White-Washed Stones

In this week's Torah portion, in the 27th chapter of Deuteronomy, we find an astonishing picture:
"Moses and the elders of Israel cmmanded the people: 'Keep all these commands that I give you today. When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. Write on them all the words of this Torah when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you; a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord the God of your fathers, promised you. And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mt. Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with white plaster." Moses continues in verse 8: "And you shall write very clearly all the words of this Torah on these stones you have set up."

Why Mt. Ebal? Why white plaster? Why would they need to write Torah (God's commandments and instructions) again on these stones and use them to build an altar there?

Back in Deut. 11:29 Moses tells the Israelites: "When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are to possess, you are to proclaim on Mt. Gerazim the blessings, and on Mt. Ebal the curses." So, from this passage we understand that Mt. Ebal represents the mountain of curses (which means proclaiming all the curses that will come upon the Israelites if they disobey their God and turn away from Him).

We too are Israelites. We too lie under the curses of Yahweh for our disobedience. But let's return to today's portion in Deuteronomy 29. There we see the Israelites "white-washing" some stones, writing Torah on them, and using these stones to COVER over the mountain of curses! Beloved, do you see the beautiful, astonishing prophetic picture they are painting? It is a picture of YOU who are in Messiah!

Revelation 2:17: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."

A white stone with a new name written on it! This is a picture of the RENEWED COVENANT - RENEWED IN MESSIAH YESHUA! In Joshua chapter 8 the Israelites fulfill this command (Joshua 8:30): "then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded the Israelites." On top of the "mountain of curses" they placed white-washed stones with a new name written on them. What was this new name? Who wrote the Torah with His finger upon stone and gave it to the children of Israel on Mt. Sinai? Who IS the incarnate Torah, who came to earth in human form and lived it perfectly, teaching us to follow His example? Who IS the only One who covers (literally atones for) our sins, covers over the curses on us, washes us white in His blood, and then writes His Torah and His Name upon our hearts? YESHUA! HalleluYah!

I pray that as we come very close to the Fall Feasts - the day of Yom Teruah (blowing of the shofars), followed closely by Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) that you will stay in God's Word, and meditate upon this awesome picture of your atonement - the Covenant Yahweh made with His people, and then gloriously renewed through Messiah Yeshua. I pray that you will allow Him to do a cleansing work in you during this season of repentance and renewal. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal your sin to you, white-wash you with His cleansing blood, and then write His Torah (your new name!) on your heart! (See Ezekiel 36:26).

You stand as a white-washed stone with a mountain of curses UNDER YOUR FEET! Rejoice!

The Martha Correction

Yesterday I finally received the "Martha Correction." I'm sure I've needed it for some time, but yesterday my Papa could not take it any longer, and He intervened to show me what He really meant when He corrected His beloved, busy friend Martha and pulled her out of the kitchen!

It was one of those days that you know is going to remain vividly alive in your memory for years and years to come. It was a day that should have been profoundly sad by the world's standards. It was a day to attend the funeral of one of my dearest friend's son. This 51-year-old man had committed suicide, leaving behind a wife and two teenage sons, and a large, shocked, grieving family. Through the slide show of pictures and the many amazing eulogies I soon discovered this was a Christian man with a big heart, surrounded by hundreds who deeply loved him. He left a note saying "Gambling destroyed my life." The enemy thought he had won.

But what struck me throughout the day was that no one wanted to leave. At the graveside, the pastor twice asked the people to go on and return to the church and enjoy a meal. Some left, but we five women who had come down to support and comfort our sister, just stayed. We stayed to keep our arms around her and her daughters. We stayed to prolong the moment where people fully realize their deep, abiding need for one another. We stayed to enter into that community of believers who do not need words to communicate, but just mingled tears and linked arms. We stayed to show the enemy that not even this could separate us from the love of our Messiah Yeshua, who wept at His own friend's grave, and then raised him to life. Martha was there at that graveside of her brother Lazarus - and as the day progressed, I realized I've become too much like her again!

We returned to the church and enjoyed a good meal and much uplifting conversation, but I kept looking at my watch. At this point all I could think of was my kitchen, left unattended since I cooked dinner for two friends on Thursday night. I had worked all day Friday, and then entered into the Sabbath Rest in the home of good friends. Now it was getting near sundown! The Sabbath would be over, and I desperately needed to get home and clean up a filthy kitchen, so that on Sunday I could record a radio broadcast for Israeli Radio, and finish the teachings and music I'm preparing for two soon-coming women's retreats. I became almost frantic thinking of all I really needed to do in the next 24 hours!

It was then that one of the women in our little group of five asked us all to come over to her home. Quickly I responded, "Oh, I'm sorry, but I must get home to clean my filthy kitchen!" I saw the disappointment cloud her eyes. I saw the trace of tears that inadvertently spilled out; but she graciously said, "Oh, well, that's okay." The four of us that rode down together got into the car. And then I heard His voice: "Martha, Martha! Get out of the kitchen! Come. Mary has chosen the better part." I ran over to Chris' car to tell her we would come to her home. The rest of the story is so precious I can barely find words to explain it. Going through a devastating family crisis, she was greatly in need of comfort and prayer. Now together the five of us went to battle in prayer for her family, and we prayed it through until we felt the victory in the Spirit. Then she served up the most tantalizingly delicious Asian soup we could ever imagine, and we sat in her 14th floor Denver apartment and fellowshipped together, watching the glorious, almost-full moon rise over the city.

I thought about my dirty kitchen and how foolish that had been. I am sitting here right now, writing this blog, thinking about my dirty kitchen, because it is still there! "Oh, Martha, Martha, forget the kitchen. The part Mary has chosen is to be with Me, spend time with Me, fellowship with Me, learn from Me, love on Me." Thank you for the reminder, Lord. We five women loved on You all day by loving on one another. The dirty dishes can wait.

Gustav Followed by Hannah

Like many in our nation, I was very concerned that Gustav would bring much greater devastation. The name Gustav means, literally, "staff of God." In my spirit I felt that the staff of God was surely heading toward our land to bring the staff, or the rod, of correction. While Americans were distracted by all the hoopla of a politician receiving the accolades and worship of his adoring fans in his mock Greek temple (which by the way bore a striking resemblance to the Temple of Pergamum - see Rev. 2:12-16), Condoleeza Rice once again met with Olmert and Abbas in Israel in a secret meeting intended to finally push through the "Roadmap to Hell" that divides the Land (including Jerusalem). None of the media picked up the story of this meeting - but it did not escape the watchful eye of the Holy One of Israel. He who keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!


Every time America pushes the division of the land in Israel, a natural disaster quickly follows upon our own soil. Yet, Gustav did not bring the devastation we expected. And Gustav (staff of God) is followed closely by Hannah. So, what does Hannah mean in the Hebrew? It means "favor of God" or "grace." This is really a wondrous thing when you look at it in the Spirit. The rod of God is always followed by the grace of God isn't it? Gustav, followed by Hannah, is spoken of in Hosea 6:1: "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds." The purpose of God's staff - or rod of correction - is always, always to call us to return to Him. And being in God's favor does not always look to us as we might have expected.


When Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, He was in God's favor. When he was unustly thrown into prison, he was in God's favor. How could this be? Because all these things had to happen in order for Joseph's ultimate destiny in God's plan to be fulfilled. Even in the midst of slavery, sorrow and imprisonment He was being used as an instrument of God's glory, and in the end he was promoted to second command in all of Egypt - a position that allowed him to store grain for the famine and ultimately save all 70 of God's chosen people, the 12 tribes of Israel.


Gustav (God's staff) comes to us in ways we cannot understand, but it is always followed by Hannah (God's grace and favor). Tonight I think of my friend Pat in Minnesota who is battling cancer. The words of her mouth speak God's praise in the midst of her battle and she gives Him glory. I think of my friend Patty in Florida, who is in financial crisis and now rendered immobile by an accident. In our many phone conversations, she tells how she recognizes God's staff in her life, all the while refusing to give up, knowing that His grace is still with her. And I think of Danny, who attends my weekly Bible studies. He has waited a long, long time for a liver transplant, and is still waiting for red tape and bureaucracy to slowly grind away. In the midst of his Gustav, he sees glimpses of his Hannah, and knows that he walks in God's favor despite - and perhaps because of - his suffering. I can still see his bloated, jaundiced body in front of me as we all read together from Romans 8:23: "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."


Groaning in the midst of Gustav, we wait eagerly for our Hannah - the ultimate redemption of our bodies, transformed by God's grace.