In Ancient Footsteps - Elul 2009 #2

Empowering the Believer with Biblical Answers
for the Spirit, Soul & Body

New Moon sighted over Jerusalem 8-22-09

This evening, Sunday, 8-23-09 begins the 2nd day of the month of Elul according to the sighting of the new moon by various 'watchers' in Israel.

Begin this evening by reading Psalm 27 in the twilight of the emerging new moon and then blow a blast of awakening on the shofar (if you don't have a shofar, make a loud noise!) and rejoice for your redemption draws near!

As the day draws to a close and the hustle and bustle of the day's activities wind down, take a few minutes to reflect on the day's happenings and consider all that transpired during the day. Your journey of self-evaluation and examination has just begun, but I know that already you are feeling 'different' somehow. Ask yourself a few questions, such as:  'How could you have handled certain situations in a more positive light? What happened today that inspired you and helped you grow closer to the Messiah?'  Is there anything that you would change?

If possible, relax for a time under the rising moon and the canopy of the night's stars and allow your mind to drift back and forth over the events of the day - determining areas that need attention in your life.  If you haven't started your journal yet, it's never too late! Start now by jotting down in your journal or notebook these three headings and then think about what you would like to accomplish in each category. Then write below each heading specific ideas on how to accomplish your goals.

• You and Other People
• You and Your Circumstances
• You and Yahovah

Each day, spend a few moments reviewing those topics and then incorporate them into your daily writings in your journal. You will be amazed at how much you will glean from writing things down! Your life will take on new meaning, you will view things in a different light and you will draw even closer to the Father of us all.

In our previous email, we talked about the land and how even though we may lay claim to that 'piece of land' that we hold a mortgage on - truly in the end it is not our own. Everything belongs to the King of Kings and in the end, all will return to Him as well. And, if we hold steadfast to the scriptures, the piece of land that we should want... resides in the land of Israel!

Now, this evening, let's move on to the 'home'.  This is an area that actually can cause us a lot more difficulty as we explore the various rooms within our house. Not only are their physical rooms but there are spiritual rooms as well. Each 'room' is compartmentalized into various boxes and closets and cubby holes. We have a room for our computer - complete with desks, cabinets, writing tools, paper and on and on.  This is where we hope to accomplish our work - whether it be a paid job, or just answering email and getting information on google. When we enter this room, we tend to put on our 'work' hat.

Then we have bedrooms - where we wrap ourselves in the solitude and quiet and pray for rest for our bodies and soul. This is our refuge - our sanctuary - where we turn off, turn out and unwind. This room also holds a place for us to reflect on the day's happenings and to go over events in our mind. It is a time when many of us pray and seek the guidance of our heavenly Father on matters from the urgent to the mundane.

Then there are the communal rooms - the kitchen, the living room, the dining room. These room are for sharing and for giving and taking. The kitchen is usually known as the 'gathering' place for many families and many a good story, or heartbreak, or retelling of events happens within these four walls each and every day. The kitchen is known as a 'safe' place, a warm place and a place where you can retreat and find comfort and consul. The other rooms are simply extensions of the kitchen in varying degrees.

Now, you ask, why do I bring these rooms up? Well, these rooms actually are an extension of ourselves. Each of us has within ourselves these and maybe one or two other rooms where we go each day. We compartmentalize our lives to resemble that which we are familiar with - and that we can see and touch. How many times during the ay do you retreat within yourself (bedroom) so that you can be alone, rest, and regroup? How many times during the day do you put yourself into a frame of mind to be strictly 'business-like'? Or, how about your kitchen atmosphere - when you are warm and comforting to others and are the host/hostess in all that you do? We are products of what we keep around us - what we know. Some good...some not so good.

 So now is the time to spend a few minutes and examine the rooms in which your soul resides. It is time to clean house, do a little dusting, mop the floors, take out the trash. Go through each room of your individuality and examine that room for the clutter of bitterness, for scraps of critical paper that need to be picked up and discarded, for the unforgiveness or bitterness that hides in the corner and to thoroughly clean up! Take out the garbage, tidy up and allow yourself to breathe anew!

To be continued tomorrow....

The olive tree is very sturdy, not easily uprooted or killed, thrives in dry or wet weather and can live for hundreds of years.  On the Mount of Olives there are olive trees that are said to be over 2000 years old. At the base of the tree, shoots grow out of the base and are called in Hebrew 'notzir'. The shoots protect the trunk of the tree as well as the begins the next generation of tree.

The olive tree is a beautifully decorate but gnarled type of evergreen tree with silver green leaves all year round. The fruit of the tree bears constantly and the leaves continuously grow as leaves wither and fall. The oil from the olive has been a staple of exportation in the ancient lands of the bible from the time of the Patriachs. If you read  1 Kings 5:11  you will see that Solomon gave pressed olive oil to Hiram of Lebanon in return for cedar and cypress logs for building the Temple of the Lord. King David and King Solomon took very seriously the safety of the olive groves and the precious olive oil.

During biblical times, the method of harvesting olives was to hit the tree with sticks and as the olives fell from the trees, some oil would be gathered on the sheets that had been placed on the ground. This oil is what is called in the bible as the 'beaten oil' and was used for the menorah that was in the Tabernacle.

Later, after the beaten oil had been gathered, the rest of the olives were then crushed with a stone. The cpupl was then gathered into various bags and baskets and brought to the olive press. Heavy stones were then placed directly onto the bags of pulp and a beam was lowered onto the weight. After waiting for a tme, the oil extracted during this method was given to the Cohanim, the priests. The next rendering was after more weight was placed onto the bags and left for several hours. This pressing was then used for food and cooking; the next pressing, with the stone left even longer, was used for lamps  and a final pressing with the stone left for 8 or more hours was used for soap and ointments.

We are to be like the olive oil and the tree. Think on the above for a while and determine which pressing your 'oil' fits into. Do you bear fruit each year? Do you give your first fruits to Yahweh, or do you keep it ourself? Are you a light in the darkness? What other ways can you think of oil in comparison to your own walk?