Rose. Kisha and I are also planning a limited mobility tour in late November - early December. There are some intriguing new sites on the limited mobility itinerary, which should be available soon.
SHABBAT SHALOM!
