Tag: sons of God

The Divine Council

Please read John 10:31-39, Genesis 11, Deuteronomy 4:15-20, 32:1-12, Psalm 82 & Psalm 89:1-8

Yeshua had one last interaction with the Jewish religious leaders during the winter festival of Hanukkah. There, in the Temple, in the sheltered area of Solomon’s porch, the Light of the World taught the people as the religious leaders surrounded Him, attempting to intimidate Him, ensuring He had no means of escape when they questioned His divinity claims:

The Jews surrounded him. They asked him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” John 10:24ESV

Yeshua’s answer finished with the declaration: “The Father and I are One” and in response…

31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 

32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 
33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 

Yeshua’s reply in quoting from Psalm 82 basically declared “I am not only a man.” As in so many other times in scripture, Yeshua did not restrict Himself to answering their question, but stuck to His agenda of teaching the people why they could have complete confidence in Him and His mission.

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?  If He called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of Him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?  If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father.” 
 Again they sought to arrest Him, but He escaped from their hands.
John 10:31-39 ESV

Remember, Yeshua was speaking to men who had the scriptures memorized and spent their days debating their meaning and applications. So, He would say part of a verse and expect them to instantly think of the whole passage and all other related passages. This time He quoted from Psalm 82, letting them know that He belongs to the divine realm and the Father had sent Him down from the divine council to inherit all the nations.

God has taken His place in the divine council;
    in the midst of the gods He holds judgment:
“How long will you judge unjustly
    and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
    maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
 Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
    they walk about in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”
Arise, O God, judge the earth;
    for You shall inherit all the nations!
Psalm 82:1-8 ESV

Yeshua’s answer in quoting from Psalm 82 implied a rabbinic style kal v’chomer (light and heavy) argument: if A is true then B must all the more so be true. If it is hard to lift a big rock it is so much harder to lift a huge boulder. If even these members of the divine council who were doing evil works as they judged unjustly are “elohim” (gods), how much more is Yeshua who does good works; and if these spirits which do evil works are “sons of the Most High“, how much more does the description “Son of God” apply to Yeshua who does the good works of His Father!

WHAT IS THE DIVINE COUNCIL?
The scriptures often use imagery of the natural in order to describe the supernatural. Thus, God’s throne room is described in terms of a king’s court, with the king’s sons (who would inherit the throne after he was gone) being the second tier of leadership and whomever the king called for each session being present to witness, discuss and receive orders to carry out his decrees. In this imagery, the term “divine council” refers to the heavenly host, the administrative body of divine beings (elohim) in the heavenly realm who manage the affairs of the cosmos under God’s authority. Yahweh is the Most High, the king of the universe and head of the divine council. He has created spiritual children in His likeness (elohim) and earthly children in His likeness (mankind). While Yahweh has no need of either, He is totally self-sufficient, yet He delights to have His creation work with Him on His projects. So, He has chosen to delegate some of His authority to elohim in the heavenly realm, and to humans in the earthly realm in order to carry out His will.

ELOHIM: The word (יםלהֹא / elohim), which is translated as God or gods in English, refers to a divine being or beings, that is, residents of the heavenly (spiritual) realm. In Hebrew, plurals of masculine nouns end with -im. While the word elohim is plural in form, its meaning can be either plural or singular just like the word “sheep” in English can be either plural or singular depending on the surrounding grammar. Most often (over 2,000 times) in the Hebrew Bible elohim is singular, referring to the unique Most High God of Israel, Yahweh. However, elohim is also used in the plural to refer to any other inhabitants of the spiritual realm – members of Yahweh‘s heavenly council (Psalm 82:1,6), gods and goddesses of other nations (Judges 11:24, 1 Kings 11:33), angels (Psalm 8:5) and demons (Hebrew: shedim Deuteronomy 32:17).

Yahweh stands above all the other elohim, there is none like Him! “Who is like you among the gods [elim], Yahweh?” (Exod. 15:11) “‘What god [el] is there in the heaven or on the earth who can do according to Your works and according to Your mighty deeds?’ ” (Deut. 3:24) “O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god [elohim] like You in the heavens above or on the earth beneath” (1 Kgs. 8:23). “For You, O Yahweh, are Most High over all the earth. You are highly exalted above all gods [elohim]” (Psalm 97:9). Yahweh alone is all-powerful (Jer. 32:17, 27; Pss. 72:18; 115:3); sovereign king over the other elohim (Psa. 95:3; Dan. 4:35; 1 Kgs. 22:19); creator of all, including the other members of the divine council (Psa. 148:1–5; Neh. 9:6; cf. Job 38:7; Deut. 4:19–20; 17:3; 29:25–26; 32:17; Jas. 1:17); and the only Elohim who deserves worship from the other elohim (Psa. 29:1).

SONS OF GOD: The scriptures depict the spiritual realm as having a hierarchical structure. Yahweh is God and supreme authority over all. A second tier of lesser elohim in the divine council are also called sons of God (beney ha’elohim, or beney elohim) or sons of the Most High (beney elyon). In the Tanakh the term sons of God always refers to elohim (spirit beings). Genesis 6:2,4 describes some of these sons of God sinning. Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7 describes Satan (the adversary) coming among the sons of God to stand before Yahweh and discuss the deeds of men. Job 38:7 describes the sons of God shouting with joy when Yahweh laid the foundation of the earth. Deuteronomy 32:8 describes God’s judgment involving dividing up the peoples and allocating them to the sons of God when He confused their languages at the Tower of Babel. In Psalm 82:6 Yahweh calls the elohim He is addressing sons of the Most High when rebuking them for unrighteous rule over man.

In the New Testament sons of God always refers to Yeshua‘s followers (Matthew 5:9, Luke 20:36 and Romans 8:14 & 19) – in Christ we have been elevated to this exalted position in the Kingdom of Heaven (Do you not know that we will judge angels? 1 Corinthians 6:3).

ANGELS: Although angel strictly means messenger, the word is often used more generically in referring to spiritual beings, including the sons of God. The Septuagint, first translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek (dated around the middle of the third century BC), translated the Hebrew terms
מלאך אלהים (mal’āk̠ ‘ĕlōhîm; “messenger of God“), מלאך יהוה (mal’āk̠ Yahweh; “messenger of the LORD“), בני אלהים (bənē ‘ĕlōhîm; “sons of God“) and הקודשים (haqqôd̠əšîm; “the holy ones“) to the Greek ángelos, which is translated as angels in English. This rendering was generally carried through into the New Testament.

WATCHERS: The term for “watcher” is from Aramaic, one of the few times in the Tanakh that Aramaic is used instead of Hebrew.  It is only used in reference to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 4. ‘I was looking in the visions in my head as I lay on my bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven. … “This edict is by the resolution of the watchers, and the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know that the Most High is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes and sets up over it the lowliest of men.” Daniel 4:13, 17 LSB. Noncanonical second temple Jewish literature such as Enoch and Jubilees elaborate in detail regarding the watchers and equate them with the sons of God who produced children with the daughters of men in Genesis 6.

ARCHANGEL: There is only one archangel named in Scripture: Michael. He is mentioned in Jude 1:9. The voice of the archangel is heard in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, with no mention of his name.  In Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12:1, Michael is described as an angelic prince. Revelation 12:7 describes war between Michael and his angels and the devil and angels, suggesting that Michael’s role included leading other angels in warfare.

SERAPHIM:  (singular seraph) means “fiery” or “bright.” We see them in Isaiah 6:1–4: “I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.”

CHERUBIM: (singular cherub) are mentioned numerous times in Scripture, often in relation to guarding the place of God’s presence. After Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden, cherubim were placed there to guard the entrance (Genesis 3:24). The likeness of two cherubim adorned the cover of the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:18 –20; 37:7 –9; 1 Samuel 4:4) and there were many representations of cherubim in the temple (Exodus 25:17-22; 26:1, 31; 36:8; 1 Kings 6:23-35; 7:29-36; 8:6-7; 1 Chronicles 28:18; 2 Chronicles 3:7-14; 2 Chronicles 3:10-13; 5:7-8; Hebrews 9:5). David sings a song of praise to God in which he says that God “mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind” (2 Samuel 22:11). When Ezekiel sees the glory of God leaving the temple, he also sees cherubim carrying the throne of God (Ezekiel 10). In verse 14, the cherubim are described as having four faces, those of a cherub, a human being, a lion, and an eagle. Prior to his rebellion, Satan was a guardian cherub (Ezekiel 28:12-15).

We see evidence of the divine council‘s operation in Job 1:6-12 (Now it was the day that the sons of God came to stand before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them. And Yahweh said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” Then Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” And Satan answered Yahweh and said, “Does Job fear God without cause? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But send forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Then Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand, only do not send forth your hand toward him.” So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh.), Job 2:1-7 (Again it was the day that the sons of God came to stand before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them to stand himself before Yahweh. And Yahweh said to Satan, “Where do you come from?” Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” And Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity. So you incited Me against him to swallow him up in vain.” Satan answered Yahweh and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. However, send forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You in Your face.” So Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, only spare his life.” Then Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh…), 1 Kings 22:19-22 (Then Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh. I saw Yahweh sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. And Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. Then a spirit came forward and stood before Yahweh and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall entice him and also prevail. Go out and do so.’), Nehemiah 9:6 (You alone are Yahweh. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down to You.), Daniel 7:9-10 & 13-14 (“I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His clothing was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with fire, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened.… “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and came near before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not be taken away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.”)and in Psalm 82, which begins: “God (יםלהֹא / elohim) stands in the council of El/the divine council (לת־אדע ); among the gods (יםלהֹא / elohim) He passes judgment.” Psalm 89:5-7, places the God of Israel “in the assembly of the holy ones” (להקב יםשֹדק) and then asks “For who in the clouds (קחשב) can be compared to Yahweh? Who is like Yahweh among the sons of God (יםלא יֵנב), a God (יםלהֹא / elohim) greatly feared in the council of the holy ones (יםשֹדוד־קֹסב).”

SATAN, DEMONS AND FALLEN ANGELS: To understand who and what these are and where they came from, we need to go back to Genesis. This book of beginnings describes three rebellions against God that included both spiritual and earthly actors and affected all humanity before God entered into covenant with Abraham. Through inciting such rebellion, Satan sort to destroy God’s plans of having people display His splendor and rule the earth with Him, gradually extending the Garden of Eden out to cover all the earth. From the third of these rebellions came the situation addressed in Psalm 82, where elohim who had been set over the nations were being rebuked for ruling the people unjustly.

FIRST REBELLION – THE FALL Genesis 3
God created Heavenly beings, elohim, before He laid the foundations of the earth. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? … When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” Job 38:4-7 Like man, they were given free will but, unlike man, they are eternal beings that cannot pro-create with one another (Matt. 22:30, Mark 12:25, Luke 20:35-36), each is God’s direct creation. The first of these elohim to rebel was an anointed guardian cherub manifested as a serpent in the Garden of Eden and tempted Eve, and through her, Adam, to likewise rebel against their creator. All of us are descended from these rebels.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. Genesis 1:26-29 ESV

… the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his  nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.  And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed.  And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.  …  The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:7-10, 15-17 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 
 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 
 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 
 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;  thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.  He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:1-24 ESV

The Garden of Eden was the center of God’s governance over the earth, it was the place where the divine and earthly realms joined. It was God’s temple (dwelling place) on earth and God had assigned Adam and Eve to tend and care for His earthly habitation and to multiply so they could extend this garden, and their representation of His reign, over all the earth.

Before God created everything on earth, He created spiritual beings (elohim) in heaven (the spiritual realm). One of these chose to rebel against God and seek to rule over this new creation of His. Through deception this serpent accused God of lying and enticed Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil. Ezekiel alludes to this rebellion in his diatribe against the prince of Tyre:“You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God […] you were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones” (28:12–14). In the temple God had these guardian cherubs depicted as part of the ark of the covenant, being made of beaten gold, and therefore were with it anointed, and were very large, and covered the mercy-seat with their wings.  Later in the oracle, Ezekiel tells us of this guardian cherub developing a pride problem and being punished and cast to the earth: “So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings“ (28:16-17). He who had been so beautiful, important and close to God was now cast out of the Divine Council and banished from God’s glorious presence. Isaiah likewise compared the arrogant king of Babylon to a particularly ambitious divine being who attempted a coup in the Divine Council: How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations. You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit (14:12-15 ESV). Genesis 3 describes this punishment as: “You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life”. The nachash [Hebrew word translated “serpent” in our Bible], who wanted to be ‘most high,’ was cast to ʾerets, a Hebrew term that can refer literally to the dirt and metaphorically to the underworld. This rebel was cast away from God and His Divine Council, down to earth, and even under the earth. His domain is death and thus he reigns over all who are destined to die. This fallen guardian cherub became the arch enemy of life, love and truth. Although Satan had won a temporary victory over the woman, God declared that her seed (offspring) will crush his head in utter victory.

SECOND REBELLION – UNHOLY UNIONS Genesis 6
So it was that the second rebellion involved an attack on “the seed of the woman” as some of the “sons of God” (angels) left their holy abode, clothed themselves in flesh, took “daughters of men” and produced hybrid offspring with them.

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 
 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in (or My Spirit shall not contend with) man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 
(warning 120 yrs until all would be destroyed by the flood)
The Nephilim (giants) were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.  So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:1-8 ESV

So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Numbers 13: 32-33 ESV

And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.’  (It is also counted as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim—  a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they dispossessed them and settled in their place,  as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. …  “Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.  But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’  So the Lord our God gave into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people, and we struck him down until he had no survivor left.  And we took all his cities at that time—there was not a city that we did not take from them—sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.  All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages.  And we devoted them to destruction, as we did to Sihon the king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every city, men, women, and children.  But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as our plunder.  So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, while the Amorites call it Senir), all the cities of the tableland and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.  (For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits (A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters) was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.) Deuteronomy 2:19-22, 3:1-11 ESV

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but held them captive in Tartarus with chains of darkness and handed them over to be kept for judgment, and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a proclaimer of righteousness, and seven others when He brought a flood on the world of the ungodly… 2 Peter 2:4-10

… And the angels who did not keep to their own domain but deserted their proper dwelling place, He has kept in eternal bonds under deep gloom for the judgment of the great day… Jude 5-7

Not only were the hybrid offspring born of these unions’ violent giants (Genesis 6:2-4, Enoch 6:1-4 & 7:2-6), but what men learnt from the “sons of God” led to “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). The Torah doesn’t say anything specific about this wickedness, but early Jewish interpretation fills in the gaps with an entire cycle of stories regarding these angels and their sinful behavior, stories that both Peter and Jude alluded to in their epistles. The earliest work addressing pre-flood angelic sin is the Book of the Watchers (250-200 BCE), which now makes up chapters 1-36 of the book of 1 Enoch. 1 Enoch 7:1 has the angels teaching humans charms and spells to facilitate disloyalty to Yahweh, then Enoch 8:1-2 describes an angel teaching men how to make weapons of war, thus facilitating human’s self-destruction, and lustful adornment thus facilitating impiety, fornication and corruption. Whereas the surrounding nations viewed such knowledge as the cornerstone of their civilization, the Jews recognized it’s destructive nature.

Genesis 6:4 pointedly informs readers that the Nephilim were on earth before the Flood “and also afterward.” Although the flood wiped out the Nephilim and devastating evil of the peoples at that time, it appears that a smaller number of angels came down and produced offspring at some time after the flood and these continued to pro-create. Numbers 13:32-33, states that the oversized descendants of Anak “came from the Nephilim.” The sons of Anak, the Anakim, were one of the giant clans described in the conquest narratives (e.g., Deuteronomy 2:10–11, 320-21, 3:1-11; Joshua 11:21–22; 14:12, 15). It is worth noting that the only peoples the Israelites were commanded to destroy were those who contained descendants of the Nephilim, Moses and Joshua destroyed all of these except for those who went and hid among the Philistines, and David killed the last of these, cleansing the earth.

ORIGIN OF DEMONS
According to the Jewish interpretation prominent in the second temple period, the Nephilim and their descendants had all been killed but their spirits, deriving from immortal heavenly beings (the angels), could not be destroyed, nor return to heaven. They remain connected to earth as evil spirits, wreaking havoc among humankind and causing both physical evil (such as disease) and moral evil (sin):
And now the giants who were born from spirits and flesh will be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth will be their dwelling.  And evil spirits came out from their flesh because from above they were created; from the holy Watchers was their origin and first foundation. Evil spirits they will be on the earth, and spirits of the evil ones they will be called.  And the dwelling of the spirits of heaven is in heaven, but the dwelling of the spirits of earth, who were born on the earth, [is] on earth.  And the spirits of the giants . . . which do wrong and are corrupt, and attack and fight and break on the earth, and cause sorrow; and they eat no food and do not thirst, and are not observed.  And these spirits will rise against the sons of men and against the women because they came out [from them]. (1 Enoch 7:8-12)
This story is developed further in the Book of Jubilees, and is reflected in Qumran prayer and incantations that deride the “bastards,” that is, the evil spirits who are the result of the illicit union of angels and human women (as in 4Q510-511, 4Q444, and 11Q11 V.5-11).

GENESIS 6 Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark … 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. …22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
GENESIS 7 Then Yahweh said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation.2 You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean, two, a male and his female;3 also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep their seed alive on the face of all the earth.4 For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.”5 And Noah did according to all that Yahweh had commanded him.6 Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth.7 Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood.8 Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything that creeps on the ground,9 by twos they came to Noah into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.10 Now it happened after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth.11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on this day all the fountains of the great deep split open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.12 Then the rain came upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.13 On this very day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark,14 they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind⁠—every fowl, every winged creature.15 So they came to Noah into the ark, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life.16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and Yahweh closed it behind him.17 Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water multiplied and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth.18 And the water prevailed and multiplied greatly upon the earth, and the ark went on the surface of the water.19 And the water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.20 The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.21 And all flesh that moved on the earth breathed its last, that is birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, as well as all mankind.22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life⁠—of all that was on the dry land⁠—died.23 Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah remained, and those that were with him in the ark.24 And the water prevailed upon the earth 150 days.

GENESIS 8 Then God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark… and at the end of 150 days the water decreased.4 In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. ….13 Now it happened in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up.14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying,16 “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you…. 20 Then Noah built an altar to Yahweh and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.21 And Yahweh smelled the soothing aroma; and Yahweh said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done…
GENESIS 9 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth… Then God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am giving to be between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations;13 I put My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.14 And it will be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud,15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.16 So the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

THIRD REBELLION – TOWER OF BABEL Genesis 11
In the days of Noah’s great, great, great grandson, Peleg, while Noah and his three sons who had been through the flood with him, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, were still alive, the people were multiplying quickly and the whole extended family migrated east, down from the mountains and into the fertile valley of Shinar (the southern region of Mesopotamia.) There they rebelled against God’s command to disperse and fill the earth and sort instead to congregate in one large city built around a massive tower in defiance of God, resulting in God disinheriting them and giving them over to what they desired – the rule of other gods.

Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Genesis 10:6-25 6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. … 8 Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. … 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel…
22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. …. 24 Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. 25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided.

Genesis 11:1-9 “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to each other, ‘Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone and they had tar for mortar. And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top reaches to the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’
Then Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that humankind was building. And Yahweh said, ‘Behold, they are one people with one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. So now nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand each other’s language.’ So Yahweh scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, for there Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth, and there Yahweh scattered them over the face of the whole earth.”

Deuteronomy 32:8-9 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He divided mankind, He fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob his allotted heritage.

Romans 1:18-25, 28  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. … And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper.

Deuteronomy 4:19-20 “And do this so that you do not lift your eyes toward heaven and observe the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of the heaven, and be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that Yahweh your God has allotted to all of the peoples under all of the heaven. But Yahweh has taken you and brought you out from the furnace of iron, from Egypt, to be a people of inheritance to Him, as it is this day.”

Genesis 12:1-3 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Psalm 82 God has taken His place in the divine council;  in the midst of the gods He holds judgment:  “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;  maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy;  deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men (Adam) you shall die, and fall like any prince (OR: fall like one of the shining ones),”
Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all the nations!

Isaiah 24: 21-22 In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.

Psalm 86:9 O Lord, there is none like You among the gods, nor any works like Yours

Psalm 95:3 For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.

Exodus 15:11 Who among the gods is like You, O Lord? Who is like You – majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?

Man’s punishment for the first rebellion was death – expulsion from the Garden of Eden – and the serpent was cursed, brought low and set at enmity with the woman and her offspring, who would crush his head.
The second rebellion brought such violent, destructive depravity to man that all but Noah and his family were killed by flood, but God gave the rainbow as a promise that He would never again wipe out everything through flood.
While Noah and his sons were still alive, the population of earth grew rapidly and once again rebelled against God – He told them to multiply and fill the earth and they decided instead to build a massive city and tower to keep from being scattered over the earth and reach the heavens to connect once again with the sons of God as before the flood so as to make a name for themselves. There is evidence in the scripture, and it’s interpreted as such in the Talmud, that one of Noah’s great grandsons, Nimrod, whose name is related to the Hebrew word for rebel, had risen to leadership over all the people at this time “he was the first on earth to be a mighty man” – ie king / emperor.

What was put to death in response to this third rebellion of mankind was the first empire. You can control people who speak the same language – institute a system of encouraging everyone to spy on everyone else and report any conversations that are considered “unacceptable”. All that falls apart the moment each group of people has their own language and can neither be understood by, nor understand, anyone in any other group. But that’s not all God did, split them into 70 different language groups (the number 70 comes from the Table of Nations in Genesis 10), He also disinherited them and gave all the resultant nations over to the guardianship of sons of God. In Deuteronomy 32:8-9, as in Romans 1:21-32, God gave humankind over to their persistent rebellion and that which they were lusting after – they had persistently shown a distain for living as His people under His rule, so He disinherited them and allotted them to the lordship of lesser elohim. Genesis 10 gives us the Table of Nations – 70 descendants of Noah whom the peoples were divided into to spread out and form all the nations of the world. Each extended family group now freely discussed things privately between themselves and decided to travel on to where they could worship their god and live as they chose. Hence the world is not only filled with different languages, but the worship of different gods as well. But Yahweh still had a plan for the redemption of all peoples in all nations.

This disinheriting of humankind was not to be a permanent state of affairs – God was about to call Abram (who was of the last generation born during Peleg’s lifetime) to father a new nation as God’s own possession and cause all peoples on earth to be blessed by this nation belonging exclusively to Yahweh. Israel was to bless all the nations and peoples by showing them what blessings and healthy society they could have if they chose to come back under the lordship of the Most High. Israel was also to become the conduit through which Messiah would come to crush the serpent’s head, defeat death and bring all peoples back into direct relationship with Yahweh. In Psalm 82, which Yeshua quotes from in John 10:34, God rebukes the elohim (gods) for unrighteous rule over the peoples and declares that ALL the nations will be returned to Him- this was part of Yeshua’s mission as messiah. After His death and resurrection  Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. The gods that had been in charge of all the different people groups no longer had that authority – Yeshua had defeated death and earned authority over all the nations and so commanded His disciples: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Yeshua was surrounded by His enemies who were angered by His declaration of being in the Father, “the Father is in Me and I am in the Father“, as head of the Divine Council, yet He escaped from their hands because His time was not yet. They had convinced themselves that they were being faithful to God as they sort to kill His beloved Son. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?“ Jeremiah 17:9.

References

1. HELPS Ministries. The Discovery Bible. [Online] https://thediscoverybible.com/.
2. Stern, David H. Complete Jewish Bible (CJB). 1998.
3. Holy Bible. New International Version. s.l. : Zondervan Publishing House, 1984.
4. —. New American Standard Bible. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, 2020.
5. The Lockman Foundation. The Legacy Standard Bible. [Online] https://lsbible.org/.
6. Heiser, Michael S. Who Are the Elohim? The Answer Might Rattle Your Theology. Logos. [Online] July 20th, 2021. https://www.logos.com/grow/who-are-elohim/.
7. Staff, Logos. Satan in the Bible: 14 Sobering Facts about the Devil. Logos. [Online] August 17th, 2021. https://www.logos.com/grow/satan-in-the-bible/.
8. Linscomb, Dennis. Sons of God and the Divine Council in the Bible. Academia. [Online] January 21st, 2020. https://www.academia.edu/41667327/Sons_of_God_and_the_Divine_Council_in_the_Bible.
9. Heiser, Michael S. Who Are the Nephilim and What Is Their Origin? Logos Biblical Studies. [Online] May 28th, 2021. https://www.logos.com/grow/who-or-what-were-the-nephilim/.
10. Levenson, Jon D. Did Jews Really Believe There Were Two Gods in Heaven? Mosaic Magazine – Advanced Jewish Thought. [Online] Auguat 4th, 2020. https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/religion-holidays/2020/08/did-jews-really-believe-there-were-two-gods-in-heaven/.
11. Stern, David H. Jewish New Testament Commentary. Maryland : Jewish New Testament Publications, 1992. ISBN 13 978-965-359-008-3.
12. Heiser, Michael S. Reversing Hermon: Enoch, The Watchers & The Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ. Bellingham, WA : Lexham Press, 2017.
13. The Origin of Sin in Irenaeus and Jewish Pseudepigraphical Literature. Schultz, D. R. 3, s.l. : Vigiliae Christianae, 1978, Sept, Vol. 32.
14. Levenson, Jon D. Did Jews Really Believe There Were Two Gods in Heaven? Mosaic Magazine – Advanced Jewish Thought. [Online] August 4th, 2020. https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/religion-holidays/2020/08/did-jews-really-believe-there-were-two-gods-in-heaven/.
15. Doedens, Jaap. Those Elusive Sons of God: Genesis 6:1–4 Revisited. The Bible and Interpretation. [Online] April 2019. [Cited: September 2nd, 2023.] https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/those-elusive-sons-god-genesis-61-4-revisited.
16. Brand, Dr.Miryam. The Benei Elohim, the Watchers, and the Origins of Evil. The Torah. [Online] [Cited: September 2nd, 2023.] https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-benei-elohim-the-watchers-and-the-origins-of-evil.
17. Wolf, Shaul. Nimrod, the Biblical Hunter. Chabad. [Online] [Cited: September 9th, 2023.] https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3162874/jewish/Nimrod-the-Biblical-Hunter.htm.
18. Posner, Menachem. The Tower of Babel: What Was Up With lt? Chabad. [Online] [Cited: September 3rd, 2023.] https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1013006/jewish/The-Tower-of-Babel-What-Was-Up-With-lt.htm.
19. Deuteronomy 32:8 and the sons of God. Heiser, Michael S. January-March, s.l. : Biblotheca Sacra, 2001, Vol. 158, pp. 52-74.
20. Heiser, Michael S. The Tower of Babel Story: What Really Happened? Word by Word. [Online] May 18th, 2022. https://www.logos.com/grow/really-happened-tower-babel/.
21. Blum, Julia. The Book Of Enoch (2): The Sin Of The Watchers. Israel Institute of Biblical Studies. [Online] June 21st, 2018. https://blog.israelbiblicalstudies.com/jewish-studies/the-book-of-enoch-2-the-sin-of-the-watchers/.
22. Heiser, Michael S. Who Are the Elohim? The Answer Might Rattle Your Theology. Word by Word. [Online] July 20th, 2021. https://www.logos.com/grow/who-are-elohim/.
23. —. The Stones of Fire in Ezekiel 28. Dr Michael S. Heiser. [Online] January 25th, 2009. https://drmsh.com/the-stones-of-fire-in-ezekiel-28/.
24. Heiser, Michael S. Jesus’ Quotation of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34: . The Divine Council. [Online] 2012. [Cited: September 3rd, 2023.] https://thedivinecouncil.com/Heiser%20Psa82inJohn10%20RegSBL2011.pdf.
25. Shurpin, Rabbi Yehuda. Where Did the 70 Nations Come From. Chabad. [Online] [Cited: September 3rd, 2023.] https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5258600/jewish/Where-Did-the-70-Nations-Come-From.htm.
26. Heiser, Michael S. Who are the Elohim – The Answer Might Rattle Your Theology. Biblical Studies. [Online] July 20th, 2021. https://www.logos.com/grow/who-are-elohim/.
27. Markos, Louis. The Truth About Angels and Demons Is Staring Us in the Face. Christianity Today. [Online] June 12th, 2020. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/june-web-only/michael-heiser-angels-demons-unseen-realm.html.
28. Heiser, Michael S. The Divine Council in the Book of Daniel. The Divine Council. [Online] [Cited: September 13th, 2023.] https://www.thedivinecouncil.com/daniel7.pdf.
29. —. Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God. drmsh. [Online] January – March 2001. https://drmsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Heiser-Deuteronomy-32-8-and-the-sons-of-God.pdf.

In the comments section below share your thoughts on what you have read and answer some of the following questions…

* Why were the Jewish religious leaders in the temple threatening to stone Jesus?
* How did He respond to their threat and what can we learn from this in how to respond to threats?
* What is your understanding of spiritual beings – who are they, what are the functions of the good ones, when did the evil ones rebel against God and how do they influence things on earth?
* Describe the effects of the three rebellions before God called Abraham and established the Jewish nation.
* What were God’s purposes in establishing the Jewish people?
* What reasons do the evil spiritual beings have for trying to prevent the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

The Beatitudes (blessings)

Please read Matthew 4:23 – 5:12

When day had come, he left and went away to a lonely spot. The people looked for him, came to him and would have kept him from leaving them.  But he said to them, “I must announce the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other towns too — this is why I was sent.”   Luke 4:42-43 CJB

So he travelled all through the Galil, preaching in their synagogues and expelling demons. Mark 1:39 CJB

The news spread quickly, and people came from everywhere to hear Yeshua speak, and to be healed by Him.   Soon there was not just Andrew, Šimʻôn, James and Yochanan (John) following Yeshua and listening to His every word, there were multitudes.  Philip, from nearby Bethsaida, and Natan’el, from Cana, were likely quickly among them, eager to keep following the Lamb of God whom Yochanan the Immerser had introduced them to.   We know from Acts 1:21-23 that Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthiah were also among them. 

The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.   Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.  Matthew 4:24-25 NASB

Although much of Yeshua’s earliest ministry had been in Jerusalem and Judea for the feasts, it was now predominantly in the norther region, in Galilee.   It appears that the author of the fourth gospel was either unaware of the new developments in Galilee, or unable to leave his responsibilities in Jerusalem at this time to join the multitudes, as this ‘John’ does not provide witness to any of this in his gospel account. On the other hand, Matthew the tax collector appears to have left his booth and followed the crowds to hear what this new teacher had to say – for he gives us a carefully compiled account of the full days’ teaching. Being a tax collector, Matthew would have been shunned in the synagogue, but there was no one policing who came up this mountain to listen to Yeshua. It had a profound impact on this outcast from Jewish religious society.

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying…  Matthew 5:1-2 NASB

Large crowds in towns and cities attract attention, sometimes the unwanted attention of Roman soldiers. Yeshua led His group away to the safety of a more isolated place. Here, on this unknown mountain, probably just outside Capernaum where Matthew collected taxes, the people could relax and focus on what Yeshua was saying. Just as Moses had given the Israelites God’s laws for living as His chosen people on earth, so now Yeshua was going to explain to the people how to live as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. The first part of the lesson was a very practical one – get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and take time out to commune with Him.

Yeshua sat to teach the people on the mountain, just as He did to teach them in the synagogue (Luke 4:20). “He sat as a refiner and His word was as a fire.“(C. H. Spurgeon). Yeshua had chosen the place for this teaching. Once He came to the perfect spot He sat down, and those following Him gathered around to hear what He would say. Yeshua spoke with an uncommon authority, He sat as a king decreeing the laws of His Kingdom, a kingdom so unlike any other they had ever known.

As the crows eagerly watched Him, Yeshua opened His mouth and began teaching them. The topography of the region around the Sea of Galilee allowed His voice to travel well as He opened his mouth to project it out to the crowd. Spurgeon wrote: “Jesus Christ spoke like a man in earnest; he enunciated clearly, and spoke loudly. He lifted up his voice like a trumpet, and published salvation far and wide, like a man who had something to say which he desired his audience to hear and feel.” God had spoken to His people through the prophets in times past, now He opened His mouth and spoke to them directly through His Son.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son… Hebrews 1:1-2a NIV

What Yeshua had to say goes straight to how we live every moment of our lives. Judaism had always been as much about how one lived their life as about what one believed – the two were inseparable. Belief manifests itself in attitudes and actions, in a total way of life. Yeshua’s words deconstruct our habits and ways of being and reform them into His likeness – they teach us what it is to be His disciple. Importantly, Yeshua‘s words were meant to be memorised and serve as a source of constant meditation.

Talmidim (disciples) were to memorise the words of their rabbi, meditate on those words, discuss those words, live out those words, and then teach others those words – that was the task of a disciple. (1)

Memorisation was essential to all first centenary Jewish education. With manuscripts being expensive, and having to be written by hand, most did not have direct access to them, so learning was dependent on being able to memorise large portions of scripture and children were expected to memorise the whole Torah through their first five years of schooling. In nations where many cannot read, or afford their own copy of the written word, and in those where persecution robs people of their written copies of the scriptures, returning to the way Yeshua taught His disciples offers opportunity to truly learn from Him. Yeshua made it easy for his first disciples, and for us, to memorise His words by presenting them in a memorable thematic structure with vivid images and poetic language. So, as we go through Yeshua’s verbal teachings, take the time to memorise what He says, and in your sermons teach your people also to memorise the words of our Saviour, recite them to each other, think on them and discuss them through the week, and share them with others.

The Beatitudes

The first section of Yeshua’s teaching is often called “the Beatitudes“, which means “the Blessings”. The Beatitudes were spoken in two sets of four, with the fourth one in each set focusing on righteousness. The first four Beatitudes speak to how we enter the kingdom of heaven – by acknowledging our lack and pain, acknowledging Jesus’ right to reign over us and longing for His righteousness. The second four speak to how we live as citizens of the kingdom of heaven – loyal to His covenant with us, pure, peacemakers, and persecuted because our loyalty has shifted from the world to God. There is nothing in here which is an optional extra if we want to be Jesus’ disciples. Some emphasise this with a play on words, the “beatitudes” giving the believer our “be – attitudes” – the “attitudes” we should “be.” We have no part in Jesus, or in His kingdom, if we are not committed to His ways.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:3-12

Each statement begins with the word “Blessed“. This comes from the Greek μακάριος, makarios, which describes the enviable position of being in receipt of God’s grace, provision and benefits. It expresses the life-joy and satisfaction of the person who experiences God’s favour and salvation. Shaking itself loose from all thoughts of outward good, makarios becomes the express symbol of a joyous fulfilment identified with pure character in receipt of God literally extending Himself.

The first reward, or state of blessedness, that Yeshua offers us is the kingdom of heaven. Yochanan the Immerser had preached “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) After Yeshua heard that Yochanan had been imprisoned He began to preach “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) Now He describes the state of those who will become citizens of the kingdom of heaven, those whom God will extend it to: the “poor in spirit“.

The Greek noun πτωξος – ptochos – translated “poor” in this beatitude means literally: “one who is bent over or folded;” metaphorically “one utterly destitute.” The one who is ptochos has nothing and no means to care for themselves nor to give to another, they are totally destitute. “Poor in spirit” is repentant – coming to God recognising that we have no righteousness of our own, we are utterly destitute with regards to the moral strength and character needed to be citizens of heaven, and are totally dependant on His forgiveness and His righteousness.

We need to come to the realization of our own spiritual bankruptcy and tum in total dependence to God if we are to come into His kingdom. The Pharisees were basing their approach to God on their good works and strict Torah obedience, but Yeshua was declaring that was not the way to come to God. We are not good enough in ourselves, nor nearly good enough, nor somewhat good enough, we are utterly destitute when it comes to the righteousness required for the kingdom of heaven. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells...” Romans 7:18a.  “Not what I have, but what I have not, is the first point of contact, between my soul and God.” (Spurgeon)

For the high and exalted One, He who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy says this, “I dwell on the high and holy place, but also with the contrite and humble in spirit. In order to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite [overcome with sorrow for sin].” Isaiah 57:15 AMP

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Psalm 14:1-3 NIV

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6 NIV

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one..”… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:10, 23-24 NIV

The acknowledged owners of nothing shall be the recipients of everything.

Blessed are the poor in spirit – joyously fulfilled as God extends Himself to them are the repentant who recognise their own sinfulness and inability to save themselves – for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The next reward, or state of blessedness, that Yeshua offers us is comfort. The Greek verb translated comfort, παρακαλέω parakaléō, comes from para, meaning “from close beside”, and kaléō, meaning “to call”. To be comforted is to be called near, to have God come to our side, as He describes in Isaiah 57:15 which we read above. It is not just an emotional comfort that Yeshua is offering us here, although that is an essential part of His offer. Parakaléō also has legal overtones – He is offering to be our advocate before the throne of God, as well as One coming close beside with emotional comfort.

My children, I am writing you these things so that you won’t sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Yeshua the Messiah, the Tzaddik (Righteous One), who pleads our cause with the Father. Also, He is the kapparah (atonement) for our sins… 1 John 2:1-2a CJB

Mourning is the pre-requisite for this life-giving comfort. The Greek verb πτωξος pentheo, means deep grief or intense sorrow, openly manifested by weeping audibly. This speaks of the most intense human emotional pain and suffering. It can be anguish over the personal losses we experience in life, or anguish felt within the spirit of man for the state of his own soul held captive in sin and death, or for the state of a lost sinful world. Those who mourn experience a closeness with Yeshua, the Man of Sorrows who was acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3), as they partake in the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). Intense pain is intense pain, and Yeshua makes no distinction here as to the cause of our deep grief and intense sorrow. All who mourn, all who suffer from deep grief and intense sorrow, all who choose not to hide from that pain or deflect it onto others, all who are willing to experience the agonies of truly loving in this world, all who mourn will be comforted.

“The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is upon me, because Adonai has anointed me to announce good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted; to proclaim freedom to the captives, to let out into light those bound in the dark; to proclaim the year of the favour of Adonai and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn” Isaiah 61:1-2 CJB

Blessed are those who mourn – joyously fulfilled as God extends Himself to them are those who do not try to hide from their pain but agonise in overwhelming grief and sorrow – for God Himself shall draw near and they shall be comforted.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 KJV

Next Yeshua offers the state of blessedness of inheriting the earth. The Greek noun, γῆ gê, refers to the physical earth, to land, country, soil. Many indigenous people groups understand such a blessing, for they are closely tied to their land, even as the Jews were closely tied to their land.

It appeared as though the Romans, with their brute force, were inheriting the earth – conquering one people’s land after another. Their whole lives these people had witnessed Rome fulfilling Daniel’s vision of the fourth beast:

After this, I looked in the night visions; and there before me was a fourth animal, dreadful, horrible, extremely strong, and with great iron teeth. It devoured, crushed and stamped its feet on what was left. Daniel 7:7a CJB

But Yeshua assures the people that this is not the end of the story. Despite the fact that all of history shouts that it is the brutes, the devious schemers, the warlords, who inherit the earth, yet still all of Daniel’s vision shall come to pass:

“As I watched, thrones were set in place; and the Ancient One took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, the hair on his head was like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, with wheels of burning fire. A stream of fire flowed from his presence; thousands and thousands ministered to him, millions and millions stood before him. Then the court was convened, and the books were opened. … …
“I kept watching the night visions, when I saw, coming with the clouds of heaven, someone like a son of man. He approached the Ancient One and was led into His presence.  To him was given rulership, glory and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His rulership is an eternal rulership that will not pass away; and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Daniel 7:9-14 CJB

The promise of messiah was not for the Zealots engaged in gorilla warfare to try to re-take their land, convinced that their acts of bravery and brutality would entice the anointed one to join them and supernaturally defeat the Roman armies and remove all gentiles in a great slaughter. It was not physical violence that would restore the land to Israel or bring God’s kingdom to earth.

Yeshua’s words were not new to Judaism, King David had written:

Don’t be upset by evildoers or envious of those who do wrong, for soon they will wither like grass and fade like the green in the fields. Trust in Adonai, and do good; settle in the land, and feed on faithfulness.  Then you will delight yourself in Adonai, and he will give you your heart’s desire.
Commit your way to Adonai; trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine forth like light, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before Adonai; wait patiently till he comes. Don’t be upset by those whose way succeeds because of their wicked plans. Stop being angry, put aside rage, and don’t be upset — it leads to evil.
For evildoers will be cut off, but those hoping in Adonai will inherit the land. Soon the wicked will be no more; you will look for his place, and he won’t be there. But the meek will inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. Psalm 37:1-11 CJB

So, what is it to be meek? The Greek πραΰς, praǜs, is usually translated as ‘meek’ or ‘gentle’. It contains the idea of having power under authority, strength under control. Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us without disputing or resisting, it involves relying on God, rather than our own strength, to defend us against injustice. The meek quietly accept criticism without retaliation or defensiveness. It is humility toward God and toward others. It is having the right or the power to do something but refraining for the benefit of someone else. Most importantly, meekness is acknowledging Christ’s lordship over us, and placing our lives in His hands to do with as He pleases.

In another context, the Greek word praǜs was used to describe a well trained horse that would respond fully, and only, to it’s rider’s command, a horse that was unmoved by everything else happening around it. A praǜs (meek) horse was one that did not demand its own way, one that went wherever the rider wanted to go at the speed the rider wanted to travel, one that you could trust to walk behind, one that did not shy or buck at sudden movements or loud noises, or even at threats like a snake or battle, because it was so yielded to its rider that its only response in every situation was obedience to the will of the rider. The strength of this powerful animal was totally under the control of the slightest whisper of the rider, or movement of their finger. Only such a horse can be trusted in battle.

Blessed are the meek – joyously fulfilled as God extends Himself to those who totally yield to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over their lives – for they shall inherit the land.

To be ‘filled‘, some versions translate this as ‘satisfied‘, is to have all that you were longing for. It can also be translated ‘to be made fat’. Righteousness shall not evade those who hunger and thirst for it. We are not called to be content with partial righteousness, or with a little righteousness. A hungry man will not be satisfied with just one grain of rice, nor even with a handful. He will eat, and eat, and eat until he cannot fit any more food in, only then will he be full. If he has eaten in the morning, he will be hungry again before the day is through, and once more eat and eat until there is no more space left in his stomach. The offer here is to be so full of righteousness that there is no room for anything else in our lives. Such fullness is not a once only event, but a continual process of hungering and being filled, hungering and being filled. The moment we cease to hunger and thirst for righteousness we shall cease to be filled, and the resulting emptiness will attract all sorts of other things into our lives.

So, what is righteousness? The original Greek word δικαιοσύνη, dikaiosýnē, comes from dike, which translates as “a judicial verdict”. You will remember that the Greek word translated comfort, parakaléō, also has legal overtones which places Yeshua as our legal advocate before the Father who judges all. The literal translation of dikaiosýnē is “judicial approval”. God is the judge of all, so righteousness is that which has divine approval. It is that which God, as judge over the universe, approves of.

Isaiah calls to the people:

Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no silver come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you weigh out silver for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that your soul may live. Isaiah 55:1-3a

Yeshua calls us to hunger and thirst for both personal righteousness and community righteousness. Personally, we enter into God’s divine approval when we welcome Jesus Christ as our saviour and lord. We are to hunger and thirst for the approval of God which can only come through Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us on the cross. We are also to hunger and thirst for our thoughts, words and actions to be pleasing to God, to be that which He approves of. Since God isn’t about to change and start approving of sin or the works of the flesh, we hunger and thirst for our lives to be brought into line with His will, to walk by the Spirit.

Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-25

Righteousness produces love and concern for others and their wellbeing. It is not greedy, self seeking or corrupt. We need only look around to see that our world is grieving and groaning, longing to be made right. So many are suffering through injustice, poverty, immorality and the greed of others. It is not God’s righteousness for people to go hungry, that is not what He approves of. It is not God’s righteousness for people to suffer sickness and disease, that is not what He approves of. It is not God’s righteousness for people to be oppressed by the Devil, that is not what He approves of. Yeshua invites us to hunger and thirst, to connect to our deep longings and needs, to grieve and groan with our world, and to call on God to bring justice, peace and wholeness to our world. When we’re surrounded by so much suffering and injustice, it can be easy to become numb or indifferent to the pain around us. But God calls us to long for righteousness so much that we keep crying out to Him for it like a child cries for food or drink when they have none, and we keep living out righteousness in holiness, showing love and kindness to our neighbours.

If we do not desire God’s righteousness, we do not desire Him. If we do not hunger and thirst for righteousness, both in our own actions and in this world, we do not know Him. There is no fellowship with God apart from righteousness.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness – joyously fulfilled as God extends Himself to them are those who long, as a desperate necessity, for that which God approves of – for they shall be filled.

Now that we have seen what is needed to enter the kingdom of heaven and be granted citizenship there, we come to the four beatitudes which describe our lives as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. These next attributes are not ones that the natural man is capable of, hence our need for the emptying and longing of the first four beatitudes that bring us to the cross, dependent on receiving God’s righteousness through His grace towards us who are incapable of meriting such. It is only on the basis of God filling us with righteousness, as He promises in the fourth beatitude, that we are able to live the following beatitudes – merciful, pure peacemakers rejoicing even in persecution.

The Cambridge dictionary defines mercy as: kindness shown toward someone whom you have the right or power to punish. While this definition describes an element of mercy, it lacks a crucial component of Biblical mercy, the Greek ἔλεος éleos, being translated from the Hebrew חַסְדֹּֽו׃ , chas·dov, which involves loyalty to God’s covenant with us (The Discovery bible). Biblical mercy is ‘covenant-loyalty–mercy‘ or ‘covenant-love-mercy‘, it is an attitude and actions that are founded on God’s covenant with us and are consistent with that covenant. It is the loving loyalty which actively affirms all that is in keeping with God’s covenant, and equally opposes all that is contrary to it. Thus, it is inextricably linked to faith. It is an act of mercy to bring God’s righteousness to a situation.

Psalm 136 is the great mercy psalm as it traces God’s actions in covenant with Israel. Some of those actions might not sound merciful to western ears, like killing the firstborn of Egypt, or drowning their army in the sea, but they were all merciful by God’s standards because they were all in fulfilment of His covenant.

To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever: and brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever: with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever: and made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever: but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: and slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: … … And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever: even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever: and hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136:10-26 KJV

God’s mercy is His covenant with us. That covenant is through Christ Jesus and His blood atoning for our sins. Again we see the graciousness and severity of God’s mercy, for it doesn’t evade His judgment on sin but rather executes that judgment on His Son in our place. God said of the Jewish people:

For I desired mercy (loyalty to My covenant), and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. Hosea 6:6-7 KJV

So, how does loyalty to God’s covenant fit with “kindness shown toward someone whom you have the right or power to punish?” God’s covenant is a covenant of sacrificial love. When God’s people repeatedly broke the covenant they made with Him in Exodus 24, He showed unmerited kindness towards them whom He had the right and power to punish, by sending His Son as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. God’s mercy established a new covenant.

He had promised this back in Jeremiah 31:

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” … … “Behold, the days come”, saith the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them”, saith the Lord: “but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days”, saith the Lord, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, ‘know the Lord’: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them”, saith the Lord: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:3,31-34 KJV

Yeshua confirmed that He had come to establish a new covenant with us, this is the mercy we obtain from Him:

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:20 NIV

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:14-15, NIV

This covenant was for those who deserve God’s punishment, those who were sinners and enemies of God:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Romans 5:8-10 NIV

It is a merciful covenant, but not an unconditional one. We need to remain loyal to our covenant with God:

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. Colossians 1:21-23 NIV

Blessed are the merciful, ἐλεήμονες eleēmones, those who act consistently with the revelation of God’s covenant. A believer is being merciful when we forgive another because Christ has forgiven us, regardless of whether the other has done anything to deserve forgiveness or not. Mercy is responding to God’s covenant rather than to the other’s actions or attitudes. When we remain loyal to God’s covenant in all our dealings with others then we receive all the benefits of that covenant, we receive mercy.

Blessed are the merciful – joyously fulfilled as God extends Himself to them are those who lovingly live in absolute loyalty to God’s covenant – for they shall receive the mercy of all the benefits of God’s covenant.

The longing to see God, to perceive His presence, to behold His glory, is at the heart of all spiritual practice. Abraham had such an experience with God and Moses did not want to move unless God’s presence would go with them:

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Genesis 17:1 NIV

If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. … …
And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” Exodus 33:13-18 NIV

David beautifully depicted the intensity of that longing:

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Psalm 63:1-2 NIV

Isaiah saw the Lord and immediately recognised his need to be purified:

I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. …
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah 6:1,5-7 NIV

The Sadducees sought purity to be able to see God and live in His favour through the temple sacrifices. The Pharisees sought purity to be able to see God and live in His favour through strict obedience to all the laws and customs they had built as a fence around the Torah, including all their ceremonial washings and bodily immersions. Yeshua’s audience were well aquatinted with all the ceremonial washings and immersions required by the Pharisees before entering the synagogue or temple to ‘see’ God through the sacrifices, worship or Torah reading. Yeshua here reminds the people that God’s focus is not on how they wash their hands or immerse their bodies, but on the condition of their hearts.

Our perception of God is dimmed and distorted by any impurities that we harbour in our heart. To be pure, καθαροὶ katharos, in heart is to be without mixture, free from contaminants, separated from all the lusts of the flesh, all false concepts of God and all hurts and wounds that distort our perceptions. David prayed:

...give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart… Psalm 86:11-12a

Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24 AMP

Such purity of heart is not something that we come to God with. It is not something that we can bring about through our own efforts. We come to Him poor in spirit, hurting and mourning, willing to yield completely to Him and hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and He cleanses us from all unrighteousness, purifies and fills us. That is His covenant with us, His mercy towards us, that we loyally honour out of gratitude for all that He has done for us by guarding our hearts.

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful (lying, misleading) mouth, and put devious lips far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead [toward the path of moral courage]
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you [toward the path of integrity]. Consider well and watch carefully the path of your feet, and all your ways will be steadfast and sure. Proverbs 4:23-26

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3 NIV

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

Blessed are the pure in heart – joyously fulfilled as God extends Himself to them are those whose heart is free from all contamination – for they shall see and truly know God.

The previous blessing spoke of our vision of God, our capacity to perceive His presence, His goodness, in our lives. This one speaks of our relationship to God. The Greek word κληθήσονται, klēthēsontai, translates as to be called, invited, chosen. This blessing, this joyous fulfilment as God extends Himself to us, is a calling into the most exalted place. Not just called to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven, but called to be members of the royal family, nay even more than that, called to be sons and heirs of God.

The Greek word υἱός, hyiós, is literally translated as a son (by birth or adoption). Figuratively it is used to denote anyone sharing the same nature as their Father. Hyiós, both emphasizes likeness of the believer to the heavenly Father and highlights the legal right to the Father’s inheritance. We are called to share the same nature as the Father. Back in the garden we were created in God’s image. This image was distorted by sin but is now restored through Christ. Our great privilege now is to resemble our Father.

Paul expands on the theme of our sonship:

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15 NKJV

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”   Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:4-7 NASB

The Greek word translated as “peacemaker” is εἰρηνοποιός, eirēnopoiós, and it denotes a person who bravely declares God’s terms to make someone whole. That is, a person who shares the gospel with others. A “peacekeeper” might try to avoid controversy or saying anything unpopular, but a “peacemaker” confronts sin and offers God’s terms for reconciliation, which brings His gift of wholeness. Paul wrote on this in his second letter to the church at Corinth:

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NASB

Blessed are the peacemakers – joyously fulfilled as God extends Himself to them are those who boldly declare the gospel, begging people on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God – for they shall be called sons of God, resembling the Father and being heirs.

We have returned to where we began with these blessings – the kingdom of heaven. Yeshua sandwiched all the other blessings between two assurances of the kingdom of heaven. We gain a bit more insight into the kingdom of heaven in the revelation of Jesus Christ that John received when he was imprisoned on the island of Patmos:

“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10 NIV

The kingdom of heaven consists of people from every tribe and language and nation. This is where Yeshua had come into conflict with the good people of his hometown, Nazareth – they were convinced that God’s blessings were exclusively for the Jews and so became violent when Yeshua gave examples from the Hebrew scriptures showing that God also extends His blessings and calling to those of other nations. Revelation had not yet been written, but Yeshua’s audience had Isaiah and Daniel’s prophesies, and on this basis they had been hoping for a messiah and a kingdom. This is what they could learn from the prophets about the kingdom of heaven:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Isaiah 2:2-4 NIV

In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory. Isaiah 24:21-23 NIV

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove His people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. Isaiah 25:6-8 NIV

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line” Isaiah 28:16-17a

Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.  Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendour. Isaiah 60:17-21 NIV

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.
“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.  They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.  No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labour in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord. Isaiah 65: 17-25 NIV

“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. Isaiah 66:22-23

“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” Daniel 2:44 NIV

Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him. Daniel 7:27 NIV

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.  Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:2-3 NIV

As we follow through Yeshua’s ministry we will explore the many parables He told to help the people understand more of what the kingdom of heaven is like. For now they knew enough to know it was their heart’s desire to be part of this kingdom. In this blessing we see clearly how all the blessings surpass the things of this world. Blessings is not health, wealth, prestige, power or physical life, for any or all of these may be taken from us through persecution, yet still we are blessed, joyously fulfilled as God extends Himself to us.

It is worth noting that the blessing is not for any and every persecution, but only for that which ignited by being filled with righteousness as in the fourth blessing. There is no blessing in being persecuted for being an idiot, for doing wrong, for lying, for being proud and arrogant, or for being bitter, critical or hateful. Where as all who mourn, agonise in overwhelming grief and sorrow, are comforted, only those whose persecution arises out of their walk with Jesus receive the blessing. Only those who are living the other seven beatitudes can live this one. Only those who are living Christ (verse 11), are blessed with great reward when they are persecuted, .

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12

Persecution can take many forms. Three different words are used in verse 11 to describe what we might suffer for righteousness sake. The first is ὀνειδίσωσιν, oneidízō, which is to disgrace, reproach, mock, curse, insult, shame, cast blame – viewing someone as culpably guilty and therefore deserving punishment. The second is διώξωσιν, diṓkō, which is to aggressively chase, like a hunter pursuing a catch. The third is ψευδόμενοι, pseúdomai, which is to lie, falsify, and wilfully misrepresent in accusing of all kinds of πονηρὸν, ponērós, that is evil which causes pain and agony. Just because a follower of Jesus is doing good does not mean that they will be honoured for that good, often the reverse is true, as it was true of our Saviour. Isaiah had written:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Isaiah 5:20 NIV

Many times people will try to hide from their own sin and shame by calling evil good and good evil. Such is the opposite of being poor in spirit. Persecution aims to silence the peacemakers and cause the righteousness to suffer. It seeks to bring disgrace and shame to the righteous, casting them as being unfit for ministry, or for life. It lies. Yeshua assures us that it does not matter if others call our good evil, because the reward for the righteous is not on this earth but is great in heaven (the infinite dimensions in which God dwells).

Blessed are those who are persecuted – joyously fulfilled as God extends Himself to them are those who suffer disgrace, reproach, mockery, curses, insults, shame, false blame, declared guilty, are hunted down, misrepresented and accused of evil for righteousness sake – for theirs is the everlasting kingdom of heaven.

Summary

Christ leads us to the kingdom of heaven through repentance (poor in spirit), acknowledging our pain (mourning), yielding completely to God (meek) and hungering and thirsting for righteousness. He answers that hunger and thirst by filling us with righteousness, the old has passed away behold all things have become new. Out of the fullness of righteousness that we receive in Him we respond with loyalty to His covenant of mercy (merciful), our filled hearts have no room for the things of this world (pure heart), we boldly declare the gospel that people may be reconciled to God (peacemakers) and suffer persecution for our shift in loyalty from this world system to God. In all this God blesses us with the kingdom of heaven, His comfort, the earth (our land), righteousness, mercy (all the benefits of His covenant with us), seeing God and adopting us as His children. How wonderous is all that Jesus offers us through His teaching on blessings.

REFERENCES

1. Pennington, Jonathan. 3 Things You Didn’t Know About the Sermon on the Mount . The Gospel Coalition. [Online] 16th November 2017. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/3-things-didnt-know-sermon-mount/.
2. Spurgeon, C. H. The Beatitudes. Spurgeon Gems. [Online] 29th July 1909. [Cited: 19th April 2020.] https://www.spurgeongems.org/sermon/chs3155.pdf.
3. Smith, Chuck. Study Guide for Sermon on the Mount. Blue Letter Bible. [Online] [Cited: 19th April 2020.] https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/smith_chuck/StudyGuides_Mount/Mount.cfm.
4. Wicker, Jim. Preaching Through the Sermon on the Mount. Preaching Source. [Online] Summer 2004. [Cited: 19th April 2020.] http://preachingsource.com/journal/preaching-through-the-sermon-on-the-mount/.
5. Tolar, William B. The Sermon on the Mount from an Exegetical Perspective. Preaching Source. [Online] Vol. 35 Fall 1992. [Cited: 19th April 2020.] http://preachingsource.com/journal/the-sermon-on-the-mount-from-an-exegetical-perspective/.
6. Piper, John. The Majesty of the Teacher in the Sermon on the Mount. Derising God. [Online] 1st August 2014. [Cited: 19th April 2020.] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-majesty-of-the-teacher-in-the-sermon-on-the-mount.
7. Matthew 5:1-2 Commentary. Precept Austin. [Online] 10th April 2020. [Cited: 19th April 2020.] https://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew_51-3#5:1.
8. Ritenbaugh, John W. What the Bible says about Sermon on the Mount. Bible Tools. [Online] [Cited: 19th April 2020.] https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/969/Sermon-on-Mount.htm.
9. —. The Beatitudes, Part One: The Sermon on the Mount. Bible Tools. [Online] [Cited: 19th April 2020.] https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/PERSONAL/k/195/The-Beatitudes-Sermon-on-Mount.htm.
10. Archer, Dr. Gary Hill & Dr. Gleason. HELPS Word-studies devotional lexicon. Discovery Bible.
11. Guzik, David. MATTHEW 5 – THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Enduring Word . [Online] 2018. [Cited: 19th April 2020.] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-5/.
12. John F. Walvoord. The Kingdom of Heaven. The Bible.org. [Online] 1st January 2008. [Cited: 20th April 2020.] https://bible.org/article/kingdom-heaven.
13. Allen, Judy. What Does It Mean to Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness? Unlocking the Bible. [Online] 10th May 2017. [Cited: 25th April 2020.] https://unlockingthebible.org/2017/05/what-does-it-mean-to-hunger-and-thirst-for-righteousness/.
14. Piper, John. Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness . Desiring God. [Online] 16th February 1986. [Cited: 25th April 2020.] https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/blessed-are-those-who-hunger-and-thirst-for-righteousness.
15. Kreminski, Karina. Blessed are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness. Common Grace. [Online] [Cited: 25th April 2020.] https://www.commongrace.org.au/beatitudes_hunger_and_thirst_for_righteousness.
16. Kinsolving, Carey. What Does It Mean to Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness? Creators. [Online] 17th June 2013. [Cited: 25th April 2020.] https://www.creators.com/read/kids-talk-about-god/06/13/what-does-it-mean-to-hunger-and-thirst-for-righteousness.
17. Doriani, Daniel. Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness. Tabletalk. [Online] June 2017. [Cited: 25th April 2020.] https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2017/06/blessed-are-those-who-hunger-and-thirst-for-righteousness/.
18. mercy. Cambridge Dictionary. [Online] [Cited: 25th April 2020.] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/mercy.
19. New Covenant. Bible Info. [Online] [Cited: 25th April 2020.] https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/new-covenant.
20. Travers, Joshua. Blessed Are Those Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake. Life, Hope & Truth. [Online] [Cited: 27th April 2020] https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/christian-conversion/the-sermon-on-the-mount/beatitudes/blessed-persecuted-righteousness-sake/

In the comments section below share your thoughts on what you have read and answer some of the following questions…

* How have your people responded to memorising Jesus’ words?
* What insights have your congregation shared with you from their week of meditating on the words of Jesus that they memorised and talking with each other about what He said?
* What has been the response to members of your congregation sharing Jesus’ words with others?
* How did Jesus present the gospel of the kingdom in the Beatitudes?
* What additional insights have you gained about the gospel through studying Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:4-12