Prophet Pearls #32 – Behar (Jeremiah 32:6-27)

You are listening to Prophet Pearls with Nehemia Gordon and Keith Johnson. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon's Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.

Keith: Welcome to Prophet Pearls from the land of the prophets, face-to-face, Keith Johnson, Nehemia Gordon, doing what we do best – opening up the word of God, trying to figure out where there’s common ground, and I’ll tell you what – there’s a lot of common ground for what we’re doing. We’re coming, Nehemia, all the way from Israel, and we’re going to be addressing Jeremiah, and I cannot wait to talk about this particular passage.

But before we do that, I have to say thanks again to some significant Prophet Pearls Partners, the Maccabees! Thank you for supporting us. We’re continuing to do our work. Let’s get right into this. I guess before we get into it, I’ve got to say good morning to you, Nehemia.

Nehemia: Boker tov, Keith.

Keith: Yes. And why is it boker tov? Because you just arrived a few minutes ago.

Nehemia: Yes.

Keith: I’m sure you probably had a really nice breakfast.

Nehemia: It was wonderful. My mother made me an omelet.

Keith: Did you take a bus? Did you take a walk? Did you get a ride? What was your situation?

Nehemia: My mother made me an omelet with mushrooms and garlic and melted cheese, and then I got a ride over here. Yes.

Keith: Yes. So the setup is this, folks – I’m over here in a cave, by myself, sick. Nehemia goes to Bubby Dina’s where he gets breakfast, and not once has he said, “Let me bring you over an omelet.” So you know what? My food is to do the word and will of God. [laughing] Let’s get right to it. How was it, really, seriously?

Nehemia: Would you like to sleep tonight at Bubby Dina’s?

Keith: No, I’m fine. I’m going to stay here. I’m in quarantine. You know I’m sick. I don’t want to get anyone else sick.

But we are in Jeremiah 32. Nehemia, it’s going to be hard for me not to preach in this passage, so you’re going to have to balance it out with some great information. It’s amazing for a number of reasons, and so I’m really looking forward to it. We’re at Jeremiah 32, but can you give us the parallel with the Original Torah Pearls?

Nehemia: Yes. This is actually our 32nd… actually it’s our 31st episode, but it’s episode 32 because there was a double one we combined. This is the Torah portion of Behar.

Keith: You’re telling me it’s the 32nd episode?

Nehemia: Yep.

Keith: And we’re in Jeremiah 32. It’s a sign.

Nehemia: Oh, is it really? Oh, I didn’t even think of that. It’s the 32nd Torah portion, and it’s Jeremiah 32. Of course, the people who made the Torah portions and divided them up, and people who make the chapters, were two completely different people. But that’s interesting. It’s an example of coincidence; it’s completely irrelevant.

Behar is Leviticus 25 verse 1 through 26:2, and I believe the connection here is that we’re dealing with buying and selling of fields.

Keith: And again, the last few times, we didn’t go verse-by-verse, but when it calls for it we will. But when we don’t, we want people to make sure they take the opportunity to read the passage…

Nehemia: Actually, even when we do, you can go read the passage.

Keith: Yes. No, I mean both the Torah Pearls and…

Nehemia: Go check Keith to make sure it says what he says it says.

Keith: That it says what it says.

Nehemia: And check me too.

Keith: Yes. But I mean, reading both the Torah portion and the Prophets section, and we’ll do our best to give other references for things, but check it for yourself, it really is a part of the process. Now, can we get started?

Nehemia: Let’s do it.

Keith: Okay. “And Jeremiah said,” in English, but it doesn’t say “Jeremiah” in Hebrew. Can you tell them what it says in Hebrew?

Nehemia: Yirmiyahu.

Keith: So what’s the difference? Why Jeremiah in English and Yirmiyahu in Hebrew?

Nehemia: Well, I can’t tell you why Jeremiah in English, but I can tell you what Yirmiyahu in Hebrew means.

Keith: What do you mean you can’t tell them why it’s Jeremiah?

Nehemia: I don’t know why it’s Jeremiah.

Keith: You have no idea why they made it easy…

Nehemia: I mean, I do know why. It comes from the Greek, Ieremías.

Keith: Exactly.

Nehemia: But in Hebrew, it’s Yermiyahu, which is “Yehovah will lift up,” “Yarim Yehovah.”

Keith: Amen. And so that’s the name of the prophet, Jeremiah, Yermiyahu. And here we have again this wonderful phrase, we’ve talked about it a few times, the “dvar Yehovah,” “and the word came,” or “it was,” “the word of the LORD came,” in the situation, “unto me, saying,” and then here comes what it is.

And as soon as you hear the saying, I have to tell you, this example of this passage that we’re talking about, it shows me again not only how big God is, but how detailed God is. Let me just read this, and I’ll just tell you how it felt to me. So here Jeremiah says, “And the word of the LORD came unto to me.” And I’m thinking, okay, the word of the LORD is going to come, it’s going to be, And I am God. Instead it says this, “Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle,” specifically, “shall come unto thee, saying,” I’m looking here at the King James version, because you so overwhelmed me with the King James getting it right; the NASB, the NIV, the JPS, all getting it wrong. So I’ve switched to the King James.

Nehemia: That was like in one verse.

Keith: One verse I understand. [laughing]

Nehemia: Doesn’t mean it’s always that way.

Keith: No, just for fun.

Nehemia: Okay.

Keith: But it says, “Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, ‘Buy my field that is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.’” And as soon as I read this, I know we’re going to get into, “the word is that… if we start talking about this and how the redemption works…”

Before we get into all of that, I just have to tell you, I just think it’s really amazing that God got into the buying and selling business. It’s like He got into… He’s telling Jeremiah specifically, it’s your uncle and there’s something that happens later that we have to focus on. But he’s specifically talking about a transaction that’s going to take place.

Nehemia: Right. Can we go back to Leviticus, or at least remind people to go to the Original Torah Pearls and have a look at Leviticus there? There’s a whole section that talks about buying and selling of fields, and specifically, if a person is poor and he sells his field, because there’s this idea that the land belongs to the family, it doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to my family, and I can sell it but only up until the jubilee year, and then it goes back to the family, or to me if I’m still alive.

And then you have the situation that if someone in my family wants to redeem it, they actually have that right. That’s actually a really significant concept. I think this was our Word of the Week once, “go’el,” which means “redeemer”, and here we have it in the literal sense of someone from your extended family who goes and pays the price to get the field back from the person that it’s been sold to. That is the literal meaning of redemption – it can also be with a person who’s sold into slavery – but the literal original meaning has to do with property.

And so it’s saying, “Look, Jeremiah, you have the right to redeem this property, so go and buy it.” What’s ridiculous about this is that the siege of Jerusalem has begun – in verse 24 the siege began – and the idea that someone would buy and sell a field… And it’s interesting, we had another passage recently where we talked about supply and demand and economics; it was about selling the grain in the gate of Shomron, in the gate of Samaria. And before they were selling donkeys head, and during the famine… and after the famine, the price went down so much that you could buy a large amount of grain for a very cheap price.

Here it’s talking about something that’s essentially worthless. And why is it worthless? Because the Babylonians are besieging the city. And you’re talking about a field in Anathoth, that’s important. So Jeremiah was from Anathoth. Anathoth is a suburb about maybe three or four… I call it a suburb, but it’s not really true in biblical times. In biblical times, it was a completely separate city. Today, it’s actually part of a neighborhood of Jerusalem called Pisgat Ze’ev.

Keith: Yes, Pisgat Ze’ev!

Nehemia: I actually lived in Anathoth, meaning in Pisgat Ze’ev, for quite some time, and to this day, there’s an Arab village there called Anata, which preserves the word Anathoth. And the point is, it’s outside of the city of Jerusalem, above about three miles or so. And imagine, so he’s coming and saying, “Buy this field.” Well, wait a minute, the field is outside of the city walls of Jerusalem, and the walls and the city are under siege; you’re selling me something I could never even take possession of. And the point is that anybody hearing this would say this is crazy. Why would anybody buy a field in Anathoth? Anathoth now is Babylonian-occupied territory. That bill of sale will never be realized, you’ll never be able to do anything with it. And again, this is this economics thing – it’s worthless, so why would you buy it? And that’s the message of the prophecy. Why he should buy it despite that.

Keith: And actually, Nehemia, I’m going to do something I did a few episodes ago. I really started this, and I really didn’t want to start it the way that I did. The reason is because I can’t not be able to say where Jeremiah is. The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, and where’s Jeremiah? He’s in jail. [laughing]

Nehemia: Right.

Keith: Here’s a guy who’s in jail. And I think, “The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Tomorrow you shall be released from prison.’” No. You’re going to stay there, but while you’re there, I need you to buy a piece of property. Oh, the property is no good. But this is the word of the LORD.

Nehemia: And in a sense, the entire city of Jerusalem is in jail.

Keith: Exactly.

Nehemia: And on top of that, within that jail, he’s in a pit called Chatzar HaMatara. It’s some kind of like dungeon.

Keith: And so that’s my point. So here it is, he’s in a dungeon. Just be Jeremiah before we get going here. He’s in a dungeon. He’s waiting for the word; when’s the word going to come? He’s been prophesying back and forth. And the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah while he’s in jail, and you’re expecting it to be, what? “Go buy a piece of property.” I mean, come on! [both laughing] And so it really is interesting though, because we’re going to find, as we go on, that the story gets better and better.

Nehemia: Let’s read it. I think we’ve got to read it.

Keith: But I do think context wise, it really is interesting that that’s where he is when the word of the LORD comes to him. 32 verse 8, sure enough, “Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard,” while I was in jail, “according to the word of the LORD and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin.’ ” By the way, Nehemia?

Nehemia: Yes.

Keith: This is another one of those examples where we’ve actually – and you mentioned living there and seeing it – but to actually physically see where these places are and to know how close they are. I mean what would you say it is, 20 minutes by car, would you say from the center of the city?

Nehemia: Well, let’s say from the Old City, without traffic, I’d say it’s 10 or 15 minutes; with traffic, it could be an hour. [laughing]

Keith: Wow. Yes. As we found out. Anyway. But this is an interesting phrase. So this whole thing happens, he’s sitting in prison, he gets the word of the LORD, his uncle’s son comes and tells him about this piece of property, and then he says, “ ‘Buy my field, please…for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ ” And then this phrase comes up, “Then I knew that it was the word of the LORD.” Did he not know when it first came? And I’m just bringing this up as a human response.

Nehemia: It’s a good point.

Keith: It’s a great question.

Nehemia: But I think the point is, “Okay, I had this prophecy, what I thought was a prophecy, and now this completely unexpected thing happens.”

Keith: Nehemia, what he thought was a prophecy, it says, he wrote, it says, “The word of the LORD came to me.”

Nehemia: You’re the one who said he’s not sure.

Keith: No, I’m saying here it says, “Then I knew.” What – did you not know in the beginning? I mean the phrase to me, the reason I brought it up…

Nehemia: It’s interesting.

Keith: I like the phrase because honestly, in times there have been situations in my life where I just knew that I knew that I knew that this is what I was supposed to do, and in the middle of it there’s a doubt that comes in. Then it happens. And then I say, “Wow, I knew then.” It wasn’t that it wasn’t real. It’s just that that confirmation that came makes it…

Nehemia: And also, let’s remember that “to know” in biblical Hebrew means, “to know intimately.” And so maybe what he’s really saying is, “I knew that it was the word of Yehovah,” meaning, “I experienced it as Yehovah’s word.” That’s a possibility. But it’s also possible where he’s thinking, “Wait, what did God just say? ‘Buy the field?’”

Keith: Exactly. “Buy the field.”

Nehemia: “I’m in this pit, sinking in the…” I won’t describe it. “I’m in this pit and the city is under siege, and you’re saying my cousin’s going to come? Whoa. Maybe I’m just in great distress and I’m hallucinating.” And then all of a sudden, his cousin shows up, and he’s like, “Whoa. Deep, man.”

Keith: Yes. But that’s why in the next phrase… And again, this is another one of those things that just made me slow down a bit. It says, “And I bought the field which was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I weighed out the silver for him, seventeen shekels of silver.” And I’m thinking, the guy’s in jail, he’s weighing out silver, and it gets better now.

It gets better, because now they’re going to take us through the process of what we do at the closing table when you buy a piece of property, at least in the United States. I don’t know over here in Israel if it’s the same, but it’s a drawn-out process that takes place. And in this passage, we actually see in detail exactly what happens.

So he says what happens, he says, “I weighed out 17 shekels, I signed and sealed the deed.” Now, what does that mean?

Nehemia: So I love it in the Hebrew, the word is “sefer,” again which is “book.” We’ve seen that in previous passages. Any written document in Hebrew is called a book. So literally, it says, “And I wrote in the book and I signed and I had witnesses testify,” or witnesses witness, “and I weighed out the silver in the scales.” That’s pretty cool.

Keith: But then here’s what I love. So again, Jeremiah’s here… again, context – the city is under siege. Let’s do…

Nehemia: And he’s in prison.

Keith: And he’s in prison. Now, let’s do…

Nehemia: He’s locked up in county. [laughing]

Keith: “Let’s do a real estate deal. And oh, by the way, hey, we’re under siege. Hey, I need some witnesses to come in and witness, I’m about to do a…” Come on! This is really interesting to me! I’m sitting here thinking to myself…

Nehemia: Well, let’s go back to that, “And I knew it was the word of Yehovah.” Imagine, even if Hanamel shows up, he’s got to think, “Wait a minute, the guards aren’t going to let us do this. Where do I have any money from? I’m in prison.”

Keith: “I’m in prison.”

Nehemia: But somehow everything comes together. That’s the word of Yehovah.

Keith: It comes together. Yes. But it gets specific, it says, “Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the open copy.”

Nehemia: So it doesn’t say in Hebrew plural. It says, “I took the book,” literally.

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: “The book of the purchase, the sealed,” and literally, “hamitzvah vachukim,” “the commandment and the statutes, and the revealed.” Now, do you know what that means?

Keith: Come on with that.

Nehemia: All right. So here’s what they would do in ancient times – they would have a piece of parchment and they would write the contract essentially twice and sign it twice and have the witnesses sign twice. And one of the times, meaning the top half, for example – or could’ve been the bottom half – they would roll up and they would tie strings around it and make a little hole in there so they could tie a string around it. And this is one piece of parchment. And then they would take a piece of clay and they would stamp the seal of the scribe or the witness or something, or the judge…

Keith: Look. You’re making this up.

Nehemia: No, they found this.

Keith: How do you know? That is what I want you to tell me. Did they actually found…?

Nehemia: Well, let me get to that.

Keith: Okay.

Nehemia: So then they would stamp the signet ring into the clay, and that would hold the sealed copy shut. And so if you wanted to go and examine it, you would say, “Let me look at the revealed part of the scroll.” Then if there was any dispute, you would take it to a judge. The judge would examine the seal, and he would ask, “Baruch the son of Neriah, is this your seal?” And Baruch would look at it and say, “Oh, yes. That’s mine.”

Keith: “That’s my seal.”

Nehemia: “And it hasn’t been tampered with.” And then, in the presence of the judge, they would break the seal.

Keith: Say it. Break the seal.

Nehemia: And open up the sealed part of the document.

Keith: And check it.

Nehemia: And check – do these two documents match, or has someone tampered with the revealed document? And how do we know this? First of all, we found thousands of the seals in Jerusalem and in other places, but especially, there’s a place in Jerusalem that they found thousands of these seals, and you can see the little pieces of string on the back where…

And originally, by the way, this was unfired clay. So they take a piece of clay, it would be a little bit wet, they’d stamp it, and it would dry out. But if you came and poured water on it, it would dissolve, it was very delicate. Except it turns out the place where they stored these documents was burned by the Babylonians, and once you fire clay, it lasts forever. So they found what are called seal impressions on the documents, and on the back of them, you can see sometimes a little string where it was attached. And one of the coolest ones – to me this is probably the second most important document ever discovered in ancient Israel – and that is the seal of Baruch the son of Neriah.

Keith: Yes, sir.

Nehemia: And he’s actually mentioned in this passage. Baruch the son of Neriah, his actual seal impression was discovered in the City of David, outside the Old City of Jerusalem, in the City of David. And that’s pretty amazing. And the most important one is the Silver Scrolls.

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: They were found near the Begin Center. Anyway, so how do we know this? First of all, we found the seal impressions. Also, what we found is in a cave – this is really cool – they found these documents in a cave in Samaria, in the region of Samaria, where part of the document was still intact and the seals were still intact, and you can see exactly how it functioned. And the really cool thing is that was not written by Israelites, that document. That was signed by Sanballat, the same Sanballat, or certainly from the same dynasty of Sanballat, that’s mentioned in the book of Ezra and Nehemiah as the enemy of Israel in Samaria.

Keith: Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem?! That Sanballat?! [laughing]

Nehemia: That’s right. That Sanballat! We have his signature. Isn’t that cool? So we have this document that’s open and sealed. Do we have time to look at the passage in Isaiah where he talks about reading the…?

Keith: We have time, of course.

Nehemia: Can we talk about that?

Keith: Of course we can. But just before, while you’re looking for that, again one of the things that’s really interesting is that we’re actually looking at an entire closing process. I mean, in ancient Israel this is the process for transferring of property. And I just think what’s so interesting about this is that this is in the Book of Jeremiah, and we’re going to get to why it’s so important, but the detail is the thing that, I guess, really caught me off guard. I mean it could have just been, “Hey, you’re going to have to buy this piece of property, and the property is purchased.” You know, not all the detail. But we get to all the detail, and that’s really…

Nehemia: So here it’s Isaiah 29 verse 11 to 12, it says, “So that all prophecy has been to you like the words of a sealed document.” That’s pretty cool. Meaning, you know… All right, let’s read it. “If it is handed to the one who can read and he is asked to read it, he will say, ‘I can’t read it, because it is sealed.’”

Verse 12, “And if the document is handed to one who cannot read and he is asked to read it, he will say, ‘I can’t read.’” Meaning he doesn’t even know that, “Oh, yes, I can’t read it because it’s sealed.” He doesn’t even get that far, he says, “I can’t.” And the point is, Yehovah has given us these prophecies, and it’s like a sealed document to us. It’s right in front of us, and even if we know how to read, we’re not accessing that information, or we’re accessing the information we’re not understanding it. There are scales on our eyes, as some people say. But really that’s what he’s talking about, it’s like a sealed document. So here we see that it’s actually a sealed document, a revealed document. That’s really cool, to me.

Keith: Yes. Well, here’s the thing that I like, after we deal with the issue of the sealed document, the open document, “And I commanded Baruch in their presence,” and this is what I like, Jeremiah says, “Thus says Yehovah Tzevaot, Yehovah of hosts, the God of Israel,” then he says again, now we’re going to bring the word…

Nehemia: I think you skipped something. We’re in verse 12.

Keith: No, “…my uncle’s son,” Yes, we talked about what happened in the process.

Nehemia: You didn’t read verse 12.

Keith: But we just talked about it!

Nehemia: Can you read it, please?

Keith: You read it! [laughing]

Nehemia: Okay. Verse 12. Let me pull it up. You just don’t want to do it here. Okay, hold on then. Yes. “And gave the deed to Baruch son of Neriah,” He’s a scribe, “son of Mahseiah in the presence of my kinsman Hanamel, of the witnesses who were named in the deed, and all the Judeans who were sitting in the prison compound. In their presence I charged Baruch as follows:”

Keith: And the revelation from that phrase, here it comes, give us what… you wanted to read that verse, so there must be something. We’re going to read it. Okay. “And I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts…’” In other words, he’s telling him, he says, “Now I’m going to say these words, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed.’” This isn’t Jeremiah speaking, he’s saying this is what Yehovah’s saying, “Take these deeds,” because he knows the process, “this sealed deed of purchase and this,” what do you call it, “the open deed,” you just explained it, “and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may last a long time.”

Nehemia: Now, what’s really cool to me about that is the Dead Sea Scrolls…

Keith: Yes, sir.

Keith: Were discovered, the original ones, in Cave 1 and Cave 2 they were in earthenware jars. And that earthenware jar was sealed, actually, with pitch, and they lasted perfectly intact for 2,000 years.

Keith: 2000 years. I mean that is just… wow. So and he tells them…

Nehemia: And I’ve got to wonder, did they get it from here?

Keith: That’s a great question.

Nehemia: Did they read this story and say, “Oh, this is how we’ll preserve the scrolls.”

Keith: Oh, that’s a good thought.

Nehemia: Yes.

Keith: So it says, “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’” And when he says that, that just becomes the culmination of all of those details that we’re talking about – how they purchased the deed then opened and closed, and he’s in prison, and all of that. I mean, that becomes the good news for Jeremiah. He says, “Look, houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.” And he says that, which I think is interesting how many times the word of the Lord comes in the midst of circumstances that look almost impossible. In that circumstance…

Nehemia: Well, not almost. It looks impossible.

Keith: It looks impossible. And in that situation, he says, “But here it is.” Now, we just had that story a couple weeks ago, where he was dealing with economy. This is what the cost of…

Nehemia: Of the grain will be.

Keith: Of the grain is going to be. Now he’s dealing with the issue of real estate.

Nehemia: Right. And the point there was… Exactly, he’s saying, “Look, we could have all the rain in the world or we’re not going to have those prices. What are you talking about? That can’t be.” And God said, “Look, you don’t trust me? All right. You’re going to see it but not benefit from it.”

And here we have a very similar thing, absolutely. This is actually a theme that appears in other places in Jeremiah – that what looks now like there’s no hope, guess what – there’s going to be hope and you’re coming back here. And it sounded insane. Think about it – the Babylonians are besieging the city…

Keith: And the prophet’s in jail.

Nehemia: And the prophet’s in jail, and they know what the Babylonians do. They’ve seen this happen before. The Assyrians and the Babylonians, they come and they exile entire nations. So we’re going to be sent off into some exile, and you’re telling me this deed is going to be worth something? It’s almost like to bring an analogy from the economic crisis of ‘08, people at the last minute said, “Oh, I’ve got some stocks from Fannie and Freddie, would you like to buy them?” Well, they weren’t worth anything, why would anyone… Imagine though, if a prophecy came and said, “You shall buy the stock of Fannie and Freddie, and one day it will be worth a lot of money.” You’d think you’re crazy. What, I’m not buying that. What am I a sucker?

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: So I think this is pretty cool. It reminds me of some modern examples of similar sorts of situations, and one of them is… studying in history about the final days before the fall of Saigon, and they say that people were buying and selling and going about their business, not realizing that in a matter of weeks the entire economic system would end, they would be under this communist rule, and whatever merchandise you bought or anything like that would be irrelevant. Hundreds of thousands of people would end up dying in prison and being murdered.

Keith: It’s interesting, you’re not a news guy, you don’t watch a lot of news, but just a few weeks ago, I don’t know if you knew this, just weeks… well, actually, it would’ve been a few months ago, because now we’re in May but we’re actually recording this in March, this happened in Russia with the ruble.

Nehemia: Oh, really?

Keith: You didn’t know about that?

Nehemia: No. Tell me about this.

Keith: Oh my goodness. I mean this is like international news. The oil prices are going down, and all of a sudden the ruble starts to fall, and literally, people watch their… Their money just became half of its value just like that, overnight. People talk a lot about that.

Nehemia: This is even worse than that.

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: Because if you’re in Russia right now, and you own a piece of land, maybe that land’s value has on paper been lost, but if you hold onto that for the next 10 years or 20 years or 70 years, one day it’ll be worth something. And here he’s saying, “This land, I mean you’re giving me a piece of paper, it’s sealed, it’s not sealed, it doesn’t matter, a piece of parchment. We’re going into exile and the Babylonians own the land now. Inheritance? What does that have to do with it?”

And I love this analogy, or this example, in Saigon, where they’re going about the business not knowing… they didn’t realize. In the time Jeremiah, he did realize, and I have to wonder, we’re here recording this on March 5, 2015, and I’ve got to wonder – people in years to come, if they’re going to look back and say, “Oh, yes, the people before the collapse of the world monetary system. Keith and Nehemia were sitting there and they were talking about their ministries and not realizing that any day on March 17 a tsunami would wash across Lake Michigan, and that would be the end of the world economic system.

Keith: Wow.

Nehemia: I don’t think that’ll happen. [laughing] But imagine – in this situation they know it’s going to happen, and God is saying, “Oh, no, you’re coming back, don’t worry about it. You’re going to have this opportunity to buy and sell again.”

And I’m reminded of the famous passage, where he says, “Once again old men and old women will be walking through the streets and there’ll be the sound of the kol chatan vekol kalah,” the sound of the groom and the sound of the bride, in the streets of Jerusalem. And Jeremiah prophesies this, and people are like, “What are you talking about? We’re like eating rats to survive and we’re about to be taken as slaves into Babylon, and you’re talking about having weddings in the streets of Jerusalem?” And to me, that is so amazing, that I could walk around the streets of Jerusalem today and see that Jeremiah was right.

Keith: Wow.

Nehemia: It’s so easy to look in hindsight and say, “Oh, yes, of course he said that, because we knew the calculation and we have faith. But when you’re in the middle of that situation and you’re saying, “Once again, these things will happen, you’ll be buying and selling land. You’ll be celebrating. Children will be playing in the streets.” You think, “He’s nuts. What’s he talking about that? This can’t be true.” And now it is, it’s a fact that’s happened.

Keith: Well, I will tell you, when the switch comes after we deal with all the details of the real estate and the circumstances of him being in jail, then he does this, which Jeremiah… I mean, I’m just kind of brought into his mind, he lets us into his mind and into his heart, because it says that after all of that, then he prays, and when he prays, he prays this prayer that really is a message, it’s a sermon. And it’s… wow. So we can take one verse at a time, or we can go back and forth.

Nehemia: Let’s start, verse 17.

Keith: Yes, 17. So in verse 17… And here’s an example where we have him speaking about Yehovah, but he uses the word “Adonai,” as Lord, “Ah, Adonai, GOD! Behold…”

Nehemia: Whoa. It’s “Adonai Yehovah.”

Keith: Well, here it says in English it’s “God”, but it’s Yehovah in the Hebrew.

Nehemia: Yes.

Keith: But in English they say, okay, now we’re going to capitalize the “GOD” to make sure you know it’s Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei.

Nehemia: Adonai Yehovah.

Keith: So he says, “Adonai Yehovah,” and in English it’s, “‘Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You…” And this goes back to a really interesting thing that I really like when the prophets remind us of this and people are reminded of it. “You are the one who made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing,” and then it says in English, “is too difficult for You,” Is that good enough? Is it good enough? Is that a good enough phrase? “Nothing is too difficult for you”?

Nehemia: Well, I want to talk about “Aha,” or you have “Ah.”

Keith: Attah.

Nehemia: No, it’s “Aha.”

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: Aha! And that’s really interesting, that word “Aha.” And as I read this verse, it seems to me Jeremiah is trying to convince himself. Like, he’s saying these words out loud because he…

Keith: What are you talking about?

Nehemia: He knows theologically they’re true.

Keith: He’s trying to convince himself?

Nehemia: I think he’s trying to convince himself.

Keith: Convince himself what?

Nehemia: That, “Wait, I just had this vision and it came true. The guy showed up and I sold the field. I know this has got to be Yehovah doing this, and nothing’s beyond His ability.” But deep in his mind, he’s thinking, “What?”

Keith: Okay. Folks, I mean here…

Nehemia: And I’m partially…

Keith: That’s why I brought the phrase earlier, where he says, “I knew it was the word of Yehovah.” That’s why I wanted to focus on that, because first the word of the LORD comes, these things happen, the details come, and then he says, “And I knew it was the Word of Yehovah.” Then he says, “Thus says Yehovah.” I think he’s preaching now. I think he’s at the place where he’s like saying, “Here it is, folks.” And he’s recording it for us to show the world, listen now, maybe I went too far but I listened to the prayer, and I read the prayer and I thought, “Wow this is Jeremiah not at all thinking, “I need to…” you know, this is really happening.

Nehemia: Well, “aha” they often will translate it is “alas”, and I think that’s a better translation here.

Keith: Okay.

Nehemia: There’s a certain amount of, “What?” So Jeremiah 4:10 is an example of “aha!” He likes that word, Jeremiah. It says, “And I said: Ah, Lord GOD!” or “Aha, Adonai Yehovah! Surely You have deceived this people in Jerusalem, saying ‘It shall be well with you,’ yet the sword threatens the very life!”

So Jeremiah tends to use this phrase and others as well when he’s like, “Wait, I don’t understand. What?” Now, he knows that nothing is beyond Yehovah. Meaning, he’s saying this statement, but I think, and I could be wrong, from the word “aha,” that he’s trying to convince himself. That’s my view. I’m sticking with it.

Keith: When we talk to Jeremiah about this, he’s going to say, “You know, I listen to Prophet Pearls. I’ve got an issue with you, Nehemia Gordon. I told you ahead of time – here comes the word of the LORD. I didn’t tell you, and I know it’s the word of the LORD, I say it’s the word LORD, I even say, “Thus sayeth the LORD,” and then you tell the people that I’m trying to convince myself?! No! I’m trying to let the world know, “Ah Yehovah!” “Ah Adonai Yehovah! Behold.”

Nehemia: I don’t see that as the meaning of “aha.” Meaning, he could have chosen a different word.

Keith: Okay.

Nehemia: But okay.

Keith: “Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power,” and the reason that the phrase, that excited me, was sometimes you said this, sometimes you think of God as the God of Israel and you’re reminded He’s the one who does it all.

Nehemia: Amen.

Keith: He goes to the big picture. He’s like, “You made the heavens and the earth, and then…” Come on, is this not going to be the Word of the Week here?

Nehemia: Which one?

Keith: This next phrase, “Nothing is too difficult for You,” in English.

Nehemia: Beseder.

Keith: No. Come on. You’ve got to tell them.

Nehemia: Okay. All right. So the word is “yipaleh.”

Keith: “Yipaleh.”

Nehemia: It says, “lo yipaleh mimcha kol davar,” “nothing is too difficult for You.” And that’s the word that also could be translated as “hidden,” and “wonderful,” “There’s nothing too wonderful for You,” “Nothing is hidden from You.” And we have this phrase two times really clear. One is Genesis 18:14.

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: And it’s a similar sort of thing, where the angels are telling them this thing’s going to happen, and she laughs, or he laughs. And then he says, “Hayipaleh mi’Yehovah davar?” “Is anything too difficult, hidden, too wonderful, for Yehovah? At this time I will return,” et cetera. You know, and Sarah will have a son. So it sounds like something impossible, and he’s saying, “Is anything too difficult for Yehovah?” It’s a rhetorical question; obviously, the answer is no.

Deuteronomy 17:8 is talking about when something is too difficult for you, or hidden from you, in a matter of judgment. And that’s where you go to the Levitical priest and the judge at the Temple. So there, nothing is too difficult for Yehovah, but it is too difficult for us, so we’ve got to ask Yehovah.

And Psalm chapter 119 Verse 18, is our prayer.

Keith: That’s what I’m waiting for you. This is it!

Nehemia: Beseder. “Gaal einai vehabitah nifla’ot mi’Torahtecha,” “Uncover my eyes that I may see” nifla’ot, from the same word, “the wonderful hidden things from your Torah.”

Keith: Amen. Now, give them what the three letters are.

Nehemia: Okay. The three-letter root in every word in Biblical Hebrew, Pei-Lamed-Alef, which is the word “pele,” which means “wonderful,” “difficult,” “hidden.” And of course, one of the places where we see that is where – and we’ll actually get to the section, I believe – where Manoah the father of Samson asked the angel, “What’s your name?” in Judges 13:18, and the angel of Yehovah said to him, “Why do you ask my name? Vehu peli,” “And it is hidden.”

Keith: It’s hidden.

Nehemia: It’s beyond you. It’s hidden. You don’t even know what it is.

Keith: And this is why, actually, I wanted to make this the Word of the Week, was my argument about Jeremiah absolutely knowing that this is Yehovah.

Nehemia: Oh, absolutely! He’s convincing himself that this is Yehovah. He’s saying, “Look, this is the theology. This has to be Yehovah. I know it’s insane, but it’s got to be Him. Nothing’s beyond Yehovah.”

Keith: Nothing shows. But then he goes to the favorite phrase that we talked about.

Nehemia: Oh, yes.

Keith: He says, “Who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. Yehovah of hosts is His name.” Wow.

Nehemia: Yes. Now, this is based on Exodus chapter 20 verses 5 to 6, the Ten Commandments, where he opens it up, “Ki anochi Yehovah Elohecha,” “For I am Yehovah your God,” “El kanah,” jealous god, “po’ked avon avot al banim al shilashim ve’al riba’im leson’ai,” “I visit the iniquity, or repay the iniquity, of the fathers upon the sons upon the third generation and upon the fourth generation to those who hate Me.” That’s a key word there. And He says, “And I do righteousness,” or chesed, a difficult word to translate, “to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

And of course, we’ve discussed this before, we don’t have to go into the whole thing, but Ezekiel chapter 18 and Chapter 33 I believe take up this issue and they say, “Wait a minute, I’ve got no chance, my father sinned; I’m going to be punished. That’s what it says in the Ten Commandments.” And Ezekiel says that’s only if you continue in your father’s sin. And so the keyword in Exodus 20 verses 5 to 6 is “For those who hate me.” If you continue to hate God and act like you hate God. But Jeremiah is clearly basing himself here on this passage, which is pretty cool. It’s quoted many, many times in the Tanakh. It’s in Exodus 34 verses 6 to 7. Go look up those verses.

Keith: This is like a signature prayer of Jeremiah, like the signature prayer of Solomon when Solomon is praying after the Temple is dedicated. You have certain prayers where it’s like, wow, this, for me, when I’m reading this prayer, it’s like the signature prayer of Jeremiah. Here he is in prison, he’s been told to do this absolutely unfathomable thought as they’re being surrounded by the Babylonians. They know what’s going to happen, like you say. They know they’re going to be taken away. He is obedient to go through the process; does it in detail. He speaks the word of Yehovah. He proclaims the word of Yehovah. He sees the whole thing happen and then he goes into this prayer.

And for me, like I say, it’s a signature prayer for him because he goes through and he gives us history, he gives us who God is, what He is, how He operates. He says He’s “great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes,” and this is a hard one for people to understand, but it’s true, “His eyes are open to some of the ways of the sons of men”? No. “His eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.”

And then he goes on, and then he brings them back to history. “Who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,” bringing us all the way back to what He did, which we hear over and over again, reminding people that Yehovah is the God who brought them out of the land of Egypt with a strong and mighty arm. And it says, “and even to this day,” and here is where it comes, “even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; You have made a name for Yourself, as at this day.” And Jeremiah’s in the pit! He’s in the crap hole! And he’s giving us this…

Nehemia: Well… [laughing]

Keith: No, he is.

Nehemia: You want to elaborate on that?

Keith: No. It’s a fact. It’s a sewer hole, and he’s there, and he’s in the middle of all this. Can I stop?

Nehemia: Yes.

Keith: May we be like this in circumstances that are absolutely untenable. That are just terrible, there’s people that are in – and I see this especially as I travel the world – where there are people that don’t have the resources, they don’t have the big job, they don’t have the finances, but they have a relationship with God. And you could look at their circumstance and say, “Wow, how do you praise God in the midst of no bathroom, no food, no money?” And they say, “But this is who God is.”

So when I’m hearing Jeremiah, I’m reminded of people in difficult positions. And then I ask myself, conviction, that says to me, “Okay, so you’re a little sick, and Nehemia won’t give you breakfast, and you’re stuck in this apartment, and you don’t have…” Look, that’s nothing. God, you’re amazing. You’re absolutely amazing. I’m only thankful that I’ve got breath that I can actually praise You. And that’s what Jeremiah’s doing.

Nehemia: And the food I filled the refrigerator with.

Keith: [laughing] And the food he – yes.

Nehemia: “Woe is me I have no food.” What do you mean? We went to the supermarket.

Keith: No, I’m telling you. We’re down to nothing here. But no, I’m just saying that basically that he is… I really can’t complain. I can’t complain about anything. Who He is, and as it says here, “and You have made a name for Yourself, as at this day.” Jeremiah is sitting there thinking, “Wow, God is doing it. He’s at it again. He does what He does.” And then he goes again!

Nehemia: I’ve got to go back, because you’re right about…

Keith: I’m excited about that.

Nehemia: And you should be excited. There are people right now who are spiritually in that crap pit; they’re suffering in many ways. I want to go back to the word “aha,” which is “alas,” or how did you have it in your English? Like “ah!” or…

Keith: Yes, “ah!”

Nehemia: “Ah,” okay. So this in Hebrew is an exclamation, we call it an exclamation of disbelief. That’s like this category of grammar, you can look it up. And I think that’s really key. He’s expressing on the one hand with this word “aha” this disbelief, and then immediately following it up, well, I know this is true despite my disbelief. I think that’s really key – in the Hebrew Bible, I don’t think the message is that we’re not allowed to doubt. I think on the contrary – we’re supposed to trust in God and believe in Him even though we have this doubt in our heart. We’re supposed to overcome that.

It’s like I’ve heard people talk about in battle, in war. People who’ve never been to war say you shouldn’t be afraid, and the people have been to war say, no, you go over the foxhole even though you’re terrified, you still do it, because you’ve got to trust in God. That’s why they say there’s no atheists in the foxhole.

But I think that, to me, that’s what it’s about. It’s about trusting God and having faith in Him, even though you have some doubt in your heart, and you’re looking at this and saying, “This is impossible, but I know nothing is beyond God because I’ve seen the things that he did in Egypt and I see the things that he does in our lives even today. And so I do trust in Him and I do believe Him and have faith in Him, even though my heart is suffering and crying out, ‘How can this possibly be?’ I’m still going to trust in him.”

Keith: Well, this will be one of these ones where we’ll go back to where you’re misinterpreting Jeremiah’s “aha.” But look, I’ll give that to you.

Nehemia: All right. So I’m going to plow through, and we’re going to go through all the “aha’s.”

Keith: That’s what I really want. [laughing]

Nehemia: Is that really what you want? There are 15 in the Tanakh. But let’s take for example…

Keith: You just won’t do it. No, just kidding.

Nehemia: Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 4, “The word of Yehovah came to me, ‘Before I created you in the womb, I selected you; Before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet concerning the nations.’ I replied, ‘Aha, Lord Yehovah! I don’t know how to speak, for I am still a boy.’” In other words, Yehovah is telling him, “You’re going to be My prophet.” He’s like, “Whaaat?” That’s how “aha” properly translates into modern English, “Whaaat?” No, I’m telling you.

Keith: Okay.

Nehemia: And so he says here “Whaaat? Well, I know nothing’s beyond you. Okay, I get it.”

Keith: Yes.

Nehemia: And we can go through all 15, but I’m right, so… Actually, that’s good homework for people. I don’t know what the Strong’s number, is because I’m looking in the Hebrew concordance program here. But go look at all 15 examples of the word “aha” in the Tanakh. Should I list them off right now or?

Keith: No, that’s okay. We’ll put it in…

Nehemia: Yes, Keith will do that. So go look it up and go through them. That’s a great word study. Okay, let’s go on.

Keith: Well again, he does Egypt twice, actually. Egypt in verse 20, “who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.” And then in 21, “You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt,” that’s what You did, “with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm,” which is used several times in Scripture. “And gave them this land, which You swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.” We know about that phrase.

And then he’s still talking, “They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law,” which is why we’re in the situation we’re in now, is what he’s saying, “They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made all this calamity come upon them.”

Then there’s a shift, because now he’s going to give us the details of what’s happening in the siege, and really Nehemia, if you think about it, if we just started this section where the prophet section starts, and we just started, and we don’t read the few verses before, up until verse 24 we don’t know that there’s a siege.

Nehemia: Right.

Keith: In other words, literally, this is where he’s… and it’s like reminding him again how amazing this is. “Behold, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and what You have spoken…” In the middle of that he says, “and what You have spoken has come to pass; and behold, You see it.” So you could read Jeremiah in the beginning chapters and go through it and you’d see this is spoken, that’s why I don’t think he surprised at all.

But anyway, God is saying these are the things that are going to happen, they’re going to happen, they’re going to happen, the word of the Lord comes to him. They go through the process. He reminds them of who God is in this prayer. And then verse 25 says what?

Nehemia: Go on.

Keith: “You have said to me, O Yehovah God, O Adonai Yehovah, ‘Buy for yourself,’” now he’s back to what happened, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses, although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”

Nehemia: In case you missed the point. [laughing]

Keith: So why does he put that verse there, do you think? What’s he saying? Why does he bring that after this prayer?

Nehemia: I think there’s still an element of disbelief. “And the word of Yehovah came to Jeremiah, saying: ‘Behold I am Yehovah, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?’” And that’s the same word as we had before, the Word of the Week, “yipaleh,” with the root Pei-Lamed-Alef.

Keith: Isn’t that something.

Nehemia: The Yud there means “he will”. And this is a “nifal,” a passive verb. “Is anything beyond Yehovah, or too difficult for him?”

Keith: “Behold.”

Nehemia: Yes.

Keith: “Hineh ani Yehovah Elohei,” “I am Yehovah the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?” And I would say absolutely, 100% not. I would agree with Jeremiah on this. It’s like there’s nothing…

Nehemia: Well, hold on. So Jeremiah initially said it, and now Yehovah is reinforcing it.

Keith: Absolutely. I agree with both of them. Nothing’s too hard for Him. Wow. I don’t know, I mean I think that if I get a chance, I have to go and preach this passage. This prayer of Jeremiah is just amazing. It’s just amazing.

Nehemia: Nothing is beyond Yehovah. Can we read four more verses? Because they’re essentially the explanation of the prophecy, in case it still wasn’t obvious.

Keith: You want to go beyond the section here?

Nehemia: I do.

Keith: Okay. No question. We started out four verses earlier.

Nehemia: And here I wonder, why did they end this section so early? Maybe they were in a hurry to get out of the synagogue. But really, verses 36 and 37, and then again 43 and 44, they wrapped it up, they leave no doubt about what the prophecy is about. I think those are actually the key verses in the entire prophecy, in my opinion. So I want to read those real quick, 36 and 37.

Keith: Though they’re not in the section. But I love this. And you guys, this is extra credit. You’re getting a bonus section here.

Nehemia: Well, I mean really what we’re doing is we’re putting it in context. I’ve said this before… It’s interesting – when the rabbis have a debate with a Christian, they’ll say, “You Christians, you take these things out of context.” But the Rabbis are masters of taking things out of context. That’s what the Talmud is all about, is taking things out of context.

Anyway. So let’s put it back into context. Jeremiah 32:36-37, “But now, assuredly, thus says Yehovah, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you said, It is being delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon through the sword, through famine, and through pestilence. ‘See, I will gather them from all the lands to which I have banished them in My anger and wrath, and in great rage; and I will bring them back to this place and let them dwell secure.’” He’s saying this before it even happened. Well, I guess the first round of exile did happen.

Verse 43, “And fields shall again be purchased in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. Fields shall be purchased, and deeds written and sealed, and witnesses called in the land of Benjamin and in the environs of Jerusalem, and the towns of Judah; the towns of the hill country, the towns of the Shephelah, and the towns of the Negeb. For I will restore their fortunes,’ declares Yehovah.”

And so we see here, I can’t stand it, “restore their fortunes.” It says, “I will return their captivity,” in Hebrew, [laughing] referring to the Jews who were taken captive, and at this point hadn’t actually been taken captive yet. It’s unbelievable. This is an amazing passage. This is such an exciting passage. He basically prophesies something that’s completely impossible and yet it comes to pass in the time of… And that’s the amazing thing to me. In the story of Elisha, where he talks about the grain in the gate of Samaria – and people should go listen to that episode – it was one day before the prophecy was fulfilled. This wasn’t even fulfilled in Jeremiah’s lifetime. He died an old man believing this prophecy would be fulfilled, and it was 70 years before it was finally fulfilled.

Keith: Good job, Jeremiah. [laughing]

Nehemia: Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Wow.

Keith: Okay. It’s your turn to pray if you want to. I don’t know if you want.

Nehemia: I want to read one more verse, a little bit more extra credit.

Keith: A little more extra credit, another bonus, folks.

Nehemia: No, we’ve got to do it. So Jeremiah 16:9, “For thus said Yehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, ‘I am going to banish from this place, in your days and before your eyes, the sound of mirth and gladness, the sound of bridegroom and bride.’” And when Jeremiah prophesied this first prophecy, people thought, “He’s crazy. What are you talking about? We’ve never had things better, the economy’s great, our finances are great, we’ve gotten a deal with the Babylonians, we’re dealing with the Egyptians in the back room. Everything is fine. We got the superpowers on us.”

Keith: Now you’ve gone to the next Prophets section. You’re in Jeremiah 16. [laughing]

Nehemia: Beseder. No, no. So then Jeremiah 33, let’s see is that it? Yes, 33. He then gives the next prophecy, which is how they’re going to come back, and I’m bringing this because it parallels this idea of buying and selling fields, and I mentioned this, but I want to actually read because it’s such a powerful… I love this, this is one of my favorite prophecies in the entire Tanakh.

Jeremiah 33:10 to 11, “Thus says Yehovah, ‘Again there shall be heard in this place, which you say is ruined, without man or beast,’” doesn’t that sound similar, “‘in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man, without inhabitants, without beast — the sound of mirth and gladness, the voice of bridegroom and bride, the voice of those who cry, Give thanks to Yehovah of Hosts, for Yehovah is good,’” I love that it actually says, “Yehovah” speaking his name and proclaiming these words is a fulfillment of the prophecy. “Give thanks to Yehovah of hosts.” It doesn’t say give thanks to “Adonai” of hosts. “Give thanks to Yehovah of Hosts, for Yehovah is good, for His kindness is everlasting!” And they bring thanksgiving offerings to the House of Yehovah. “For I will restore,” literally, again, it’s “‘I will bring back the captivity of the land as of old,’ says Yehovah.”

And that’s my prayer. Yehovah, Creator of the universe, “Elohei kol basar,” God of all flesh. I ask you, Yehovah, to continue to fulfill this prophecy and bring back the captivity of Israel. In my lifetime I’ve seen such amazing fulfillment of this. There were literally over a million Jews being held captive in the Soviet Union, and I remember in my youth people used to say that will never be solved, hundreds of years from now we’ll still be struggling to free those Jews, and now it’s not even a lifetime later. I’m not even an old man yet, and already it’s been fulfilled, and those captives are back here, and you can walk around the streets of Jerusalem and see those captives. And there’s joy and mirth among those people, and the sound of the bride and the groom, they’re rejoicing in the streets of Jerusalem, literally in fulfillment of this prophecy.

And I’m just so blessed to have had the opportunity to see these things, Yehovah, and to see with my own eyes, and I have this faith in my heart, but to be able to see with my own eyes Your fulfillment of prophecy in my lifetime through Your people Israel is such a great blessing to me, Yehovah. I’m so thankful. And Yehovah, I ask that You bring peace to Israel. That You bring peace to this people that now we’re actually recording this, Yehovah, as You know on Purim, thousands of years ago there was an evil Persian ruler named Haman, who wanted to wipe out our people, and he sent letters throughout the land with his signet ring. And today the evil Persian rulers want to wipe us out once again, and they’re sending out their message on Twitter to wipe us out. Yehovah, I ask You to turn the hearts… Back in the time of Purim there was a foolish Persian king who didn’t realize what Haman was doing. He didn’t quite understand because he was just physically drunk all the time. Today we have someone who’s spiritually drunk, who’s being deceived by the Persians. Yehovah I ask You to turn his heart so he can understand what’s going on, and if not, You will find a way to save Your people Israel, “ki lo yipaleh mimcha davar,” because nothing is too difficult for You . Nothing is hidden for You. Nothing is beyond Your ability, Yehovah. I ask You to protect this city and this people and all who call upon Your name, Yehovah. Amen.

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