Following the Book of Numbers theme, the death of the old generation gives rise to a purified new generation who inherit the garden dwelling of YHWH, John’s seventh sign concerns a young man who died, was resurrected five days later, and sat at the table with Yeshua. The text identified a certain man, Lazarus (meaning “God has helped”), from…

Genesis 1 shows the Spirit of God’s breath fluttering protectively over a lifeless creation, dividing and filling it with life. YHWH restarted creation after the flood, causing a parting wind to pass over the waters and the dry land to reappear. He divided the seventy nations upon the face of the earth to be fruitful and multiply. Out of the seventy, God separated…

The Feast of Sukkot lasted seven days, from Tishri 15 to Tishri 21. During the Feast of Tabernacles, Nehemiah read the Book of the Law of God from the first day until the last day¹ (Neh. 8:18). The Jews called the seventh and last day “The Great Hosannah” and performed the water pouring ceremony seven times². Using the backdrop of

YHWH’s dwelling among His people is the extensive goal of the exodus salvation from Genesis to Revelation. Humanity is in exile, doomed to wither and decay, separated from the Source of life. But YHWH is a God of the living, not the dead. Only in Him and through Him is life. He is the fountain of living water and the bread of life we must…

The Book of Numbers within the Pentateuch is the fourth book in the continuum depicting the path of exodus, from bondage to inheritance in the Land, from death to life. It naturally coincides with the creation narrative of days five and six, filling the habitable spaces with teeming life (see Blog 100). After the Creator separated His people from

According to YHWH’s command to appear before Him, Israel sojourned each year to where God had put His name. Jerusalem was the only place Israel’s God chose to put His name, and from His holy dwelling, the priests put YHWH’s name upon the Israelites, the covenant blessing of His Presence. During the holy meeting times (Feasts), the Israelites were…

Three times a year, YHWH commanded the Israelites to make a pilgrimage to keep a feast to YHWH, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Exo. 23:14-16). All the men of Israel were to appear before YHWH (Exo. 23:17; 34:23-24; Deu. 16:16) and to offer sacrifices to Him, maintaining their fellowship and…

The Book of Numbers’ wilderness journey is about YHWH dwelling with Israel, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant, the means to humanity’s exodus out of exile (Exo. 29:45-46). Only YHWH has life, and only by His dwelling with humanity can humanity have life. Sukkot is all about how YHWH is filling His good creation with life, living images of…

Leviticus 23’s twelve verses about the Feast of Tabernacles divide into two sections by an inclusio “These are the feasts of YHWH which you shall proclaim as holy convocations” (vv. 2, 37). Six verses 33-38 mention “offering” seven times in which are eight occurrences of YHWH. “Seven” appears three times. In the last six verses, “seven” is…