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SHALOM,
➡️Today, NISAN/AVIV 29 marks the end of 2 Weeks of OMER COUNTING. Week 2 speaks of THE Attribute of THE CREATOR, YAHUVEH [YAHWEH] which is GEVURAH/JUDGEMENT – Related to The Deluge/Great Flood 🌊🌊🌊 [Genesis 6-9].
➡️Today is also the second to last or final day of this month called NISAN/AVIV. At sun-set 🌇 on Sunday 1st May 2022, IYYAR [IYAR] 1 begins, HalleluYAH!
This is being shared following THE TEACHING ON NISAN/AVIV 28 on THE YERICHO [JERICHO] MARCH! Will add the Audios later. Apologies for this inconvenience… Please bear with us… Thank you.
This is the month [NISAN/AVIV] in which we celebrate our KINSMAN REDEEMER [GOEL], YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH, HalleluYAH HalleluYAH HalleluYAH though we tend to read and study THE BOOK OF RUTH around and on SHAVU’OT [WEEKS] PENTECOST *because it paints the picture of being Grafted into THE TRUE VINE, YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH [John 15] even when we do not deserve it.* Additionally, The STORY of Ruth occurred during The BARLEY HARVEST leading into the WHEAT HARVEST time. *So, it relates to both PESACH [PASSOVER] and SHAVU’OT and in-between!* And interestingly, Rahav became Yahushua The Son of Nun’s booty from The Yericho [Jericho] Battle during the MONTH in which PASSOVER is celebrated. *In the week after PASSOVER, Rahav was adopted into ISRAEL 🕎 on NISAN/AVIV 28. As this day fell on YAH’S Weekly SABBATH,* [sun-set Friday To sun-set Saturday], *All THE BOOTY obtained from Yericho was called or named ANATHEMA thereby implying HOLINESS!* YAH’S SABBATH IS A HOLY DAY, so, all that was acquired that day was considered to be *HOLY a.k.a ANATHEMA,* HalleluYAH HalleluYAH HalleluYAH 👏👏👏! *This includes Rahav and her family, HalleluYAH HalleluYAH 👏!*
NOTE 📝🗒📓🎵 THAT: Joshua The Son of Nun whose name was altered to Yahushua by YAHUVEH [YAHWEH] through Moshe [Moses] as per Numbers 13 was originally HUSHUA [and not Hoshea or Hosea as often written and called]!!! YAHUVEH says that all HE did was add the HEBREW LETTER, “Yod” or “Yud” at the beginning of Joshua’s Original Name, HUSHUA and so it only makes sense for the original or birth name to be HUSHUA [and not Hoshea or Hosea]!!!!!
This implies that the popularly known Prophet Hoshea a.k.a Hosea is actually HUSHUA [and not [Hoshea or Hosea]!!! This further implies that the name of the BOOK he wrote is meant to be called HUSHUA!
Brethren in YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH, it is very clear that many alterations were made within THE HOLY BIBLICAL SCRIPTURES hence no wonder it is challenging for anyone to believe that THE MESSIAH’S Original Name is YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH!
YAH SHADDAI deliberately created pointers to THE MESSIAH within HIS WORD particularly in THE OLD COVENANT/TESTAMENT!
*If the name, HUSHUA was left as it is supposed to be, many believers in and followers of YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH would have easily and quickly made sense of the name, YAHUSHUA!*
So, through THE STUDY OF THE SCARLET CORD/THREAD, *we have made THE HOLY PROPHETIC CONNECTION/LINK between Yahushua [formally Hushua] The Son of Nun and Hushua The Son of Beeri* in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, Kings of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash King of Israel.
➡️Both HUSHUAs married harlots/prostitutes!
➡️Both HUSHUAs depict YAH’S SALVATION to ISRAEL 🕎 and the Gentiles!!!
➡️Yahushua The Son of Nun’s wife, Rahav had practised prostitute from age 10 until age 50 when she learned about THE GOD OF ISRAEL 🕎 and decided to convert from Paganism to JUDAISM, HalleluYAH! *From the time of ISRAEL’S Crossing of The Sea of Reeds a.k.a Red Sea which is 40 years before making it to THE PROMISED LAND, Canaan, Rahav started to practise harlotry/prostitution. Her Transformation is extremely amazing because she never looks back.* She can be likened to Ruth who neve looked back after decided to Worship only THE GOD OF ISRAEL 🕎 and in the process, she was BLESSED with THE fore-runner KINSMAN REDEEMER, Boaz. Remember THAT YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH is our KINSMAN REDEEMER, HalleluYAH!
*Yahushua The Son of Nun and Boaz The Grandson of Rahav as well as Prophet Hushua The Son of Beeri depict the image of THE KINSMAN REDEEMER hence being a prototype and fore-runner of YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH!*
HalleluYAH HalleluYAH HalleluYAH 👏👏👏
Hebrew for KINSMAN REDEEMER = Goel
In the Book of Ruth, the character of Boaz represents the culmination of YAH’S providence for the two destitute widows at the center of the story. *In Boaz, Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth found a “kinsman redeemer,” one whose responsibility was to “act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need.”* Boaz demonstrates, perhaps better than any other in the Old Testament, how YAH, and the law he established, expected a kinsman redeemer to respond to a relative’s need. *Boaz responded to the women’s plight with compassion, generosity, and without delay. His integrity magnificently foreshadows how YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH would redeem all who trust in his name from the slavery of sin and death.*
What can we in the modern era take away from the story of Boaz when customs are so different? *No matter the age we live in, we can marvel at YAH’S providence and the sufficiency of the REDEEMER HE has sent.*
Rahab (Hebrew: רַהַב, Modern: Rahav, Tiberian: Rahaḇ, “blusterer“) is used in the Hebrew Bible to indicate pride or arrogance, a mystical sea monster, as an emblematic or poetic name for Egypt, and for the sea.
Definitions of blusterer. a person who causes trouble by speaking indiscreetly. synonyms: loudmouth. type of: bad hat, mischief-maker, trouble maker, troublemaker, troubler. someone who deliberately stirs up trouble.
Gomer Origin and Meaning: The name Gomer is boy’s name of Hebrew origin meaning “to complete“. Gomer is that rare beast, a unisex biblical name. Gomer was both a son of Japheth (and therefore grandson of Noah), and the wife of the prophet Hosea.
The Hebrew name Gomer refers to the Cimmerians, who dwelt in what is now southern Russia, “beyond the Caucusus”, and attacked Assyria in the late 7th century BC. The Assyrians called them Gimmerai; the Cimmerian king Teushpa was defeated by Assarhadon of Assyria sometime between 681 and 668 BC.
ISRAEL 🕎 was brought up amongst idolaters name, Ur, Canaan and Egypt. ISRAEL 🕎 was not a harlot at first but soon became one.
There was an evil inclination/passion/desire in place to practise idolatry thereby becoming a harlot/prostitute!
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Now, The Written Part of THE TEACHING:
The following additional information from other sources is also useful to read, learn and know:
*WHO EXACTLY WAS RAHAV [a.k.a RAHAB]?*
1. In Jericho the spies put up with Rahav. She had been leading an immoral life for forty years, but at the approach of Israel, she paid homage to the true God and lived the life of a PIOUS convert.
2. Rahav was part of the quartet of the most beautiful women in history.
3. As Yahushua The Son of Nun’s wife, she became the ancestor of 8 Prophets.
Rahab, a prostitute and eventual mother to Boaz, was a woman knowledgeable of the power of God living in the city of Jericho, a city condemned by God. She trusted the stories she heard about Him, which fueled her courage, and that courage saved her and her family, as she placed her faith in an unseen God. Her actions would save her and her family from destruction.
*Courage to do Brave Things*
Rahab is mentioned in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Each time she is mentioned, we are told of her profession. Rahab was a prostitute.
She is introduced to us in Joshua 2:1 as such and again in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25. It is clear we are to note this fact about Rahab, given the repetition of it in the Bible.
Rahab was living in the city of Jericho. A city condemned by God.
In the book of Joshua, we learn that *Rahab lived in a house on the wall of Jericho, near the city gate. A perfect location for her profession.* Jericho and all the inhabitants of the city were in danger. With their trust misplaced in idols and gods with no power, they fortified their walls and believed safety would be found inside.
Rahab was different. She had heard the stories of the Almighty God and how He brought devastation to the Egyptians, parting the Red Sea, and destroying mighty kings, but as she waited for God’s people to come, destroy, and claim Jericho, her fear was giving way to courage.
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/rahab-midrash-and-aggadah
*In Brief*
The Rabbis sing paeans of praise of Rahab for her beauty and wisdom. She acted wisely when she concealed the spies in her house, thereby saving her entire family from the ravages of war. Her connection to the people of Israel was not merely utilitarian, but ensued from her love of them and their God. She converted and was married to Joshua, and her descendants included renowned kohanim (members of the priestly class) and prophets. In many midrashim Rahab comes to symbolize the positive influence Israel exerts on the surrounding Gentile nations, as well as successful conversion. Her ability to mend her ways was exemplary for ensuing generations, who used Rahab’s story to request divine mercy and pardon for their actions.
*Rahab the Harlot*
The midrash includes Rahab among the four most beautiful women the world has ever known: Sarah, Rahab, Abigail, and Esther. Anyone who mentioned her name, saying, “Rahab, Rahab,” immediately lusted after her. R. Nahman responded to this: “But I say ‘Rahab, Rahab,’ and nothing happens to me!”, and was answered: “This refers to one who knows her and is intimate with her” (BT Megillah 15a).
The Rabbis describe how Rahab was ten years old at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. She engaged in prostitution during the forty years of the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness, until the age of fifty. Since there was no prince or mighty one who did not visit Rahab the harlot, she was well acquainted with people’s thoughts. When she reported to the spies who came to her house: “no man had any more spirit left because of you” (Josh. 2:11), she alluded to her professional knowledge of the dimensions of the people’s fears, because their apprehension affected their vitality when with her (BT Zevahim 116a–b).
The midrash recounts four disgraceful matters that are mentioned about Rahab: she is called “Rahab the harlot,” which she was. Josh. 2:15 states: “for her dwelling was at the outer side of the city wall and she lived in the actual wall”—thus teaching that she engaged in prostitution with the people from inside and with the brigands on the outside. The third thing to her discredit was her living in the land of Canaan, whose inhabitants were known to be harsh and evil.
The fourth negative item refers to her as a resident of Jericho, whose people were fated to extinction, as it was said of them: “You must proscribe them” (Deut. 20:17). Despite all this, it was stated (Josh. 6:25) that “she dwelt among the Israelites—up to this day.” Although Rahab was from the peoples of the land and the families of the earth, she saved the spies out of love of Israel and its God, and God rewarded her out of love (and protected her and her family from death) (Sifrei Zuta, Beha’alotekha 10:29).
*The Encounter with the Spies*
The midrash identifies the two spies sent by Joshua as Phinehas and Caleb, who disguised themselves as potters, and went about crying: “Pottery here! Whoever wishes, come and buy!” They came to Rahab’s house, and when she learned that the king of Jericho sought them, she wanted to hide the spies. Phinehas told her: “I am a priest, and priests are like the angels. An angel can be visible to people, or unseen by them, as he wishes, therefore I do not need you to conceal me. Hide my fellow Caleb, while I will stand before them, without them seeing me.” Rahab did as he asked. Consequently, Josh. 2:4 reports: “The woman, however, had taken the two men and hidden him [va-tizpeno—in the singular],” since she concealed only Caleb (Num. Rabbah 16:1).
After the danger had passed, Rahab advised the spies (Josh. 2:16): “Make for the hills, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Stay there in hiding three days.” The midrash adds that the Divine Presence rested upon her until the Israelites entered Jericho, for she knew that they would return after three days (Ruth Rabbah 2:1).
Because Rahab was not afraid of the Israelites when they came to raze Jericho, the Rabbis applied to her Prov. 31:21: “She is not worried for her household because of snow, for her whole household is dressed in crimson”—she was not concerned, because of the “length of crimson cord” that would be the sign between them (Midrash Eshet Hayil 31:21).
*Rahab the Convert*
When Rahab heard of the miracles that God had performed for Israel when He parted the Red Sea for them, she wanted to cleave to Israel, as portrayed in Jer. 16:19: “O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in a day of trouble, to You nations shall come from the ends of the earth.” When the Lord performs miracles for Israel, the non-Jewish nations shall come to adhere to Him (Ex. Rabbah 27:4).
After having engaged in prostitution for forty years, Rahab converted at the age of fifty. She said: “Master of the Universe! I have sinned with three things [with my eye, my thigh, and my stomach]. By the merit of three things pardon me: the rope, the window, and the wall [pardon me for engaging in harlotry because I endangered myself when I lowered the rope for the spies from the window in the wall]” (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Masekhta de-Amalek, Yitro 1). Another tradition has her saying: “Pardon me by merit of the rope, the window, and the flaxen [the stalks of flax under which she concealed the spies]” (BT Zevahim loc. cit.).
Many Rabbis viewed conversion favorably, an attitude that is reflected in exegeses about Rahab. The midrash attests that Rahab married Joshua following her conversion (BT Megillah 14b). Eight kohanim who were also prophets were descended from her: Jeremiah, Hilkiah, Seraiah, Mahseiah, Baruch, Neriah, Hanamel and Shalom. According to one opinion, the prophet Huldah was also among her offspring (Sifrei on Numbers, chap. 78). Other traditions also include Ezekiel son of Buzi (Sifrei Zuta loc. cit.). In another exegesis, God showed Moses before his death, through the spirit of divine inspiration, the line of prophets that would issue from Rahab (Sifrei on Deuteronomy, Chap.338).
Rahab is mentioned alongside Jethro and Naaman as positive examples of the converts who joined Israel. It is claimed that there was not a single idolatry in all the world that Jethro did not worship, and therefore when he converted, he spoke from experience when he said (Ex. 18:11): “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods.” Naaman made an even greater admission when he proclaimed (II Kings 5:15): “Now I know that there is no God in the whole world except in Israel!”; and Rahab exceeded him, when she declared (Josh. 2:11): “for the Lord your God is the only God in heaven above and on earth below” (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael loc. cit.).
This favorable disposition to converts is expressed in a dictum that converts who drew close to God merited being drawn closer by God. The example given is of Rahab the harlot: despite her being busy in her house (in prostitution), and her being from a people for whom the Torah mandates (Deut. 20:16): “You shall not let a soul remain alive,” she brought herself closer to the Omnipresent. Since she did so, God drew her closer to Him, and a line of prophets was descended from her (Sifrei Zuta loc. cit.).
An additional midrashic teaching lists a number of converts who became part of the families of Israelite leaders, for example: Joseph married Asenath, Joshua married Rahab, Boaz married Ruth, and Moses took the daughter of Hobab (= Jethro) (Eccl. Rabbah 8:10:1).
Another exegesis learns from Rahab that a sincere convert, who converts for the sake of Heaven, merits having his daughter be married to a kohenand his grandsons becoming kohanim themselves, who will bless Israel. Since Rahab the harlot brought the spies into her house and rescued them, God accounted this as if she had acted compassionately to Him. As her reward, her daughters married kohanim, the sons born to them served at the altar, and they entered the Temple and blessed Israel with the Tetragrammaton. These kohanim were Baruch son of Neriah, Seraiah son of Mahseiah, Jeremiah son of Hilkiah and Hanamel son of Shalom (Num. Rabbah 8:9).
There is, however, also a negative attitude to conversion among the sages, which also finds expression in relation to Rahab. According to this outlook, the Israelites acted improperly when they saved Rahab and her family; they rather should have proscribed them, along with the other inhabitants of Jericho. God told Israel: I said to you [Deut. 20:17]: “You must proscribe them,” but you did not do so. Instead [Josh. 6:25]: “Only Rahab the harlot and her father’s family were spared by Joshua, along with all that belonged to her.” As punishment, Jeremiah, a descendant of Rahab, would come and do to them things that were [Num. 33:55] “stings in your eyes and thorns in your sides” (which is the punishment with which God threatened Israel if they did not dispossess the inhabitants of the land) (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, Divrei Yirmiyahu [“The words of Jeremiah”—Jer. 1:1] [ed. Mandelbaum] 13:5).
This negative attitude toward converts was apparently prevalent among the people, too, a prejudice that was opposed by the following midrash. In this exegetical account, the Israelites would disparage Ezekiel the prophet and say that he was “among the descendants of Rahab the harlot.” Consequently, Scripture had to specify his lineage and state (Ezek. 1:3): “The word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi.” The same gossip was spread about the prophet Jeremiah, and was countered by the genealogy (Jer. 1:1): “The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests” (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, op cit., 13:12).
*Rahab as a Symbol for Future Generations*
Rahab symbolizes proper behavior, in contrast to the sinning Israelites. The Rabbis apply to Jeremiah, who was descended from Rahab, the proverb: “The son of the corrupted one who mended her ways will come and reproach the son of the fit one who had gone astray”—the son of Rahab, who was a prostitute who had mended her ways, shall rebuke the Israelites, of proper lineage, who had degenerated (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, op cit., 13:4). This exposition accents the power a person has to determine whether his/her deeds will be good or bad, regardless of his/her origins. The proverb presents this notion by setting forth an extreme situation in which the son of the immoral woman chastises the son of the proper woman, thereby showing Rahab’s merit, and Israel’s disgrace.
The midrash continues this comparison by saying that whatever was written in Israel’s dishonor was written in Rahab’s praise. It is written of Rahab (Josh. 2:12): “Now, since I have shown loyalty to you, swear to me by the Lord,” and of Israel (Jer. 5:2): “They are sure to be swearing falsely”; it is written of Rahab (Josh. 2:13): “that you will spare the lives of my father and mother,” and of Israel (Ezek. 22:7): “Fathers and mothers have been humiliated within you”; it is written of Rahab (Josh. 2:6): “Now she had taken them up to the roof,” and of Israel (Zeph. 1:5): “And those who bow down on the roofs to the host of heaven” (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana loc. cit.). This series of comparisons, only some of which appear here, emphasizes the sins of Israel, who swear falsely, make light of their parents’ honor, and worship stars, while Rahab conducts herself in a proper and correct manner.
In the midrashic account, the merit of Rahab’s deeds saved the prophet Jeremiah from death. When Jeremiah had been cast into the pit, Ebed-melech the Ethiopian was sent to bring him up (as is related in Jer. 38:11–13). In the midrashic expansion, Jeremiah tells him: “If only I had a ladder.” God asks him: You want a ladder? Your grandmother Rahab used a rope, as it is written (Josh. 2:15): “She let them down by a rope through the window,” and you, too, shall be saved by a rope (Jer. 38:13): “and they pulled Jeremiah up by the ropes” (Midrash Samuel [ed. Buber] 9:7). Thus, Rahab’s good deeds continue to aid her offspring in later generations, as well.
The Rabbis maintain that Rahab was mentioned in the prayer of Hezekiah. When the king learned that he was about to die, he turned his face to the wall and prayed, as portrayed in Isa. 38:2: “Thereupon Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord.” The Rabbis understand the “wall,” not as the place where Hezekiah prayed, but as the subject of his prayer. He said to God: “Master of the Universe! Rahab saved the two souls of the spies by means of the ‘city wall’ [Josh. 2:15], by merit of which You saved many souls for her, as it is said [Josh. 6:25]: ‘Only Rahab the harlot and her father’s family were spared by Joshua, along with all that belonged to her.’ Even if there were two hundred people in her family, and they went and adhered to two hundred additional families, they were saved by her merit. Will You not save me, whose forefathers brought many converts to You?” Hezekiah’s prayer was accepted, and God added fifteen years to his life (JT Berakhot 4:4, 8b).
Another midrash has Rahab acting as advocate for all the nations of the world. When God judges the latter, He does so according to the proper individuals within each nation: He recalls the actions of Jethro and the deeds of Rahab, in order to judge them favorably (JT Rosh Hashanah 1:3, 57a).
The Rabbis deduced from the story of Rahab the superiority of repentance over prayer, for Moses prayed exceedingly, but God did not accept his entreaty to enter Erez Israel, while the repentance of Rahab the harlot was accepted, and seven kings and eight prophets issued forth from her (Seder Eliyahu Zuta [ed. Friedmann (Ish-Shalom)], para. 22).
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/rahab-midrash-and-aggadah
4. “MEGILLAT RUT/Scroll of Ruth” & “SHAVU’OT/WEEKS/PENTECOST”
SHALOM
[YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH] THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE MINISTRY 