Journey to see God: What God detests

Time of the season to read what God says about what He detests.
Isaiah 8:19-20 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁹ Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?
²⁰ Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (NLT)

¹⁰ For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering.^[a] And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, ¹¹ or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. ¹² Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you.

Footnotes:

1. 18:10 Or never make your son or daughter pass through the fire.

Leviticus 19:31

“Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus 20:6

“I will also turn against those who commit spiritual prostitution by putting their trust in mediums or in those who consult the spirits of the dead. I will cut them off from the community.

Leviticus 20:27

“Men and women among you who act as mediums or who consult the spirits of the dead must be put to death by stoning. They are guilty of a capital offense.”

2 Chronicles 33:6

Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger.

Isaiah 19:3

The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead.

Jeremiah 27:9

“‘Do not listen to your false prophets, fortune-tellers, interpreters of dreams, mediums, and sorcerers who say, “The king of Babylon will not conquer you.”

Isaiah 14:9-10 (NLT)⁹ “In the place of the dead^[a] there is excitement over your arrival.The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead stand up to see you.¹⁰ With one voice they all cry out, ‘Now you are as weak as we are!

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2 Kings 22 (NLT) God praised this king.

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. ² He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.

2 Kings 23:23-25

²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.

²⁴ Josiah also got rid of the mediums and psychics, the household gods, the idols,^[a] and every other kind of detestable practice, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah. He did this in obedience to the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the Lord’s Temple. ²⁵ Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.

Footnotes:

1. 23:24 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.

What God declares

What does God want from His people? One word the watchman has received today is ‘DECLARE’. What God declares and what He expects His people (witnesses) to declare.
GOD DECLARES HIMSELF:

Psalm 111:6

He has declared to His people the power of His works, In giving them the heritage of the nations.

Isaiah 43:12

I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the Lord, “that I am God.

Isaiah 44:8

Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’”

Isaiah 45:21

Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.

Isaiah 48:3

“I have declared the former things from the beginning; They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.

Isaiah 48:5

Even from the beginning I have declared it to you; Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you, Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, And my carved image and my molded image Have commanded them.’

Isaiah 43:21

This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.

Psalm 147:19

He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel.

GOD’S WITNESSES DECLARE GOD:

Exodus 9:16

But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

John 17:26

And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Acts 9:27

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

Acts 15:14

Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

Romans 9:17

For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”

Luke 8:47

Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

John 1:18

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John 17:26

And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Psalm 9:11

Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people.

Psalm 22:22

I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

Psalm 40:5

Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.

Psalm 40:10

I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly.

Psalm 66:16

Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul.

Psalm 118:17

I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the Lord.

GOD’S WITNESSES DECLARE GOD’S WORDS:

Deuteronomy 5:5

I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:

Psalm 2:7

“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

Matthew 12:18

“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

John 16:14

He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

Acts 20:27

For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

Acts 26:20

but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

Jesus said: Who are the overcomers?

Who are the overcomers? We read what the Bible says.
Psalm 112:5-7 New King James Version (NKJV) He will never be shaken because his heart is steadfast and trusts in God

⁵ A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs with discretion.
⁶ Surely he will never be shaken;
The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
⁷ He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

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Psalm 119:133 God’s words overcome evil.

Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.

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Mark 9:23-24 Turn to Jesus and you will overcome your unbelief

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

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Jesus told His disciples He has overcome the world (ruled by Satan)

John 16:33

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

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Jesus’ disciples overcame too! So can Jesus’ followers today -those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. (Revelation 12:17)

Revelation 12:11 end time overcomers against “the great dragon, the serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9)

“And thy overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and thy did not love their lives to the death.”

James 4:7

Therefor submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

the power of hymn: His oath, His covenant, and blood

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874
1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
Hymn #370
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: 1 Timothy 1:1
Author: Edward Mote, c. 1834, cento
Composer: John Stainer, 1873, arr.
Tune: "Magdalen"

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Zecharyah 3:1-5 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

3 And he [the malach] showed me Yehoshua the Kohen HaGadol standing before the Malach Hashem, and HaSatan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

² And Hashem said unto HaSatan, Hashem rebuke thee, O HaSatan; even Hashem that hath chosen Yerushalayim rebuke thee. Is not this a brand, a burning stick, snatched out of the eish?

³ Now Yehoshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the malach.

⁴ And he [the malach] answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, See, I have taken away thine avon (iniquity, guilt) from thee, and I will clothe thee with machalatzot (extra fine, white clothing).

⁵ And I said, Let them set a tzanif tahor (clean turban, mitznefet, Shemot 28:4) upon his head. So they set a tzanif tahor upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the Malach Hashem stood by.

the man of the Ruach Hakodesh discerns all things

We read wisdom today.
Kehillah in Corinth I 2Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

When I came to you, Achim b’Moshiach, I did not come preaching and announcing to you the sod Hashem (mystery of G-d) as a ba’al melitzot (rhetorician, fine talker) or in the excellence of chochmah.

² For I made the decision not to have da’as of anything among you except Moshiach and nivlato al haEtz (his body –gufa, kerper—on the Tree Boim (Yiddish for tree), DEVARIM 21:23).

³ And I came to you (Ac 18:1) in weakness (1:25,27) and in yir’at Shomayim and in fear and in much trembling I was with you,

⁴ And my speech and my hachrazah (proclamation, kyrygma, preaching) to you of the Besuras HaGeulah of Hashem was not in persuasive words but in the demonstration of the Ruach Hakodesh and the gevurat Hashem (power of G-d—1:17),

⁵ That the [orthodox Jewish] emunah (faith) of you may not be in the [Olam Hazeh] “chochmah” of Bnei Adam, but in the gevurat Hashem [1:17].

⁶ But we do speak chochmah (wisdom) to the man who is mevugar (mature, grown up), to those with mature ruchaniyut (spirituality in Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach), yet, it is a chochmah (wisdom) not of the Olam Hazeh, neither of the rulers of the Olam Hazeh (Ro 13:3), the ones being brought to naught (1:28). [TEHILLIM 146:4]

⁷ But we speak the chochmah of Hashem in a hidden sod (mystery 2:1), which was nigzar merosh (determined from the beginning, preordained, predestined, decided beforehand) by Hashem lifnei yemei haOlam (before the days of eternity) for our kavod (glory, Ro 8:29-30);

⁸ A chochmah which not one of the rulers of the Olam Hazeh has known, for, if they had had da’as, they would not have made talui al HaEtz HaKelalat Hashem (being hanged on the Tree of the Curse of G-d- Dt 21:23) the [Moshiach] Adon HaKavod. [Ps 24:7]

⁹ But even as it has been written, “Things which no eye has seen and LO SHAMU (“they had not heard”) nor did it come up into the heart of Bnei Adam, the things G-d prepared for the ones who have ahavah for him.” Isa 64:3[4] TARGUM HASHIVIM; Isa 52:15

¹⁰ But Hashem has made the hitgalut haSod (the revelation of the mystery) to us of these things through the Ruach Hakodesh; for the Ruach Hakodesh searches all things, even the deep things of G-d.

¹¹ For who of Bnei Adam has da’as of the things of Bnei Adam except the ruach of a man in him? So also the things of G-d no one has known except the Ruach Hashem. [Jer 17:9; Prov 20:27]

¹² Now we have not received the ruach of the Olam Hazeh but the Ruach Hakodesh from Hashem, that we may have da’as of the things having been freely given to us by Hashem,

¹³ Which things also we speak, not in dvarim (words) taught by chochmah haBnei Adam, but in dvarim taught by the Ruach Hakodesh, making midrash [exposition, interpretation] of the things of the Ruach Hakodesh [2:12] by means of the words of the Ruach Hakodesh.

¹⁴ But a natural person does not receive the things of the Ruach Hakodesh of Hashem, for they are narrishkait (foolishness 1:21-24) to him, and he is not able to have personal saving da’as of them, because they are discerned in the Ruach Hakodesh.

¹⁵ Now the man of the Ruach Hakodesh discerns all things, but, by no one is he discerned.

¹⁶ For, “Who has known the mind of Hashem so as to instruct Him” [Isa 40:13 TARGUM HASHIVIM]? But we have the mind of Moshiach. [YESHAYAH 40:13]

happy Sukkot 2015

Today we read a bit of Sukkot history. Excerpts quoted: “Sukkot, a Hebrew word meaning “booths” or “huts,” refers to the annual Jewish festival of giving thanks for a bountiful fall harvest and commemorates the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert after the giving of the Torah atop Mt. Sinai. Sukkot begins five days after Yom Kippur. It is observed for seven days by Israelis and many Reform Jews, and for eight days by other Jews living outside Israel. The eighth day of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, is traditionally a separate festival in its own right. In Reform congregations, which generally observe one day of holidays, rather than two, Shemini Atzeret is observed concurrently with Simchat Torah, the festival of “rejoicing in the Torah.” – (See more at: http://www.reformjudaism.org/sukkot-history#sthash.dwUj5rrj.dpuf)
Bible verses:
Nehemiah 8 New International Version (NIV) ¹⁴ They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month ¹⁵ and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.^{[b] 16} So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.

Exodus 23:16

“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. “Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

In Context | Full Chapter

Leviticus 23:39

“‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest.

In Context

Bible verses from Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

Ezekiel 11:17

Therefore, say that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘“I will gather you from the peoples and collect you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give the land of Isra’el to you.”

Ezekiel 20:34

I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you were scattered, with a mighty hand, with a stretched-out arm and with poured-out fury;

Ezekiel 20:41

I will accept you with your sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you were scattered; and through you I will manifest my holiness in the sight of the nations.

Ezekiel 28:25

“Adonai Elohim says, ‘Once I have gathered the house of Isra’el from the peoples among whom they are scattered, once I have shown my holiness in them as the Goyim watch, then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Ya‘akov.

Ezekiel 34:13

I will bring them back from those peoples, gather them from those countries and return them to their own land. Then I will let them feed on the mountains of Isra’el, by the streams and in all the livable places of the land.

Ezekiel 36:24

For I will take you from among the nations, gather you from all the countries, and return you to your own soil.

Ezekiel 37:21

Then say to them that Adonai Elohim says: ‘I will take the people of Isra’el from among the nations where they have gone and gather them from every side and bring them back to their own land.

Ezekiel 39:27

This will be after I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, thereby being consecrated through them in the sight of many nations.

New International Version (NIV)

Ezekiel 11:17

“Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’

In Context

Ezekiel 20:34

I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered—with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with out poured wrath.

Ezekiel 20:41

I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will be proved holy through you in the sight of the nations.

In Context

Ezekiel 22:19

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem.

In Context

Ezekiel 22:20

As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.

In Context

Ezekiel 22:21

I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her.

In Context

Ezekiel 28:25

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.

In Context

Ezekiel 34:13

I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.

In Context

Ezekiel 36:24

“‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.

In Context

Ezekiel 37:21

and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.

In Context

Ezekiel 38:12

I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.”

In Context

Ezekiel 39:27

When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations.

In Context

Ezekiel 39:28

Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.

In Context

a list of links to Yom Kippur

Here is a list of links to some of this blogger's Yom Kippur's blog posts.

This year’s Yom Kippur: life, health and happiness
http://wp.me/pzRwB-2SP
Yom Kippur 2014
http://wp.me/pzRwB-2B7 
A day before 2013 Yom Kippur fast
 http://wp.me/pzRwB-2ag
How the watchman spent this year’s Yom Kippur
http://wp.me/pzRwB-2af
Great Yom Kippur menus on what to eat before and after fasting!
http://wp.me/pzRwB-29X
Yom Kippur 2013: by whom we have now received the atonement
 http://wp.me/pzRwB-29R
2013 Yom Kippur – hear the prophet
 http://wp.me/pzRwB-29q
 Watchman’s Adventure: preparing for Yom Kippur Fast
 http://wp.me/pzRwB-1hp
 watchman’s adventure: 2011 Yom Kippur (1)
http://wp.me/pzRwB-1hB
watchman’s adventure: 2011 Yom Kippur (2)
 http://wp.me/pzRwB-1hP