This week’s Audio, Video, and Teaching Notes are posted here.

Honest to – Blotting Out the Sons of Moses – Class Seven (The Mountain / Name of God; The Sons of Moses; Gershom – A Stranger There; – El is My Help; Moses Returns to Egypt; Exodus – This Great Thing; Moses – Forgive Them or Wipe Me Out from Your Book; Unpacking Biblical Genealogies; Micah’s House of God; Jonathan the Young Levite from the Family of Judah – The Grandson of Moses; Attacks Against the Mosaic Priesthood; There Was No King in Israel; Everyone Did What was Right in His Own Eyes; The People Reject YHVH as King; Samuel Writes the Torah of the King; Listen to the Voice of YHVH Your God and Do What is Right in His Eyes)

June 26, 2021 – Ross Nichols

Honest to Moses – Blotting Out the Sons of Moses – Class Seven

Audio/Video Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_EyJq-oUm0 https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/honest-to-moses-blotting-out-the-sons-of-moses- class-seven/ Teaching Notes Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/wp- content/uploads/2021/06/2021.6.26-Honest-to-Moses-Blotting-Out-the-Sons-of- Moses-Class-Seven.pdf

TODAY’S INTRODUCTION -Welcome to United Israel World Union, this is our Sabbath morning scripture study coming to you live from the United Israel Center in Saint Francisville, Louisiana. Many of you are in your own place today, alone, Shabbat Shalom and thank you for joining us this morning. We need one another to help us go through what the world is going through today. I pray that all of you and the ones that you care for remain healthy today and throughout the coronavirus. -We have currently moved into a new study called “Honest to Moses”, which began May 8, 2021. This will be a very lengthy, in-depth, seat of the chair teaching that will challenge you. Many of you who have followed these teachings for awhile are quite prepared and equipped for what’s to follow in the text because we are going to be “Honest to Moses”. This series builds upon things that we’ve covered in the past. What I’ve presented to this point has been purposely presented in the order in which it was and in the manner in which it was in order to prepare us for this series. Our previous series on Prophet – “The Servant” will weave together in the biblical text with our new series “Honest to Moses”, a Quest for the Historical Moses. -If you find things in our classes on the quest for the historical Moses are cause for alarm in your spiritual quest, please don’t let it be so. We are looking at the biblical text in a way that few people look at it. Most people follow their traditional views of the text, and they have answers to the questions that are built on their particular theological views. I’m looking at the texts and letting the text speak for itself. I will not apologize for the texts of the bible, but rather present the text as it’s presented. Only then can we get closer to the original intent of the authors.

TEACHING NOTES -Today we continue our quest for the historical Moses, and we are on Class 7 in our series called, “Honest to Moses”. Today’s class is called “Blotting Out the Sons of Moses”. The past few weeks I’ve been developing a theme where we’re tracking along in the scriptures, those who are associated with the family of Moses. We began by talking about the Levitical genealogy that brings us Moses and how his father () and mother () are Levitical and how Moses is part of the Levitical line. Moses has a brother named Aaron and a sister named Mariam and how in birth order we have Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. All three of them are listed in the prophetic Book of Mica in Chapter 6:4 where they are linked together as being co-partners in the redemption that took place from the land of Egypt. -Mic 6: 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. -Today I want to begin to focus on the idea that when Moses is among this Midianite / Kenite group it’s through this group that he seeks refuge from Pharaoh and Egypt. During his sojourn with this priestly family of Jethro / Ruel / Hobab (One man – three names) that he learned about an incredibly special place, the mountain of God. Moses becomes aware of this particular place when he is within the western edge of Midianite grazing grounds shepherding his father-in-law’s flock and it’s here that he comes upon the mountain of God. This mountain of God is known as such, prior to the revelation at Sinai / Horeb where the law is given. Before the Ten Commandments are spoken, from the mountain, from the midst of the fire, on the day of assembly, this is a sacred place and has been for a long time. It’s known among these desert tribes as the mountain of God before it’s known to the Hebrews. However, the Hebrew revelation and the Hebrew revolution that comes from that revelation clearly put the mountain of God on the map, figuratively. -During his sojourn with the Midianite / Kenite people Moses also learns a new name for God. Prior to this, Moses and all the children of Israel did not know the name of God, yod-hey-vav-hey (YHVH), as revealed in Exodus 3 and Exodus 6. From among the Midianite / Kenite people group Moses marries a woman named , the daughter of the priest of . Known initially as Ruel (Exodus 2:18), as Jethro (Exodus 3:1), and as Hobab (Numbers 10:29+). In Numbers 10 Hobab is made to look like Moses’ brother-in-law but from Judges 1:16 and Judges 4:11 we learn that Hobab is yet another name of the priest on Midian, father-in-law of Moses. Today we’ll begin to take an in- depth look concerning the family of Moses, focusing particularly on the sons of Moses. The title of today’s class is called, “Blotting Out the Sons of Moses”. Why would anyone want to minimize the importance of the sons of Moses? -Exo 2: 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, "How is it that you have come home so soon today?" 19 They said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock." 20 He said to his daughters, "Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread." 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land." -The name of this son Gershom will be sort of an overriding theme that I’ll build upon today. I’ll talk about the sons of Moses. We’ll look at Gershom and about some of the details of the life of Gershom and at the significance of “Ger” – “Shom”. What does it mean to be a stranger there? Ger means stranger or sojourner and Shom means there. -Moses remains among the family of this Midianite priest up until he learns of the death of the Pharaoh who had sought his life. This particular Pharaoh had learned that Moses had killed a person in Egypt and when the matter became known, Moses fled and seeks refuge among the Midianite / Kenites and is given a woman. I believe that Zipporah is also the one known in Numbers 12 as the Cushite woman, which was covered last week. Once Moses learns of the death of this Pharaoh, he goes to Horeb and receives his mission. -Exo 4: 18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace." 19 And YHVH said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead." 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand. -Last week we talked a little bit about the geography and how these trips back and forth seem to indicate a fairly close proximity between the land of Midian and the land of Egypt. You load your wife and kids on a donkey, and you go. It could have been a long donkey ride, but we have other indications which suggest it was fairly accessible / close to the land of Egypt. -Exo 4: 27 YHVH said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. -Somehow Aaron knows where the mountain of God is in the wilderness, and he goes to meet Moses. So, Moses and his wife and his sons meet Aaron at the mountain of God, and they go back to Egypt. The events of the Exodus are then described. Moses and Aaron go before Pharaoh and they repeatedly demand, let my people go. Ultimately the greatest event is called “this great thing” and with signs and wonders the children of Israel are miraculously taken out of the bondage the Hebrew people have served for all these grueling years and they go to Horeb, the mountain of God. We also learn that before the Exodus event, Zipporah and the boys went back to Jethro. -Exo 18: 1 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how YHVH had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, 3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land"), 4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh"). 5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6 And when he sent word to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her," 7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. -We now have for the first time, the name of the second son. Eliezer was also born in Midianite / Kenite land because he is mentioned but not named in Exodus 4:18-20 where Moses, Aaron, Zipporah, and the two boys travel back to Egypt. -Exo 4: 24 At a lodging place on the way YHVH met him and sought to put him to death. -This is difficult to discern of whom is it speaking. Does God intend to kill Moses or the child, we don’t know. So, Zipporah takes a flint and cuts off her son’s foreskin. This only mentions one son so we can assume that perhaps the other son has already been circumcised? Perhaps this is the younger of the two? Whose leg does Zipporah touch with the bloody foreskin. At this point we have the two boys, Gershom – stranger there, and Eliezer – El is my help. -In today’s class I want to cover something that is a bit challenging, but I promise to go by the text of the bible. We have an interesting passage that’s unrelated, but it’s a thought that I want to place before you. In Exodus 32:32 you’ll recognize the context and Moses is in an intercessory mode, interceding on behalf of the people for a great sin. Moses is talking to God and says, blot me out or wipe me out from the scroll which you have written. Either forgive the people or wipe me out from the scroll and God tells him that’s not the way it works, I’m not going to wipe your name out. I’m using this image because there’s something strange going on with the names of the sons of Moses. It appears to me that there is a blotting out of names, and I have the challenge of showing that today. What do we know about the sons of Moses? Not much, why is that? It’s tough to work through the genealogies, however, within the genealogies, particularly with Chronicles, we get a lot of information, but we have to look for it. In context, let’s look at where King is forming divisions of Levites in 1 Chronicles. -1Chr 23: 14 But the sons of Moses the man of God were named among the tribe of . 15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. 17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. -Now let’s unpack this biblical genealogy. The sons of Moses, the man of God, they were called according to the Levite tribe. We are already in a listing of genealogies for the , but here only it calls it out again regarding the sons of Moses. Then it says the sons of Gershom and sons is plural, but only one son is listed? We do know that Shebuel is called the chief of the sons. The sons of Eliezer, Rehabiah the chief, but he had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many other sons. In Hebrew, it notes that Rehabiah had many sons and they were in some sort of exalted position. -1Chr 26: 24 and Shebuel the son of Gershom, son of Moses, was chief officer in charge of the treasuries. 25 His brothers: from Eliezer were his son Rehabiah, and his son Jeshaiah, and his son Joram, and his son Zichri, and his son Shelomoth. 26 This Shelomoth and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries of the dedicated gifts that David the king and the heads of the fathers' houses and the officers of the thousands and the hundreds and the commanders of the army had dedicated. 27 From spoil won in battles they dedicated gifts for the maintenance of the house of YHVH. 28 Also all that Samuel the seer and Saul the son of Kish and Abner the son of Ner and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated--all dedicated gifts were in the care of Shelomoth and his brothers. -We have the one son Gershom and his son Shebuel. We also have Rehabiah and his sons Jeshaiah, Joram, Zichri, and Shelomoth who have charge / watch over the dedicated items, holy, consecrated booty from the wars of David and Saul. Is this all we know of the sons of Moses? If it were up to the scribes who changed the text to cover up one thing, that’s all we would know. -The events and the people discussed in the Book of Judges are from an early period of time in Hebrew history. In Judges Chapter 17 we’re introduced to a man in the hill country of Ephraim and his name is Micah and from the beginning he doesn’t seem like the best person. He steals 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother, and she curses the person who stole her 1,100 shekels. Later, Micah confesses to his mother and returns the silver. Then his mother says, blessed of YHVH is Micah and she gives him back the silver, but gives 200 of it to a craftsman who makes an image that was set up in the house of Micah, and was to Micah, a house of God. Within this house of God, Micah also has a priestly garment and an idol. Micah then takes one of his sons and says, you’re the priest and then one day a visitor passes through. -Jdg 17: 7 Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9 And Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" And he said to him, "I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place." 10 And Micah said to him, "Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living." And the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, "Now I know that YHVH will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest." -Here we have a young man who comes from the area of Bethlehem in Judah, from the family of Judah, and he’s a Levite. He’s not from the family of Judah. How can a Levite come from the family of Judah? And he sojourned there, in Hebrew is says, and he Gershom. It’s interesting that this young unnamed Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, says I’m a Levite, and he Gershom (sojourned there). Micah convinces the young man to stay with him and serve as his priest, he’s paid plus gets food and clothing, this is your shrine, you run it. In Judges Chapter 18 the saga continues. Here the Danites are searching for territory in which to settle and happen to be traveling through the hill country of Ephraim and near Micah’s place when this happens. -Jdg 18: 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?" 4 And he said to them, "This is how Micah dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest." 5 And they said to him, "Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed." 6 And the priest said to them, "Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of YHVH." -Jdg 18: 11 So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, 12 and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim. 13 And they passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. 14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, "Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do." 15 And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and asked him about his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18 And when these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?" 19 And they said to him, "Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?" 20 And the priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people. 21 So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them. 22 When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. 23 And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, "What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?" 24 And he said, "You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, 'What is the matter with you?'" 25 And the people of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household." 26 Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home. 27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first. -Who is this mysterious priest who is a Levite of the family of Judah? The text indicates that one from Judah could be called a Levite. -Jdg 18: 30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah's carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh. -Now we know the name of the young Levite who is of the family of Judah and his father’s name is Gershom who is the son of Moses. A closer look of the text is going to reveal something altogether. The Hebrew spelling of the name Moses is an admitted scribal alteration. In Hebrew you spell Menashe mem-nun-shin-hey, but the scribes did something interesting, they put the nun as a superscript, written small and high. This was inserted into the text, and admitted in a scribal note. If you take the nun out it reads Moses, mem-shin-hey. This young man, the Levite, from the family of Judah, was named Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses, not son of Menashe. The grandson of Moses is clearly associated with the wicked Menashe, the scribe wants to make us see Menashe. If this were written in the time of the Judges, we wouldn’t know Menashe yet. -How do we know this is written later and not during the time of the Judges? These descendants of Moses served as priests to the Danite tribe until the land went into exile. Guess what didn’t happen during the time of the Judges, they hadn’t gone into exile yet. The person writing this is anachronistically telling us that from the time of the Judges up until the time of the exile Moses descendants were priests in the north. This is clearly talking about an exile that had not happened during the time of the Judges. The person writing this is witness to a couple of things and he tells us. I know a couple of things, writing much later than these events, Menashe is a bad guy. - The sons of Moses were priests until the exile. The scribe could be referring to the exile of 732 BCE in which those who were dwelling in the region of Galilee were taken off by Assyria. The author would have to be writing at a time when he would know about an exile, so it can’t be before 732 BCE. It could also be referring to the exile of 722 BCE in which the Northern Kingdom is taken off to Assyria. The story about Menashe coming in could also give us another clue. These stories had to have had final editing much later then the events they describe at a time when the writer has a reason to write polemically attacks against Moses’ sons as priests. Part of this text tells us that a Levite can be part of the family of Judah. This cannot mean that a Levite, descended from Levi is living among Judah. It says, Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses is a Levite from the family of Judah. Clearly the family of Moses is the target of attacks against the Mosaic priesthood are evident in the texts. This has to be written during the time of the monarchy which is not here yet. If we are talking about the time of Menashe’s reign it’s around 697 to 642 BCE. By the time of the writing of the words of the days of the Chronicles, Jonathan, a son of Gershom has been excised from the text. -1Chr 23: 14 But the sons of Moses the man of God were named among the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. 17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. -Here we read that Gershom is a son of Moses and we don’t read about his sons. By the time of the Chronicles, they didn’t talk about Jonathan. Why? Maybe because of Judges Chapters 16-18 he was cut out? Maybe because of Exodus 32:32 those who sin, are excised from the book. One other clue as to the dating of the composition of Judges in its final form is a Hebrew phrase that occurs in these three verses. -Jdg 17: 6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. -Jdg 18: 1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. -Jdg 21: 25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. -“There was no king in Israel.” This is an indication that this is written when there is a king in Israel whose referring back. It’s not a contemporary writer, it’s a writer as a later time, anachronistically telling the reader that there was no king in Israel then. In two of these verses it also says, “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” The implication of this phrase is clear, the writer wants us to say that without a king, there was no direction for the people. Leaving the people to make up their own mind as to what is right. I.e., if you had a king, direction would be provided. This is a clear indication that this was written during the monarchy by a scribe who is favorable to the monarchy as an institution. However, the monarchy is a rejection of God’s rule. -Deu 17: 14 "When you come to the land that YHVH your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,' 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom YHVH your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since YHVH has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.' 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. 18 "And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear YHVH his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. -The Torah of the king says that when you go into the land you are going to ask for a king like the nations and when you do you may set a king over you etc. But when you go to an event where they do ask for a king, everybody acts surprised. -1Sam 8: 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to YHVH. 7 And YHVH said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them." -God said, they didn’t reject you they rejected me, give them what they ask for. We know this because the bible tells us so if we trust the text. After describing the monarchy in all its bad details see… -1Sam 8: 19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, "No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of YHVH. 22 And YHVH said to Samuel, "Obey their voice and make them a king." Samuel then said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city." -He told them all about the bad and they said, yes that’s what we want, and we’d love to have a king over us -1Sam 10: 25 Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before YHVH. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. -In English, you get the idea that Samuel wrote down the monarchy rules about the king and put them before YHVH, whatever that means. The bible is telling us that Samuel says he wrote it in the scroll and put it before YHVH. Samuel wrote the monarchy, the Torah of the King that is found in our current Book of Deuteronomy in Chapter 17:14-20. It was not known before until he wrote it. Everything in Chapter 17:1-13 is talking about Levites, then it interrupts itself and talks about the king, and then beginning in verse 21+ it’s talking about the Levites again. It’s an ancient cut and paste. This is telling us that Samuel wrote the Torah of the King. The Torah of the King belongs to a larger body of work in Deuteronomy 12 – 26 called the Law Code. -Deu 12: 8 "You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, 9 for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that YHVH your God is giving you. -This phrase is similar to what we see in Judges about everyone doing what was right in their own eyes. Similar to what’s found in Judges 17:6 and 21:5 which is associated with the monarchy. In Judges it said there was no king in Israel. If you had a king, you’d have this straight. Deuteronomy 12 sounds a little like that. The precise phrase, he will do what is upright in his eyes (Above, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes), occurs once in one other text and it has nothing to do with a remedy brought about by the monarchy, it’s something else. The writer of Judges says that if you have the human monarchy, this will be fixed. -Exo 15: 26 saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of YHVH your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am YHVH, your healer." -Doing what’s right in his own eyes can only be achieved when we harken to God’s voice, the monarchy is a cancellation of that. The writer of a pro-monarchy text is justifying a human monarchy where God says, this is the way, walk in it. -By playing close attention to the text of the bible, by trusting what it says, we can learn a lot about who wrote a given story, why they wrote it, the way that they did, and importantly we can even discern with some degree of certainty the time frame in which a certain text or story was written. It gives us clues. A lot of time the author tells us how it made it into its final form. A lot of times the author will say, at that time. That’s not the language of a contemporary writer. -Over time the family of Moses was disallowed the priesthood. Was it because of an association with idolatry? You could say, if what happened in Judges 17 and 18, if that’s an indication they’re going to act we’re going to throw them out. Really? What about the way Aaron acted at Sinai and build the golden calf? What about his two boys, Nadab and Abihu who bring strange smoke in the fire? Let’s be fair, why are the sons of Moses blotted out? -The sons of Moses born of his marriage to the daughter of this Midianite / Kenite priest were ultimately blotted out of the story. All we know, the only thing that was left after the excision, the knife of later scribes is that one time the descendants of Moses were priests in the Northern Kingdom and that the text describing the period of the Judges talks about this monarchal period by which time it was simply not allowed that Moses’ sons could be officiating as priests. The eldest son of Moses has one more thing to teach us – perhaps the greatest biblical truth when it comes to our relationship with other humans and that truth will be covered next week.

Shabbat Shalom, Shavua Tov, and may each of us do what is right in his eyes which is the original meaning of that text.

THIS WEEK IN TORAH JUNE 26, 2021 This week’s Torah Portion Balak: “Balak” (Numbers 22:1 – 25:9) Balak summons Balaam – Prophet of the nations, God’s permission, Balaam’s donkey and the angel, Balaam’s donkey speaks, Balaam’s first oracle (blessing), Balak’s anger, Balaam’s second oracle (blessing), Balak’s anger and further request, Balaam’s third oracle (blessing), Balaam’s final oracle (blessing), Balaam’s plot, Baal worship at Peor, Phinehas’s zealotry. “Shavua Tov" and Have a Great Week! “This Week in Torah” FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/571648826269105/

Balak – The Visions of Shaddai – Numbers 22:2 – 25:9 (An ancient prophecy from the Book of Micah; Israel is told to remember something – What was it; The evil plan of Balak – King of Moab; The answer given to him by a pagan seer – Balaam; How this call to remember has relevance for today; Discovering Israel’s secret through one who saw the Visions of Shaddai) July 4, 2015 – Ross Nichols Teaching Notes Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unitedisraelworldunion/permalink/125684009473 4342

(1) Honest to Moses – Class One (My Servants the Prophets; Moses the Servant of YHVH; Moses His Servant; Moses Your Servant; Moses My Servant – My Servant Moses; Moses will be for God – Aaron will be Your Mouthpiece; The Word Prophet is Rare in the Pentateuch; Do you Believe in Moses; Remembering Moses in the Latter Prophets; Isaiah – The Exodus from Egypt and the Division of the Waters; Micah – Moses in Association with Miriam and Aaron; Daniel – An Oath and a Curse; Malachi – Remember the Torah of Moses I Commanded at Horeb; The Memory / Role of Moses is Associated with the Servant of YHVH) May 8, 2021 – Ross Nichols Audio/Video Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/honest-to-moses-class-one/ Teaching Notes: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/wp- content/uploads/2021/05/2021.5.8-Honest-to-Moses-Class-One.pdf

(2) Honest to Moses – What’s in a Name – Class Two (Remembering Moses in the Latter Prophets; Exodus / Shemot – These are the Names; The Birth of a Child; Tevah – The Basket of Moses & The Ark of Noah; Sargon the Akkad; Pharaoh’s Daughter Takes Pity on the Child; The Book Called Names is Missing Names; Translation vs. Transliteration; Moses vs. Drew and the Hebrew Pun; He Drew Me Out of Many Waters; Son of / Born of an Unknown Father; The Child Grew Up; When YHVH Called, Moses & David Responded – Who Am I; Mosheh is Both Hebrew and Egyptian) May 15, 2021 – Ross Nichols Audio/Video Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/honest-to-moses-whats-in-a- name-class-two/ Teaching Notes Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/wp- content/uploads/2021/05/2021.5.15-Honest-to-Moses-Whats-in-a-Name-Class- Two.pdf

(3) Honest to Moses – The Family of Moses – Class Three (Do You Believe in Moses; What Does the Bible Say About Moses; Myth and Legend vs. the Texts of the Hebrew Bible; Faith Should be Informed by Fact; What do We Know About the Family of Moses; Initially, Moses is the Only Name we Get; Amram Marries His Father’s Sister Jochebed and Bore Aaron and Moses; Amram – a Levite From the House of Levi; Jochebed – Daughter of Levi; How Many Children do Amram and Jochebed Have; Miriam the Prophetess; Aaron Your Brother – The Levite; A General Idea of Brothers; Who are Shubael and Jehdeiah; Why Does the Book of Deuteronomy Treat Aaron Differently) May 29, 2021 – Ross Nichols Audio/Video Links: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/honest-to-moses-the-family- of-moses-class-three/ Teaching Notes Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/wp- content/uploads/2021/05/2021.5.29-Honest-to-Moses-The-Family-of-Moses-Class- Three.pdf

(4) Honest to Moses – The Levitical Link – Class Four (Moses – a Descendant of Levi; God Sees and Hears Leah’s Plea; Hebrew Names Mean Something – Reuben(See), Simeon (Hear), and Levi (Connect); Dinah and Shechem; Assemble Yourselves Sons of ; Simeon and Levi – Scattered and Landless; Levi, Kohath, and Amram; Foreigners Who Attach Themselves to YHVH; Levi (Lamed-Vav-Yod) vs. Levah (Lamed-Vav-Heh) – An Alliteration; The Levitical Link; Examples of Levitical Names with Egyptian Origins; An Interesting Connection Between the Levites and Egypt; Burning Questions) June 5, 2021 – Ross Nichols Audio/Video Links: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/honest-to-moses-the- levitical-link-class-four/ Teaching Notes Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/wp- content/uploads/2021/06/2021.6.5-Honest-to-Moses-The-Levitical-Link-Class- Four.pdf

(5) Honest to Moses – The Midianite Mystery – Class Five (Egyptian Influence in the Hebrew Text; Moses and Joseph as Human Saviors; Rags to Riches and Marrying Foreign Wives; How Long did the People of Israel Live in the Land of Egypt; Who are the People of the Land; Mistaken as Egyptians; Heavy of Tongue; Moses’ Father-in-Law – One Man Three Names – Ruel, Jethro, and Hobab; The Kenite Connection; The Mountain of God; The Sons of Keturah – Midian; Moses Returns to Egypt; Gershom and Eliezer; Moses’ Family Reunion; Jethro – Blessed be YHVH – Now I Know That YHVH is Greater Than All Gods; The Midianite Connection into and out of the Land of Egypt) June 12, 2021 – Ross Nichols Audio/Video Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/honest-to-moses-the- midianite-mystery-class-five/ Teaching Notes Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/wp- content/uploads/2021/06/2021.6.12-Honest-to-Moses-The-Midianite-Mystery-Class- Five.pdf

(6) Honest to Moses – The Kenite Key – Class Six (Tracking the Family of Moses; The Levitical Link; Moses Flees the Land of Egypt and Meets the Midianites; Who is the Cushite Woman; The Habakkuk Poem; Geographic Markers; Tent Cloths / Flaps; The Tents of Cushan; The Midianite Kenites; Dwellers in Tents; Path Walkers / Masters and Winding Roads; Jael – The Wife of Heber the Kenite; Moses’ Father-in-Law, The Kenite; Dwellers in Cliffs; God Tells Moses to Go Back to Egypt; Where is the Mountain of God; Jethro’s Advice; The Kenites Association with the House of Rechab; YHVH of Teman) June 19, 2021 – Ross Nichols Audio/Video Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/honest-to-moses-the-kenite-key-class-six/ Teaching Notes Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/wp- content/uploads/2021/06/2021.6.19-Honest-to-Moses-The-Kenite-Key-Class-Six.pdf

UIWU ANNOUNCEMENT: The Moses Scroll book release date of 8 March 2021 was purposely chosen. Moses Shapira died on 8 March 1884, and as far as we know, the last public sighting of his scroll was 8 March 1889. It seemed apropos to share the scroll anew with the world on that same fateful day. https://themosesscroll.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Moses-Scroll-Ross-K-Nichols/dp/1736613405/?pldnSite=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iud2k6HwTL4&t=16s https://www.facebook.com/themosesscroll/videos/535074677630755

UPCOMING EVENTS -Blossoming Rose Israel Tours (2021): https://blossomingrose.org/ -Walking the Ancient Paths – (2022): Tabor – Nichols Israel Tour March 4-15, 2022; https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/israel-tours/; https://blossomingrose.org/2022- walking-the-ancient-paths/ -UNCC Mt. Zion Archaeological Project, Dig Mt. Zion (2022): June/July 2022; https://digmountzion.uncc.edu/, https://www.facebook.com/groups/digmountzion/ -Accessible Adventure Israel Tour – (2022): Nichols – Young; October 17 – 27, 2022; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyUGXC4fUvU & https://blossomingrose.org/accessible-adventure-israel-tour-2022/

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FRIENDS OF UNITED ISRAEL WORLD UNION -Blossoming Rose, Official Curator of UI Biblical Tamar Park, Dr. DeWayne Coxson: https://blossomingrose.org/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/97078180601/?ref=group_browse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLCdRzFRy90 (Biblical Tamar – 7 Periods) https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=biblical+tamar+park+israel -Kol Yehuda, Facebook United 2 Restore, Israeli Tour Guide, Hanoch Young: https://www.kolyehuda.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/470824226357829/ https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hanoch+young+israel -Truth2U, Tanakh Tours, The Kingdom Chronicles, Talk Radio Host, Jono Vandor: https://www.truth2u.org/author/admin/ https://truth2u.org/category/james-tabor/ (Gleanings from Genesis, with Tabor/Nichols) https://truth2u.org/2021/01/15/the-moses-scroll-a-new-book-by-ross-k-nichols/ https://israelnewstalkradio.com/news-anchor-jono-vandor/ https://www.facebook.com/Truth2Uorg-116835708352238 -Film Director, Producer, Freelance Journalist, Author, Simcha Jacobovici: https://www.facebook.com/groups/57979546982/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simcha_Jacobovici https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Simcha+Jacobovici -Archaeologist, Professor of Practice at UNCC, Dr. Shimon Gibson: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shimon+gibson https://history.uncc.edu/people/dr-shimon-gibson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Gibson -Nehemia’s Wall, Uncovering Ancient Hebrew Sources of Faith, Nehemia Gordan https://www.nehemiaswall.com/; https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nehemia+gordan