Thank You!

Hi friends! We're nearing the end of 2012 and are overwhelmed by the way the L-rd has worked in this year. We hope you've enjoyed the stories, videos and teachings we've posted here on the website. Are there other things you'd be interested in seeing or reading about in the coming year?

We hope you all had a joy-filled Christmas with your families and friends. We were blessed to spend Christmas Eve with some sweet friends in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed the diversity of the city. We woke up the next morning and cuddled with Cassidy for a while, which was a terrific Christmas present for us. We celebrated Yeshua's birthday with a yummy breakfast and to start it all off Cassidy sang Him Happy Birthday.

We spent the day together, just the three of us and we ended up talking to most of our family thanks to amazing technology. Cassidy's thankfulness at all of her presents was overwhelming -- from chalk to jewelry to crafts she was thrilled with it all! Keeping it simple was a great idea and it turned out to be the best Christmas we've had in 5 years.

Though we may not scream like Cass, we are equally thankful for all of the prayers, emails, calls, letters and gifts throughout this year that have filled our hearts and enabled us to be here in Israel. The L-rd has done amazing things in our lives and in the lives of those we've met in the last year and it's because of your partnership with us. The L-rd is moving in the land of Israel and we look to the next year with hearts filled with anticipation for more opportunities to shine His light.

There's still time to give a year-end gift to Remember Jerusalem, and you can always become a monthly partner in 2013. The harvest is plenty here in the land and we're looking for more people to join us in the work! Happy New Year!

Bethlehem Shepherds Revisited

A recent article from the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem’s website is so good I have contracted/summarized it below. It shows the unique aspect of the shepherds on that glorious day of our dear Savior’s birth. Here is the full article if you prefer (http://us.icej.org/news/commentary/tower-flock)

The first public declaration of the Good News of the redemption in Messiah Yeshua is made to shepherds, common people of Israel, not to the religious or political rulers.

“The shepherds’ fields outside Bethlehem, to this day, play a central role in the Christmas celebrations in the Holy Land. Countless tourists have visited the fields between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The church historian Eusebius linked these fields to a unique biblical location called Migdal Eder, which translated means the “tower of the flock”. (See Gen. 35:21)

“This area on the outskirts of Bethlehem is also mentioned in the Talmudic writings. According to the Talmud, all cattle found in the area surrounding Jerusalem ‘as far as Migdal Eder’ were deemed to be holy and consecrated and could only be used for sacrifices in the Temple, in particular for the peace and Passover sacrifices. There was thus a special, consecrated circle around the city of Jerusalem.”

“This means the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem who first heard the Good News from the angels were not ordinary shepherds but served the sacrificial system of the Temple.”

They were facilitating a very necessary reality of obedience to G-d in order for Israel to maintain fidelity to the Mosaic Covenant. And the shepherds who took care of these sacrificial sheep were the first to hear of the birth of the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world, Who is also the great Shepherd.

“The Hebrew prophet Micah also refers to Migdal Eder. ‘And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.’ (Micah 4:8)”

“Based on that prophecy, prominent Jewish writers [who did not follow Yeshua] concluded in the Midrash that from all of the places in Israel, it would be the Migdal Eder where the arrival of the Messiah would be declared first.

“That means when the angels appeared that night to the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem, it was not just a declaration of the Good News to simple shepherds. It was a powerful prophetic sign to all of Israel. The news of that night must have spread like wildfire through the surrounding villages.”

Luke records: “Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” (Luke 2:17-18)

What does this all mean for us?

“First, it is always beneficial for the Church to see that Jesus did not arrive into a vacuum, but was born into an entirely Jewish context. When Christ came in the flesh, he was born first-and-foremost to the Jewish people but would then also bring his favour and good pleasure to all men. Even though the celebration of Christ’s birth has become a feast marked almost exclusively by the gentile Church, it is important for us to see it in its historic and biblical context – as a message intended to give hope to Israel. As Zacharias prophesies at the birth of John the Baptist, this all happened to “perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham…” (Luke 1:72f).”

“The angelic announcement gave these simple shepherds a profound revelation of who this Messiah would be. He was proclaimed to be both King (born in the city of David) and Priest. That he was both Christ and Lord, the son of man but also the son of God. He would be the saviour of humanity but also the shepherd of all those who would follow his voice.”

By taking care of the sheep that are used in the sacrificial system, these shepherds were participating in the very context of our redemption. They were then chosen as the first people to publically hear the declaration of the Good News that the Mosaic Covenant was foreshadowing. “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you Good News of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)

He does everything for a reason and every detail brings Him glory.

Merry Christmas  

Is Christmas Kosher?

The Reason for the Season

You have probably heard that Yeshua actually celebrated Hanukah and that it is even recorded in the Gospel of John 10:22-23: “Now it was the Festival of Dedication (Hanukah) in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Yeshua walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.”

And the story is often told of the miracle of the oil burning for eight days during the festival. But why did they celebrate Hanukah for eight days? Almost everything in Jewish tradition has a meaning and the eight days is no exception. The Maccabees were zealous for the law (1 Macc. 2:26) (see a similar Jewish response in Acts 21:20) and were willing to give their very lives to uphold the ways of G-d. However, because of the war with Antiochus Epiphanes, the Jewish people were not able to properly celebrate the Biblical festivals. 2 Maccabees 10:1-8 describes the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabean victory:

Now Maccabeus and his followers, the Lord leading them on, recovered the temple and the city; they tore down the altars that had been built in the public square by the foreigners, and also destroyed the sacred precincts. They purified the sanctuary, and made another altar of sacrifice; then, striking fire out of flint, they offered sacrifices, after a lapse of two years, and they offered incense and lighted lamps and set out the bread of the Presence… It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev. They celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the festival of booths [Sukkot], remembering how not long before, during the festival of booths [Sukkot], they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals.

Hanukah is a celebration of the rededication of the Temple and a commemoration of Sukkot!  Sukkot is supposed to be the most joyous Biblical festival (Deut. 16:14) but they were in the mountains and caves living like animals so they were not able to properly celebrate. Sukkot is also the prophetic observance of the coming marriage supper of the Lamb and the full manifestation of Yeshua’s Kingdom of Light on the earth.

Hanukkiot in our neighborhood

It is no surprise then that Hanukah is also known as the Festival of Lights because of its connection to Sukkot. During Sukkot they would put up four 55 cubit high (75-88ft tall) menorahs (m. Sukkah 5:1-4, b. Sukkah 52b) in the women’s court of the Temple complex. These menorahs would dramatically light up the entire area as a part of the celebration -- which would have been quite extraordinary since they didn't have electricity back then! It was in this context that Yeshua declared, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (Jn 8:12).

So lighting the menorah during Hanukah is a prophetic declaration of Yeshua as the Light of the world and that His Kingdom is coming to the earth.

The large hanukkiah located on the roundabout on our street

Chag Hanukah Sameach

Happy Hanukah  

Happy Hanukah!

Here is a video from Ron Cantor titled "Did Yeshua Observe Hanukah?"

Grinding Wheat, Israeli-style

While we were in Capernaum (Kfar Nahum, the village of Nahum) we visited what is supposedly Peter's house, although it could have been Yeshua's home for all that they can prove. It's a religious site, and the Catholic Church built a church over the site, which made it a bit awkward to see the actual remains, but there are ruins all around that we explored and enjoyed. It's amazing to see how they lived thousands of years ago, and how much or how little has changed over time.

For instance, here's an example of how they ground wheat in Samson's day, and in Yeshua's. 50% of their daily calories were from grains and that meant the woman of the home spent several hours (4-6) a day grinding the wheat berries. That's a lot of work...