Tag Archives: Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

2 Samuel 11:1-15 – Overcome by the swells of worldly influence

January 17, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.” Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”

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This is an optional Old Testament selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 12. It will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday July 29, 2018. It is important because it is an example of how those who have God with them are still able to stray from the path of righteousness. This can serve to remind one how the destructive powers of the world can only be overcome by the presence of God within.

When the Israelites went to Samuel and demanded they be given a king, Samuel talked with God about how to respond. Of the things God told Samuel to make sure the Israelites understood, one was: “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.” (1 Samuel 8:11) God then had Samuel say, “He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.” (1 Samuel 8:13) Another added, “Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.” (1 Samuel 8:16) Samuel concluding by telling the Israelite elders, “When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

Being reminded of this broad stroke of power ceded to a king, David did not exceed the powers of his position. Surely, there have been many kings and leaders of nations, both before and after David, who did the same or worse. Having absolute power at one’s disposal can lead to decisions that mere mortals question. David, as the King of Israel, had no human laws that bound him, so everything he did was legal. Still, as an Israelite king, David owed his sovereignty to Yahweh; so the people of Israel had to be led to follow the Laws of Moses, under a king anointed by God’s blessing. Therefore, the dilemma in this story comes from David serving his personal desires while maintaining his responsibilities to the Israelites – a godly nation.

This would-be King of Camelot has an image that is greater than the man who seduced women adulterously.

This is the problem with allowing self to have absolute rule over one’s body is it challenges one’s promise to allow God to have absolute rule over one’s soul. The body must submit to the will of a king, but the soul must submit to the Will of God. David had broken several Laws as a priest to God (as an Israelite), but, as king, David was the only one of flesh who could find him at fault. David then becomes a reflection of the dilemma that is set upon each individual, as each body is its own kingdom where the only controls placed upon self are based on one’s subjection to God above, and one’s obedience in following His rules of righteousness.

In the first verse, we read, “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle.” This states the animal instincts within human beings, where a soul falls under the influence of the physical plane. The cycle of the seasons reflects changes worldly beings go through. Spring is the time of Aries – when the sun shines light amid the sign of the Ram – symbolizing the rebirth of the land from the dead of winter.

As such, reading how spring is “the time when kings go out to battle,” an innate desire to show dominance and power comes forth. The newness drive brings a fresh drive to change into activity from dormancy.

This natural drive is where the rights of parentage come, in a world that depends on survival of the fittest. The winners of wars become the ones who then love with abandon, so the winner’s seed is not wasted. This is how the saying, “All is fair in love and war,” comes into being, as all are equally able to compete, but to the winners go the spoils. Thus, this story of David’s lust for Bathsheba stems from this influence of nature.

From this statement of the time when battles are fought, we then read, “David remained at Jerusalem,” rather than go to battle. This is a sign of age setting in. While the year had turned to spring, David had turned to the downside of life. Long gone were the vigorous days of his youth, when he led the troops out and back in, evaded Saul and his soldiers, and when he danced wildly before the Ark of the Covenant. David had already married six women and had children by them; and he may have had concubines, as was his right as king. Those came when he took pleasure going out to do battle with the enemies of Israel. However, now he stayed in Jerusalem, showing the thrill of being a young man was gone.

There are those who have tried to figure out how old David was when he became enthralled with Bathsheba; and while David’s age then is uncertain, it is assured that David was significantly older than she. Some have estimated that David had reached the midpoint of his forty-year reign, making him fifty years of age. However, I feel David was closer to sixty, beyond the ‘mid-life crisis’ period, and no longer interested in the accolades of battles won. The the youth of Solomon (the second born between David and Bathsheba) when he became king (at age ten?) is the determining factor; so if David was fifty-eight when he impregnated Bathsheba, fifty-nine when that baby was born and died, then Solomon’s birth would have been when David was sixty years of age.

Seeing David as being closer to the end of his reign, rather than at the apex of his time of rule, we are then better able to see the contrast that comes when we are introduced to Uriah the Hittite, who was the husband of Bathsheba. One should be able to see his youthful exuberance as closely relating to young men fresh out of high school who joined the military and quickly discovered sex, marrying equally young women. Uriah shows how he was filled with a love of God, country, and family – taught all the right things to serve, in the right order. Uriah was why patriotic Americans say to veterans, “Thank you for your service.”

The name Uriah cannot be overlooked, as it means, “Flame of Yahweh” or “Light of Yahweh.” When David called for Uriah to come from the field of battle to Jerusalem, where he was wined and dined by the king, David was in essence confronting himself in Uriah. That young Israelite man reflected the dedication and devotion to “the Ark of Israel and Judah” that David once had. While David was living with the Philistines in Gath and Ziklag (the symbolism of Uriah being identified as a Hittite), his wife Michal had been given by Saul to another man. Uriah was like David was, as both were too young and too poor to afford the dowry required to marry; but both could afford wives through their dedication to their military service. Thus, Uriah was that light of the past shining before an aging David. Uriah represented the eternal flame of devotion to the LORD. David had let that fire dwindle down to embers.

The name Bathsheba means “Daughter of Seven” or “Daughter of an Oath,” depending on the vowel sound inserted (sheba or shaba). As the representation of a daughter of seven, where seven reflects the day the Lord made holy, Bathsheba was holiness. She would become David’s seventh known wife and eventually give birth to David’s successor, Solomon. Still, as the representation of a daughter of an oath, Bathsheba was dedicated at birth to serve the One God. When called to serve her king, who was anointed by God, she was not displaying youthful promiscuity, but devotion as a servant.

When Bathsheba is identified as the daughter of Eliam, whose name means, “God of the People” or “God is Kinsman,” Bathsheba then reflects Israel, to which David was king. As such, David did not simply happen to see Bathsheba naked, as she ritually bathed to cleanse herself, as God sent Bathsheba to David “in the spring of the year” for a divine purpose. David needed to be tested by God and that test was presented in Bathsheba.

That purpose would bring forth the next heir to the throne of Israel, as God knew the sons of David by other wives were wayward and unworthy of His blessing. When we read, “The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant,” we know by that news that more than a month had passed since that one sexual encounter. One should not assume an adulterous relationship developed between a young Israelite woman and King David, as only one encounter is stated. When we read that Bathsheba sent word to David to inform him of the pregnancy, that says she did not tell David while in his embrace.

When David received that information, his immediate reaction was to make it seem that Uriah, the husband, was the father of the child that was expected. Before Bathsheba began to show evidence of her pregnancy, David tried to make it possible for Uriah to be the father of Bathsheba’s illegitimate child, by bringing Uriah home, away from battle. Once home, he would be reunited with his wife. That plan shows David did not seek to take Bathsheba from her rightful husband, meaning David felt guilt for his actions. It was only after Uriah would not go to his home, which made his having sex with Bathsheba an impossibility, that David gave orders to let Uriah be killed in action. With that death, David could ‘make Bathsheba an honest woman’ by marrying her as a widow.

This story becoming an example of how the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry then shows how an emotionally stimulated sin goes from bad to worse, when one begins adding lies to the mix. Once David knew Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, he should have walked away from his covetous thoughts. He should have realized he was forcing Bathsheba to commit adultery when she was escorted to David’s house. David should have admitted his sin to Uriah and offered his servant the opportunity to decide the outcome of the pregnancy. Had David done all that, David would have proved his heart still was on fire for the LORD; but David did as the story says because David needed that fire stoked by David coming to know sin for the first time.

As for Uriah, one needs to see him as a template for the sacrificial lamb, whose blood saved the Israelites from the angel of death in Egypt. When Uriah was let out of the king’s house and told to go home, Uriah slept at the king’s doorway, like a lost sheep. When Uriah would not make David’s trickery work, he even gladly carried his own death sentence to Joab, like a lamb being led to its slaughter. Uriah then was a flame of Yahweh that would also be present in Jesus centuries later; but Uriah was the flame of innocence.

While not read, this episode in David’s life would be condemned by God, told to David by the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 12). Nathan would even use a parable of a poor man who only had a ewe lamb as his worldly possession, which was taken by a rich man with many sheep, who then ordered the ewe lamb killed to serve as food for the rich man’s guest. David was aghast at the audacity of such a thief, leading Nathan to proclaim, “You are that man!”

We read beyond this story that David would be forgiven by God, but David would still face the death of his love child with Bathsheba. That baby would die on its seventh day of life, giving insight into Bathsheba being the Daughter of Seven. That firstborn child would be the ewe lamb taken and sacrificed so that David’s soul would not die for his sins of coveting, adultery, and murder (by the sword of his enemy).

As the selected Old Testament reading for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry for the LORD should be underway, the lesson that should be gained from this story about David, Bathsheba, and Uriah the Hittite is one of responsibility. We are all human beings born into a world that has natural cycles and inherent drives, some of which overcome us like an ocean wave crashing down upon driftwood. At times, we fail to see the errors of our ways (as did David). At times, we submit to the will of others out of a sense of obligation (as did Bathsheba). At times we sacrifice for the higher good, even though we do not know what sacrifice entails (as did Uriah). Still, at all times it is our souls that are the buoyancy that brings us back to the surface, so we can be reoriented to our service to God.

The physical plane is not heaven. It can be as volatile as it can be peaceful. Sin is at home in the material world. David represents a child of God that has never known sin; and like God’s Son Adam, knowing sin was necessary to help others. To find one’s way back to God, one needs to know the pleasures of the worldly environment are a test that block that return. Only with God’s help can one’s soul return to God, and only by knowing sin can one seek that divine assistance.

A minister to the LORD thus knows sin personally. It is the power of personal knowledge that is the strong foundation of faith. More than believing sin is dangerously addictive, because one read a warning pamphlet about drug use, or one telling of sexually transmitted diseases, or one telling how all work and no play makes Jack a dull, but rich boy cannot convey the power of actually being trapped in an addictive spiral. In the same way that knowing sin leads one to find faith in God, the true power of faith comes from personally experiencing God’s presence … not reading about it in books.

One should never be so bold as to think one is anointed by God, as was David, so one feels empowered to guide human laws and societal standards to meet personal ideas and visions or right and wrong. The laws of the land are always due to the will of the land’s rulers, regardless of how many or how few those rulers are. A minister needs to be reminded how the legislative struggles of government are like “the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle.” Youthful exuberance leads the righteous to seek out evil and slay it in the name of God.

While there is a time for the good fight, the success of those fights require the ark of God be within those doing battle. Still, there comes a time when the constancy of war gets old and tiresome. The thrill of beating one’s chest after another victory is no longer satisfying. After all, sin lives freely in this world; so, there comes a time when one decides not to join a war to save the world as before. Defeating sin becomes a tiresome burden to bear, which makes leading others away from sin, based on experience, the better way to proceed.

Sometimes it is time to set the status quo aside and let God lead one to a test. Adam and wife were tested in Eden, when God knew the result would be failure (a sin). Job was tested when he did nothing wrong; but God allowed Job to suffer miserably, because Satan wanted Job’s faith pushed to the max. David was tested because the flame of Yahweh had been reduced to a pilot light. David, like Adam and wife, knew only the experience of serving God, before they came to know sin. God has His ways of shaking things up within His faithful, just to renew the convictions that were what once proved faith. Sins can then be wake-up calls that are necessary for one’s soul.

It is a test to read the words of this optional lesson and see David cast into the light as a sinner of the greatest magnitude and not think that God has a separate set of rules for His favorite human beings. That is not the case, according to Scripture. David was punished for his sins, which he freely admitted he deserved punishment for; but the punishment David received was like Job’s, in the sense that David’s punishment caused harm to others, more than David. That suffering led David to know deep and lingering pains that could never disappear. Throughout the rest of David’s life, God stayed by his side, although David had a completely different perspective about how the other half lived.

This is the responsibility of ministry. Apostles and Saints have to freely admit all of their individual sins committed; and, they have to accept punishment for those sins in this lifetime, in order to free their souls for eternal life. Still, there are no bonus points for doing that publicly, as the whole of Israel would have been in danger of collapse (as a priestly nation), had David told everyone he was stepping down as king and sentencing himself to prison for breaking the Laws set by God. More innocent people would have been hurt had that happened. Therefore, David privately repented, earnestly prayed for others, and continued to stand strong for the children of God, all while watching his own family crumble under the pressures of God’s punishments.

This means the message carried by ministers to the LORD steers away from lament and tears of what woulda, coulda, shoulda. Life is filled with ups and down, in and outs, and highs and lows. Keeping one’s eyes on the prize – the sin free soul’s release to heaven – means to be the optimist to others, knowing that with God’s help anything is possible. Therefore, the message shown in King David’s greatest sins is to fight through it by seeing the positive of growth and a learning experience, rather than lose faith and turn away from God. When one is committed to serve God wholly, then there is no time to wallow in self-misery. That does nobody any good.

2 Kings, Language, Teaching

2 Kings 4:42-44 – A miracle of the first fruit

January 17, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

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This is an optional Old Testament selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 12. It will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday July 29, 2018. It is important because it acts as a prophecy of Jesus feeding the multitudes, while being metaphor for the Word of God.

In this short reading, one who is not Jewish or a student of Scripture will not understand that “the first fruits to the man of God” is a yearly ritual. It stems from Moses telling the Israelites that God would feed them with manna – the bread from heaven. Here are some verses from the Book of Exodus that relate to this ritual:

Exodus 16:18 – “And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.”

Exodus 16:22 – “On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.

Exodus 16:33 – “So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”

Exodus 16:36 – “(An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.) An “ephah” = “an ancient Hebrew dry measure equivalent to a bushel (35 liters).”

This means the “man from Baal-shalishah bringing … twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack,” where the Hebrew word “le·ḥem” is translated as “loaves,” but could equally mean “twenty bundles of barley flour” (from which bread is made). Seeing the contents of the man’s “sack” (where “bə·ṣiq·lō·nōw” can mean “in the husk,” with “sack” an uncertain translation) as being little more than the basic delivery of a bushel of barley and wheat grains, which was enough flour to 20 loaves of bread. A bushel (or ephah) means the man brought about 35,000 grams of unmilled barley and wheat, which was then an omer in dry measure.

In the ritual that was lost and then recreated in captivity, the delivery of the omer of first fruits was placed in the Temple of Jerusalem, put under the care of a high priest. It has been noted by those of Jewish scholastic minds that Elisha was a prophet of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and not a high priest of the temple in Gilgal (the equivalent of Jerusalem in Judah). As such, those scholars argue that delivery of first fruits to the prophet Elisha was improper.

It should also be realized that during this time, in the region surrounding Gilgal, there was a famine. When we read the man question, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” the “hundred people” are the priests of the temple and not ordinary citizens. This leads scholars to believe that the man coming from Baal-shalishah [1] brought an omer of first fruits to the company of prophets in Israel, who were led by Elisha. The scholars believe the man would not have delivered his sack to prophets in Gilgal, instead of to the temple and the high priest there.

This confusion can be eliminated by seeing how proper ritual was observed and the first fruits were taken to the temple, as was commanded. Then after fifty days of having being placed before God, then the blessed flours, dried fruits and grains were to be consumed by the people of Israel. This means a man was sent with a share for the company of prophets (100), as an emissary of the temple in Gilgal.

This would explain Elisha saying, “Give it to the people and let them eat,” because that was the ritual and the recognition of Shavuot (known by Christians as Pentecost) – held yearly on 6 Sivan. That represents the fiftieth day after the Israelites were freed from Egypt (the day after the Passover – Pesach), when Moses came down with the tablets (the count beginning 16 Nissan). As seen in Exodus 16:33, this practice was to be continued in ritual, which would have the gathered early harvest placed before the Lord in the temple.

Exodus 16:18 says each family of Israelites were allotted an omer of manna (collected by the father), with some questioning if this meant one omer per family tent, or multiple omers that matched the number of people living in the tent. Exodus 16:22 says twice that number was allowed on the sixth day, which could be baked or boiled and left overnight for the Shabbat, without spoiling.

One can assume that each family then began to gather one omer of their first fruits of the fields in the Promised Land, taking that to the temple priest. As long as it sat before God, who resided between the cherubim of the Ark, then it was blessed and would not spoil. Therefore, many omers of grain would be ritually held in the temple until it was fed to the people in the Festival of Weeks (Shavuot), as blessed food for the Sabbath (spiritual food).

We then read that the servant of Elisha asked, “How can I set (twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain) before a hundred people?” Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’”

You might want to consider self-serve and multiple tables.

This was not a direct quote from God in Exodus; but, as a prophet, God might have told Elisha to quote Him then. Still, it could well be a paraphrase of God telling Moses to tell the Israelites to collect twice the manna on Friday, for food on the Sabbath as well (manna did not fall on Saturdays). That might be a sign that the man delivered the food (during a famine) on a Friday, implying there would be food left for the Day of Rest.

Regardless of the reality that had to have surrounded the telling of this event, when we read, “He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord,” a miracle occurred. It is the miracle of manna – that any other day of the week, if left overnight for the next day, would be filled with maggots and stink – that is relative to the miracle of little food becoming plentiful food during a famine. Certainly, this miracle of Elisha and the first fruits is then prophetic of Jesus feeding the five thousand, such that the words of the Lord, spoken by Elisha resonated in the words spoken by Jesus.

This connection to Jesus feeding the five thousand is than why this reading is optional for this Sunday, because the Gospel reading is John’s version of that miracle (all four Gospels share perspectives on this miracle of Jesus). In my interpretation of the Gospel reading from Mark 6, for the ninth Sunday after Pentecost, I made a point of showing how that selection skipped over this miracle, focusing only on the gathering of the lost flocks of Israel that sought out Jesus. In my writing, I mentioned how the twelves baskets filled with leftovers was more than physical bread and meat left on fish bones that the disciples gathered. This is because the bread of the first fruits, like manna and like five loaves and two fish, is spiritually sustaining.

This means the reading about Elisha points to the root meaning of manna being the bread from heaven, which is spiritual food. Manna met physical needs, but its presence went above and beyond the limitations of physical food. According to Judaic scholars, Gentiles could never get a firm grasp on manna, even though they saw it (which assumes the Israelites passed travelers while wandering). Supposedly, it would slip out of their hands. That indicates that manna was only sent by God for his chosen people.

The scholars of the Torah also say that the manna fell closer to the tents of the true believers who followed Moses, while those filled with more doubts had to walk a distance to gather their omers of manna. That says the first fruits are not all capable of miraculous results. It depends on who is passing them out and what the circumstances are.

Some scholars also say that some Israelites worked hard to gather the manna for their families, while others lazily lay on the ground and caught the manna as if slowly drifted to earth. This says that those who are working to get fulfillment from spiritual food can feel a sense of self-achievement when their work is done. Still, those who let God bring the spiritual food to them, without trying to give self free reign, can be seen as following the axiom: Work smarter, not harder.

All of this scholastic insight then becomes symbolic of the bread of heaven being the more than physical food. The manna was the compliment to the waters that came from the rock that was struck by the staff of Moses. More than keeping the Israelites alive as mortals, their souls were being raised by the Word of God (later to be put in writing by Moses) and the Holy Spirit of living waters. The first fruits, those blessed by God’s presence, then become symbolic of the people who serve God, like Elisha and his company of prophets.

This symbolism can be summed up by the proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

A medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. (Wikipedia)

God gave Moses the Law, but merely memorizing those words have less effect of good, than living a life by those rules. The fiftieth day (Pentecost in Greek; Shavuot in Hebrew) represents the feast of celebrating the Law and the Covenant with God being available to the Israelites. The six days of gathering a daily amount of food, where collecting more than one day’s worth was fruitless, was transformed when the days changed from physical to spiritual – from weekdays to the holy day. That is when the daily food becomes able to feed for a lifetime. Therefore, the symbolism of Elisha’s faith, and that of Jesus, was the Word of God feeding the devoted so that they produced manna within themselves, which was then left for the future.

The ritual of land owners taking the first fruits of their harvests and placing those harvests in the temple for God’s blessing, so they would be released back to the people after fifty days, was to recreate the blessing that was manna from heaven. The days of working to gather daily bread was then celebrated by the presence of God’s Law and one’s excited agreement to serve God faithfully for the rest of one’s life. The physical limitations that befell a ritual act of remembrance – when the high priests had sons that were priests in name only; when the tabernacle replaced by a brick and mortar temple; and when the Ark of the Covenant became the lost Holy Grail – the past then reflected the return of weekdays.

The loss of the time when God’s priests lived lives that reflected the day God blessed and deemed holy … when they were the first fruits God said, “Give them to the people and let them consume” … then that was how little the ritual of Passover and the Counting of the Omer until Pentecost (Shavuot) meant in the times of Elisha and in the times of Jesus. Other than the holy ones – “the men of God” – everyone else had reverted to living day-to-day, memorizing rules, seeing no meaning to Scripture easily within one’s grasp, while searching far and wide to find any meaning only led to too much confusion to put solid faith into. Elisha and Jesus both found people incapable of living up to the writings they said their ancestors had agreed to forever live by.

The miracle is not that Elisha had faith, as he knew what God had said. Likewise, the miracle was not that Jesus had faith that five loaves and two fish could feed a multitude. The miracles were that one hundred prophets saw the true meaning of the first fruits. The five thousand had their hearts opened, more than their stomachs, so they became the first fruits that would be sent to the Temple in Jerusalem for the Passover that was nearing. The miracle of both stories is the birth of faith, as the normal had transformed into the holy. Friday had changed into the Sabbath, for a lifetime to come; and that transformation came with plenty of food for spiritual thought left to be shared.

The first fruits of thought all begin with the tiniest of seeds, which then grows mightily.

As an optional Old Testament selection for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry should be underway, the lesson is to go beyond the limitations of physical needs (as a stomach’s desire for food reflects) and let God into one’s heart for the soul’s eternal blessing. The lesson says to listen to God’s Word and then proclaim it with faith and confidence. The lesson is to be one of the one hundred who received the Word from Elisha and then give that Word so others could be filled.

The first fruits symbolize both the work involved in the gathering of the fruits of one’s labors and the blessing of that harvest by God. That becomes the promise of plenty in a time of famine, where work today will have miraculous rewards later. A minister of the LORD looks beyond the limitations of the present, simply by letting God fill one’s heart. One becomes the first fruits that will feed the famished who are in need and deserving their share.

In today’s world, where so many are struggling to get from one day to the next, a minister to the LORD offers living waters and spiritual food to nourish those seeking more than the simple Word offers. A minister becomes the servant who set the twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain before the hundred, so they could eat blessed food – manna from heaven. How much of that spiritual food is left afterwards then depends on those who are gathering the manna for the members of their family tent.

[1] Nobody is certain what Baal-shalishah means, but many jump to the conclusion that it means a place in either Israel or Palestine, with those admittedly guesses. The etymology of the Hebrew says the “name” listed means “Lord” or “Master” (“Ba’al”) of “three” (“shalosh”). This means the element of a Trinity is in play, such that “the man” was “from” the “Master of the third” phase, concerning the ritual of the first fruits. This means Elisha met a man sent from the Master of First Fruits dispersion, whose title meant he oversaw who received the gathered and blessed by God (first and second steps of the first fruits) on Shavuot – when Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were joined collectively and individually as one.

Ephesians, Language, Teaching

Ephesians 3:14-21 – Praying to be like Paul’s Ephesians

January 17, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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This is the Epistle selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 12. It will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday July 29, 2018. It is important because Paul prays that the “church” (“ekklēsia”) will be an assembly of Apostles reborn as Jesus Christ, based on each possessing the character traits that he stated in this part of his letter.

I have to ask this question first: If, sitting on a church pew, you heard read aloud, “I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name,” then what would you think that meant to you?

Certainly, everyone sitting in a church on Sunday is a member of a “family on earth,” but what about Muslims kneeling on a mat in a mosque elsewhere? One would assume they too are of “every family on earth,” as well as Indians lighting candles in Hindu shrines. Even the members of the Communist Parties in Russia and China, who reject the concept of “the Father” as God (and all other gods and religions), instead indoctrinating their children to see the State as god, are they not part of “every family on earth”?

Consider that a rhetorical question, as the answer is obvious; even though the ideal is to make all human being believe in God the Father of Jesus Christ, the reality is otherwise. Only Christians – those in the purest sense – are the ones of whom Paul wrote, because the key words in that statement by Paul are “takes its name.” Actually, there is only one Greek word, “onomazetai,” which translates as “is named” or “calls upon the name.” That name is then relative to “the Father,” but not the name of God, Yahweh, or any other name God is recognized by (in Hebrew, Greek, or English, et al).

The name “from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name” is Jesus Christ. It is that name from which only Christians can claim; and that is because only true Christians are reborn as Jesus Christ. It is that change of name (from Billy or Sue) that qualifies them to go to heaven (sin-free), unlike the rest of the people in the world. That name then denotes a special “family, lineage, ancestry, and/or tribe” (from “patria”) that comes from being related to the same Father above.

This answer becomes clear when one realizes that the reading selection, as presented by the Episcopal Lectionary for the readers to read aloud, omits an aside penned by Paul. It is the last half of verse 14 (the first verse in this reading), which could be seen as verse 14b. There, stated within marks of parenthesis, Paul wrote, “tou kryiou hēmōn Iēsou christou”. That qualifying and amplifying phrase says, “the [one] master of our Jesus anointed one.” The implication of that says, “the Lord of our Jesus Christ,” with capitalization applied that was not written.

If that phrase, separated as an insertion of commonly known fact that is a digression from the theme of that stated (definition of parentheses usage), it acts like an aside whisper. It then adds the obvious to the reading, such that there is no confusion as to Paul’s focus. When included in the public reading, one hears read aloud: “I bow my knees before the Father, the one master of our Jesus anointed one, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.” With that included, no one would venture beyond an understanding that Jesus Christ is the name of the heavenly family on earth.

With that understood, one then has to remove the thought of Paul uttering a written prayer for the Ephesians. The separation of a fact that states the plural of “our” (“hēmōn”), where that plural is rooted in the singular word “egó ,” meaning the self, must mean it was understood by Paul that he and the Christians of Ephesus were likewise individually under the mastery of the Father, reborn as Jesus in name. All of them were already equally distinguished as the anointed ones of God, as His Sons; so, there was no need for Paul to pray for that transformation. Therefore, stating the obvious would be digressing from the discourse of all having already been formed as a family of God, in the name of Jesus Christ; ergo the parentheses.

Because Paul wrote, “I bow my knees before the Father,” he created the image in a modern Christian’s mind of a stance of prayer. That leads to the translation that states, “I pray that,” but Paul did not write those words. He did not indicate in any way that a prayer was unfolding. While he ended this chapter with the word, “Amēn,” that is a statement that says, “So let it be” (as the truth having been said), it is the modern brain that associates that word as the indication that a prayer has just ended. However, rather than getting on his knees to pray for the Ephesians (who were already in the name of Jesus Christ), Paul was stating the obvious, that all in the name of Jesus bow before the Father as a servant of God (as were the Ephesian Christians), in thanks for having been made a holy family member, as brothers of Jesus of Nazareth, sharing in his presence within one’s soul.

This means all the truth that is then told by Paul (his use of “Amen”) is not a wish for things to come, but a statement of the character traits possessed by all who were then (as always) in the name of Jesus Christ. Those character traits are then blurred by the evaporation of punctuation guidance and the reduction of holy text into English paraphrases.

Maybe he was paraphrasing in a lost tribal language?

This again calls for a segment of an Epistle to be broken down into the literal, word-for-word translations of the Greek text, so each separate segment of words can be seen for their full impact of meaning.

Simply for one to follow along with the reading as presented above, the English paraphrase should be matched to the Interlinear segments stating the truth. I will mark the paraphrase with quotation marks. The Greek text will then follow, denoted by bold text. After one is able to seek the differences stand out, I will then present a simple interpretation of the characteristics Paul stated already existed, both in himself and the Ephesians to whom he wrote.

“I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that” – that he might give you according to the riches of the glory of him , : The Greek word “dō” is presented in the third person conditional, as “he might give, may offer, could put, or might place.” That reflects upon the plural form of “I or self” stated prior (“hēmōn” as “our). This means “he” is the presence of the Spirit of Jesus Christ in an Apostle-Saint.

This is not conditional as to a prayer being answered, but the condition of the talents of the one accepted by the Father as the resurrection of His Son. Paul wrote of those offering being the “gifts of the Holy Spirit,” of which all Apostle-Saints have minimally one, with some having multiple holy gifts. All come “according to the riches of the glory of Jesus Christ,” as all those gifts of God were held by Jesus of Nazareth.

“you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit,” – to be strengthened by the Spirit of him , in the inner man ; : The paraphrase translation continues the conditional voice here incorrectly, as the comma’s separation follows with the Greek word “krataiōthēnai,” which states the infinitive form of the verb “krataioó,” meaning “to be strengthened, confirmed, passed, or made strong.” This is an assurance that all talents that might come are “to be,” as an elevation of powers that come from “the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” This is not to manifest as visible evidence that one has become Jesus Christ, for others to marvel over, as the strength of Jesus Christ reborn means the presence of his Holy Spirit having cleansed one’s soul of sins. This means the soul is “the inner man” (where “man” or “anthrōpon” means “one of the human race”).

“and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are” – to dwell the [one] Christ , through the faith , in the hearts of you , : Again, it is an error to translate the conditional, as the Greek word “katoikēsai” is the infinitive form of the verb “katoikeó,” means “to dwell, to settle in, to establish in (permanently), and to inhabit,” such that the Christ Spirit takes up permanent residence within one’s soul. The presence comes when one “bows the knees before the Father” and the self then projects that the soul has submitted to sacrifice, to be the anointed one [Christ] named Jesus.

This presence of “the Christ” is then separately stated as the true meaning of “faith,” which is well beyond a mental concept that is called “belief.” The personal experience of “the Christ” within, means one has gone far beyond “belief” [like that held by children in Santa Claus] and come to know the truth that guides one’s life. Whereas belief is centered in one’s brain, where doubts can erode belief [such as finding presents hidden under a bed or in a closet], such as previously unknown facts challenge what one has been taught to believe, faith is centered in one’s heart.

The Greek word “kardiais” means more than a physical organ of the body, as it implies “mind, character, inner self, will, intention, and center.” This is a love of God, as seen in the bending of one’s knees, where one’s self has submitted to serve God through marriage, where the soul and God become one, while together in a living human body. That union brings about the knowledge of God, which is the Christ Mind. Therefore, faith is not brain-centered, but this centering of God in you, as you (as self) have been reborn as the Son of God (both human genders).

“being rooted and grounded in love.” – in love being rooted and being founded , : In the two Greek word written, “errizōmenoi” and “tethemeliōmenoi,” the perfect past participle form is stated in both words, first as “being rooted, being planted, being fixed firmly, and being established” and second as “being founded, grounded, firmly established, and laid with the foundation.” The word for “love” (Greek “agapē”) then relates one’s marriage to God, such that His love has made one “become rooted and become grounded” in His “benevolence, good will, and esteem.”

When one’s being has been affixed to this eternal source of love, then it is that giving of one’s self, as an act of love for God in return, that reciprocal heart-felt desire keeps one’s loving eyes always on God, while God’s love becomes the motivation of one’s actions. This is then a natural state that comes from the heart and not the brain, so one does not go about calculating how to show the love of God to others. One simply acts as God commands, due to one’s love for God.

“I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints,” – that you may be fully able to comprehend with all the saints , : The Greek conjunction “hina,” as “that, in order that, or so that,” is a direct reflection back on that just stated, which in this case is the presence of God being what roots and founds one in love. That state of love allows one the fullness of a condition of ability “to understand.”

The Greek word “katalabesthai” then states the present state brought on as the full ability “to seize tight hold of, arrest, catch, capture, appropriate” that which brings one the knowledge of God, in heightened abilities of “perception and comprehension.” Again, this is the state of love that each and every Apostle-Saint can expect, so one is not desirous of knowledge that one does not naturally possess – such as wishing to have the smarts of “the Saints” – because one is “with all the saints,” as one made “holy, sacred, and set apart by (or for) God” – the meaning of the Greek word “hagiois.”

The reason the conditional form is used (“exischysēte” says, “you might be fully able, or you may have strength (for a difficult task)” is that this ability to understand, coming from the Christ Mind, is conditional on need. One who is “with all the saints” does not go about telling people, “I know this or I know that.” It is conditional of one seeking to know, who encounters an Apostle-Saint. Such a meeting is divinely led, such that a need to speak from the Mind of God enables an Apostle-Saint to do so.

Also note that in this segment of Greek text, nothing was stated that says Paul “prayed” for the Ephesians. The inclusion of the words “I pray” is an erroneous addition of paraphrase.

“what is the breadth and length and height and depth,” – what [is] the breadth , and length , and height , and depth , : This is defining the scope of a saint’s knowledge, where the Word of God that is Scripture expands what is written in all directions. The “breadth” then applies to all possible meanings of each word written (in this letter and in all Scripture), so questions will naturally arise when one limits one’s understanding to a narrow field of view.

The “length” is especially seen here and in all of Paul’s letters, as normal humans have trained brains that regulate the attention span of statements in written text to brevity and in direct focus. This is how the “length” of Paul’s ‘sentences’ become regularly shortened through paraphrase, even though this normal view of sentence structure misses how sentences of thought can be made through individual words and short segments of words.

The “height” is then the understanding the source of the Word as above the brain capacity of mere mortals, as all Holy Scripture comes from the Mind of God, through Saints. It is an error to reason to think that Paul was using his own brain to write his epistles. Every word of every book in the Holy Bible (original text and language) comes from the Mind of God.

Finally, the “depth” is relating the source of meaning found in words as being multi-faceted, such that multiple meanings can be the intent and purpose of a set of fixed words. That meaning is then based on the conditions of need, such that one verse of Scripture can be helpful to one meaning one thing, but then appear most helpful in a totally new way later, based on changing conditions in one’s life. The word’s use here also states the “depth” of one’s soul, where the Holy Spirit means the mundane of past history has equal application at all times, in all places, relative to all people. This means the depth of Paul’s words in the mid first century carries as if his letter were written to all true Christians today.

“and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,” – to know moreover experiences , surpassing other knowledge , love of the [one] Christ , : This says a complete scope of knowledge is the understanding of Saints. The Greek article “tēn,” which is the neuter form of “the,” but due to the presence of a comma after this word, it then acts as “the cause or interests, the purposes, of God,” such as “what the possessed had done and experienced” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon for Strong’s NT 3588). According to “the breadth and length and height and depth,” the word “the” can be seen as going beyond a simple statement (“to know moreover (the)” and “know by experience,” through God. This elevates one’s ability “to know” to being with the Mind of Christ and “experiencing” the intent of the chosen word by being transported spiritually to see past events and grasp the reality surrounding past times. To experience the past is to feel the power of that emotion in the present, by reliving what is written.

This is how the Holy Spirit allows a Saint to be “surpassing other knowledge,” where again we find a form of the article “the” stated (“tēs”). Instead of reading “surpassing (the) knowledge,” one can see how: “The article is prefixed to substantives expanded and more precisely defined by modifiers,” such that its use indicates “when adjectives are added to substantives, either the adjective is placed between the article and the substantive, as – other examples.” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon for Strong’s NT 3588). Reading the article as a defining word, rather than omit its use because of the language differences between normal Greek and English, is going beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary. Standard knowledge is surpassed by extraordinary spiritual insight.

Finally comes the segment that again omits the article “the,” such that the translation says “love of Christ.” Here, the inclusion as “the (one) Christ” misses the individuality of only one Christ, which is Jesus Christ. In this segment, the Greek word “Christou” is capitalized, as the title that was bestowed only on one man. Previously, in the lower case spelling above, it is intuited that the name of the Father’s family was from Jesus Christ; but the name is actually only Jesus, such that the one who becomes Jesus reborn is thus the “anointed one” – Jesus “the Christ” resurrected.

Still, the addition here of “the (one)” makes it possible to see “the love of the (one),” who is then the servant in love with God, who in return has received the love of God, as “Christ” reborn. Each of these three segments then act to state the understanding that comes to all Saints, while making that point in words that have been neglected as coming from God – three forms of “the.” Each use projects the divine intent and purpose (in all directions) of all words written in Scripture, which is missed by those not being in the name of Jesus Christ.

“so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” – that you might be filled unto all the fullness under God . : Again, the use of “that” reflects back to the “love of the (one),” which brings “the Christ”. It is because “you” have been “filled” with the Christ Mind for the condition of serving God as needed. This is available “unto all” Saints, but not for personal gain. It is a gift of God, to be wisdom dispensed “unto all” who seek that knowledge.

This receipt of the Christ Mind by Saints, for the purpose of imparting the gift of Spiritual wisdom unto those who God also wants as His brides, then becomes the “fullness, the full complement, the fulfillment, and the completion” of the Covenant that places one’s soul “under God.” Whereas the Israelites accepted the Law, through Moses, they could not reach the fulfillment of that agreement to serve the LORD their God, because their brains were used more than their hearts. When the Law is written on one’s heart by the finger of God, then one has made a full commitment to God, where the New Covenant then reflects the completion of one’s soul returning to God, as Jesus Christ.

Here, again, the word “under” is an expansion of the article “the,” as the Greek word “tou” is written. The NASB options for “tō” (neuter form of “the”) shows one use of this as “under,” in accepted translation. This is such that when the article is accompanied with the noun “Theos” it is a word “spoken of the only and true God,” reflecting “under the word” of God. That use identifies an Apostle-Saint as a subject to “the (one) God.”

Jeremiah knew happiness under the yoke of God.

“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,” – To the [one] moreover being able above all things to do exceedingly above that we ask or think , according to the power the working in us ; : The capitalized Greek article “Tō” is now reflecting upon the importance of “The (one)” who was just stated prior as “God” (“Theou”). This then is saying those who are individually “The (one)” filled with God’s presence are “Those” who are “being able” to do “all things” that are “moreover” impossible to people not so filled. The powers allowed to human beings by God as “above all things” possible to mere mortals. Coming from God, they are powers from “above.”

The deeds of the Holy Spirit, from God, sent to those reborn as His Son, are “exceedingly above” anything capable of being produced by a human brain and self-will. God’s Mind leads His faithful servants above and beyond what a Saint could ever “ask or think,” because a servant does not control the Master. The way a Saint “questions” and “ponders” is relative to the meaning of Scripture, and only for one’s own abilities to understand, so one can better serve others and their questions and thoughts. Still, all that comes from human thoughts and questions is relative to “the power” of the Christ Mind, and dependent on if that wisdom is “working in us.”

“to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” – to him [be] the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus , to all the generations of the age of the ages . Amen . : When we read “to him be glory,” the Greek word “autō” means, “self, as used (in all persons, genders, numbers) to distinguish a person or thing from or contrast it with another, or to give him (it) emphatic prominence.” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon for Strong’s NT 846). This means “him” is “the same” as the one filled by God’s love and the cleansing of soul by the Holy Spirit, bringing about the rebirth of Jesus Christ. The pronoun “him” is then relative to “the Father,” “Jesus Christ” and “the (one) filled” by the Holy Spirit.

As such, it means “To the Trinity the glory,” where the Greek word “doxa” states, “honor, renown; glory, an especially divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, and splendor.” Thus, the Trinity is present in each individual who collectively become a multitude of Apostles and Saints. Thus, “the assemblage and congregation” that is “the collective body” of true Christians is the true meaning of a “church.”

The addition (“kai” as “and”) that identifies a “church” (“ekklēsia”) is then furthering the concept of “church,” by adding that all are “in Christ,” such that all have become “Jesus” reborn. This was not a one-time deal, such that Apostles and Saints only existed long ago, but an eternal requisite for all times. It stretches from the first Apostle-Saint to “all the generations of the age.” The appearance of organized ‘Churches’ (Roman Catholic, regional Orthodoxies, and all variations of organized Protesters) has nothing to do with eliminating the necessity that all members of the true church of Jesus Christ are the embodiments of holy Jesus resurrected, who act based on the experience of faith, confident in their assurance of eternal life.

The Greek word “geneas” is translated as “generations,” but the word intends one understand it meaning as “race and family.” This word brings this reading full circle, as it relates to “patria,” in verse 15. A “church” is relative to the “family” that “takes its name” as “Jesus,” becoming themselves the “anointed ones.” While “age of the ages” is read as a fancy way of stating eternity, it is vital to know that an “age” (“aiōnos”) is “a cycle (of time)” or “a time span,” which can be determined (generally) through the “Axial precession (precession of the equinoxes).”

An “age” is then when a new sign of the zodiac appears aligned with the equator on the first day of spring (when the world is born anew). The astrological sign is recognized as perpetually being Aries, but due to the earth’s slow axial wobble, the current sign is Pisces (about 29 degrees away from 0-degree Aries) , heading to a change that has become commonly known as the Age of Aquarius. It is not a coincidence that Jesus of Nazareth ushered in the Age of Pisces, where the first sign of Christianity was the fish (<><). As each “age” is roughly 2,100-2,200 years long, the “age of the ages” is now reaching it end, not to return for (roughly) another twenty-three thousand years. This reflects the end of that “age” of Jesus Christ, which increases the urgency for humanity to gain faith through submission to God now.

The eternal view of “age of the ages” must then be seen as one’s soul having been saved. The age of Pisces is then related to the symbolic meanings of the astrological sign, where faith and self-sacrifice are important elements. To find eternal reward, then one must make worldly sacrifices of body, so the Soul can be cleansed. One must be willing to submit one’s being to God, so one can be reborn as the one who symbolized the age of the ages. As Jesus told his disciples, expected to be persecuted in my name.

The word “Amen” then cannot be seen as Paul praying for things to occur, because things had already occurred and all subsequent changes were wholly the decisions of the seekers, then and now. Therefore, Paul wrote to the Ephesians a separate statement that reminded them: “So let it be.” The “church” is when two or more meet in the name of Jesus, for in that assembly can be found Jesus Christ.

As an Epistle selection for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry to the LORD should be underway, the message here is one of the spirituality of family. A minister of the LORD is born of the Father, as a brother to Jesus of Nazareth, who is reborn in an Apostle-Saint as the resurrection of the anointed one – the Christ. This adoption into the Holy lineage, brought on by the Trinity, makes one part of the living vine of Christ, where one must become a living branch that produces good fruit.

Paul’s encounter with the Jews and Gentiles of Ephesus produced the good fruit of true Christians there. Paul did not pray for them to find Jesus after he left. Paul, like the Ephesians, were all walking, talking, and ministering resurrections of Jesus Christ. That made them all brothers (and some were female forms of the Son of God), thus an assembly on earth in the name of Jesus Christ, as a true Church. While Paul traveled the world where Jews (Israelites) had been scattered, accepting seeker Gentiles who sought the truth of good news, the Ephesians stayed put and deepened the faith of those in Ephesus. They raised their families to also become Apostles and Saints.

Today, Paul still travels with his message sent to the Christians of Ephesus, as his written words are still in search of true Christians who will be joyful with the breadth, length, height and width in the meaning they contain. A minister of the LORD should ensure that Paul’s intent is not overlooked or misunderstood. The truth is above all things expected and exceedingly above what one would ask or think. A minister of the LORD’s purpose is to stimulate deeper questions and higher thoughts, leading workhorses to living waters that they want to drink.

The signs of modern times are clearly warning that the religions of the world (including the philosophies of politics) are leading the people away from self-sacrifice for God (servants who tend to the living vine) and towards dangerous allegiances with leaders and cults (the Baal worship and golden calves). The age of the ages is slowly closing. A minister of the LORD knows this urgency, but lets the Christ Mind lead him or her to make the path to salvation be truly known.

So let it be.

John, Language, Teaching

John 6:1-21 – Feeding the assemblies spiritual food

January 17, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

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This is the Gospel selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 12. It will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a priest on Sunday July 29, 2018. It is important because John gives a unique view of the miracles surrounding Jesus feeding the multitude and his walking on the sea.

It is important to know that the feeding of the five thousand is one of only ten events in Jesus’ life that are told by all four Gospel writers. (article) It is the only specific event of Jesus’ ministry all witnessed, prior to his entrance into Jerusalem for his final Passover Festival and the last two weeks of his life. Because each of the four Gospel writers reflect different personal views of the same event, based on relationships with Jesus (as educational teacher and blood relation), this four-sided view creates a solid three-dimensional realization of how this event actually occurred. As each Gospel view is the truth that is told, all differences must then be adjusted to fit the truth, without anything being discounted or changed.

In John’s words we read “Jesus went up the mountain” and “he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” In both places John wrote the Greek word “oros,” which translates as “mountain,” but also as “hill.” As John also stated, “Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee,” it is important to realize that the Sea of Galilee is “the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world,” due to it being 686 feet below sea level. (Wikipedia) This means that the hills surrounding the bowl in which the sea is formed seem like mountains, when viewed from the sea shore. As all the towns of the Sea of Galilee are basically along the shoreline of the water, the mountains that Jesus went to are those overlooking all the activity of civilization.

This means that by John saying, “Jesus went up the mountain” in verse three, that “mountain” was not necessarily the same “hill” as he stated in verse fifteen. Since the entirety of the Sea of Galilee is overlooked by a rim of hills, going once and “again” to “the mountain” simply means to escape the hubbub of the places where humanity swarms.

Seeing that freedom of motion, John’s Gospel fits snugly into the puzzle that had Jesus go from Capernaum to Bethsaida, as told in Luke’s Gospel. It was then that “Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.” Jesus and his followers, including Mother Mary (the voice of Luke), sought solitude there first, before going to the deserted plain of Bethsaida. They changed locations because, “A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.” They followed him from Capernaum to the mountain above Bethsaida. The crowd was large because, “the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near,” and new pilgrims were arriving all over Galilee and Judea every day, as the Passover Festival approached.

When we read, “When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him,” this is best read literally, according to the Greek text. By seeing how Jesus, “Having lifted up then the eyes of the (one) Jesus,” the comma’s indication of pause tells of a separation in time having occurred, before reading “and having seen that a great crowd is coming to him.” Those segments of words are telling of two phases of the same event.

First, “having lifted up” means Jesus was raised by the Holy Spirit, so his “eyes” were filled with the Christ Mind. That affirms how Mark wrote (as the voice of Simon-Peter) of Jesus arriving by boat to the dock at the Bethsaida Valley, seeing the lost sheep of Israel in need of a shepherd, so Jesus taught them in a “lifted up mind” way. Second, after having preached to the multitude, Jesus realized the crowd was receiving the Holy Spirit from his lessons. This was due to “having seen that a great crowd was coming to him,” as disciples whose hearts were welcoming the presence of the Holy Spirit within them.

Then John wrote of the following exchanges: “Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?”

John named the disciples Philip, Andrew, and Simon-Peter, which means John was present and close enough to hear these exchanges and see those disciples, but not once did Jesus turn and directly ask John the Gospel writer to do anything. John did not once name himself in this narrative (such as, “then Jesus asked the one he loved”). Instead, John heard everything as “a boy who was holding onto five barley loaves and two fish.” He wasn’t a vendor (certainly), so he had to be one of the picnic party.

This means John was “a boy” (actually “a little boy,” as “paidarion” implies). It means John was not a disciple, but a relative accompanying Jesus; and, it means John was carrying the lunch intended to feed those who went by boat to the docks on the plain, where the crowd ran to meet them. Importantly, it strongly implies that John was the son of Jesus of Nazareth, which explains why the voice of John is so different than the other Gospel writers, and why John wrote of personal and private parts of Jesus’ ministry no one else did.

After Jesus told the disciples to get all of the people in the crowd to sit down on the grass of the dry, fertile flood plain, he told that it was “Jesus” who “took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.” This says that Jesus personally gave the loaves and fish to five thousand men (said Luke, implying more in all, with any family they had with them not counted). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all say that Jesus gave the bread and the fish to the disciples, to then be handed out. However, this means one should grasp the truth in John’s account.

In the other three Gospels, Jesus had sent out the twelve in ministry, prior to this event. They had just returned to report back to Jesus all the things they had done, in teaching and healing. Upon their return, they heard the news of John the Baptist’s beheading. Jesus then took them to the mountain of Bethsaida to relax from their travels and mourn the passing of John. Young John the Gospel writer was not present to witness that assignment in ministry or the return from ministry or the knowledge of John the Baptist being killed. However, now with the whole gang by the sea, John saw the disciples acting in the name of Jesus, so they went forth in ministry as an extension of Jesus. They then taught the Jews of Galilee as Jesus.

The disciples healed the sick, in their commissioned travels, as Jesus. Thus, they then handed out loaves of barley bread and salted fish as Jesus. In that way, John saw the truth of this miracle story, as the twelve disciples (whose names he knew) became Jesus before a young boy’s eyes, as they fed the five thousand.

This brings one to the gathering of the leftovers, which John said filled “twelve baskets.” All four of the Gospel writers tell of “twelve baskets of fragments (or broken pieces) gathered.” In each of the accounts, that lone use of “baskets” is stated. While it is easy to assume that the boy holding onto five barley loaves and two fish had them in one basket, where did “twelve baskets” come from?

The only possibility that makes any sense is that the baskets were on the fishing boat they arrived in, as those that the fish would be placed in after being hauled up in a net. The baskets of catch would then be how the fish would get from ship to shore. To collect the leftovers, Jesus would have sent for twelve empty baskets from the boat, giving one to each disciple.

Seeing how the “baskets” were those used by fishermen, the “twelve baskets” were the twelve disciples, who were the prophesied “fishers of men” that Jesus promised. As fishermen of freshwater fish, they knew all the ropes and tricks of that trade; but as far as teaching and healing, each of those “fishers of men” had to become the extension of Jesus. Therefore, the disciples (who would become Apostles, sans Judas Iscariot) became the “baskets” that would gather the broken pieces and fragments of those who also sacrificed themselves (like fish willingly caught in nets to feed mankind), in order to also be transformed into Jesus.

This means that when John wrote, “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”’ The five thousand (plus) knew that Jesus was the Messiah. The people had “come to Jesus” just as Jesus sensed after preaching to the crowd.

The “sign” they needed for complete conversion was spiritual food (like manna and quail). That was fed to them as soul cleansing nourishment, appearing as a morsel of barley bread and a tad of salted fish; but it was much more than the physical. It was just as Jesus had instructed his disciples when they embarked in ministry, “Tell them the kingdom of God has come near.” The blessed and broken loaves and fish became that kingdom of God consumed.

This means it is worthwhile to see the symbolism of the numbers involved: five loaves; and two fish.

We last discussed the number five in the account in 1 Samuel, where David gathered five smooth stones from the wadi. Then, I mentioned the flatness of smooth stones represented two sides, such that five is the number of laws on each stone table brought down by Moses. The duality of each stone (top and bottom) meant the stone that hit Goliath in the forehead was the Law of Moses, which was the agreement that joined the Israelites and God as one. The laws of the One God slays the Gentile in one and kills all pagan gods lurking in one’s big brain. That same analogy can be used here; but there is a broader meaning that is associated with the number five.

The number five has an ancient connection with love and marriage. In astrology, the fifth house is symbolic of children, which come from relationships of love. The five books of the Torah reflect the Covenant with the Israelites, such that the Commandments were the marriage agreement between two parties in love. As such, each tablet of the Law stated five demands that must be met. As five loaves of bread, which is another way of stating the manna of God, this is then the food for thought that the Torah represents. To consume that food is to show love for God.

Two fish is the representation of the astrological sign Pisces.

Much can be found on the Internet that explains the nature of people born under the sun sign of Pisces, but the sign itself symbolizes the traits of “selfless, spiritual and very focused on their inner journey.” (ref.) It is the natural sign of the twelfth house [remember “twelve baskets” for “twelve disciples”?], which represents the area of life that is unconscious, where compassion flows freely and spirituality is more natural than physicality. Pisces is traditionally ruled by Jupiter (the ‘big G’ god of the solar system and the zodiac), which also rules over the sign Sagittarius. Both signs ruled by Jupiter focus (in part) on religion, with Sagittarius leaning towards dogma and Pisces being all about faith, dreams, and inner intuitions. In the accompanying interpretation of Paul’s ‘prayer’ for the Ephesians, I wrote about the Age of Pisces, which has been the past two thousand years that Christianity has grown, with the original symbol being the fish.

When this is realized, along with the love and marriage factor of five, where the Law becomes written on the hearts of brides and submission to God’s Will is all about the self-sacrifice associated with Jesus and the sign Pisces, Jesus handing out the spiritual food (the manna and quail) that were loaves of bread and salted fish, as Jesus appearing in the form of disciples in his name, the ‘R.O.I.’ (return on that investment of food) was the creation of five thousand (again that number five, now multiplied a thousand fold, divided into groups of fifty, as five times ten) Apostles, who would all do as Jesus’ disciples had done, being ministers of the Word taught to them by Jesus.

The hearts of those pilgrims had become married to God, doing as Jesus promised his disciples they would do after he was gone: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) A pinch of bread and fish returning a handful represents “greater things than these.”

That is the symbolism of twelve fish baskets of broken pieces being gathered, after only one small lunch basket of bread and fish had been passed out. It was as if Jesus recited to each of the five thousand pilgrims just one small piece of Scripture; and then, when through, he asked, “What does that mean to you now?”

Rather than have devoted Jews recite a psalm or a verse they had memorized, they told Jesus all the wonders they had realized from those tiny morsels. They gave back to Jesus more than he had given them. They did so because Jesus gave them a burning heart that opened to God and His Holy Spirit, enlightening their brains with the Mind of Christ.

It was this spiritual uplifting that Jesus fed the pilgrims, where the disciples appeared as twelve representations of Jesus, which is a parallel scene to the Sunday Pentecost story in Acts, when the disciples were touched by the Holy Spirit and made able to speak in tongues of fire. They went outside and began passing out spiritual food to more pilgrims who were standing around outside, in the street and square of the Essenes Quarter.

One can assume that not all the pilgrims sitting in groups of fifty in the grass of the Bethsaida plain spoke the same language, meaning the unspoken amazement of Pentecost (three years later) was duplicated then. The disciples, appearing as Jesus, had to speak fluently in foreign languages as they passed out the loaves and fish. They were speaking with voices spiritually elevated both times; but, in this story of John’s, they quietly spoke in tongues, rather than shout out loudly with raised voices.

This is why John wrote, “When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” No one would make someone a king, just from letting one eat his lunch for free. They were aroused by finding the Messiah was with them … the kingdom of God had indeed come near. It was in them!

I have heard of hypnotists that do stage acts getting volunteers from the audience, who then then place a suggestion in their minds to do something crazy as soon as the “magic word” is said.

No one would try to elect a hypnotist as the leader of a country, simply because he or she was good at tricks. An atheist could argue that Jesus never fed five thousand people (and families) with such a small amount of physical food. That is as impossible as is walking on water. According to John, the disciple Philip agreed with that conclusion. Still, what Jesus did was not an illusion or trick, because everyone present was satisfied they had eaten real food AND had much more than the total amount to begin with left over. That miracle led the crowd to want to sing “Hosanna” and pave the road to Jerusalem with palm branches too early. That is why Jesus disappeared up the mountain alone.

In Matthew and Mark, the Greek word “euthys” is written, which is translated commonly as “immediately. It is used to state that “as soon as” the five thousand had been fed, the disciples departed by boat, leaving Jesus and (minimally) John behind. Both wrote, “Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.” They both then say that Jesus went up the mountain to pray.

John, as one left behind with Jesus, said the disciples left at “evening” time (“opsia”), which implies after 6:00 PM, thus night time. Night means after 6:00 PM, and in April there was most likely still some light available for the disciples to set sail and so the crowd could safely walk back to the towns they came from. This means it took some time for five thousand to be fed spiritually, as Jesus had first taught them (I assume) around noon, before organizing the feeding event.

Because John wrote the Greek word “katebēsan,” meaning “went down” or “descended,” this implies the disciples went up the mountain with Jesus, but allowed him the seclusion to pray alone. The immediacy of them getting in the boat then came when Jesus returned to the disciples and gave them instructions to sail to Capernaum.

One could assume that decision was so Jesus and John could walk the route the pilgrims had taken, to ensure that none of them got lost and needed help. That would be the decision of the Good Shepherd that Jesus was; and it would support Mark’s writing how Jesus saw the crowd as if, “they were like sheep without a shepherd.”

John then wrote how the disciples had struggled against the wind and stormy water, having rowed “twenty five or thirty furlongs,” which calculates to more than three miles, but less than four. From a perspective that overlooked the water, with the boat lit up with lanterns at night, the slow progress and distance could be estimated from shore, whereas on board the boat all attention of rowing and navigating would make such distance impossible to determine in the dark of night. The map below shows that the widest part of the Sea of Galilee is 8 miles, with fragments of that distance also shown.

The cool air flows eastward and falls into the valleys of the hills, running across the warm, moist water-level environment, especially at night. This flow of air makes the Sea of Galilee known for violent storms.

Because Matthew and Mark say they saw Jesus when it was “the fourth watch” (translated as “shortly before dawn”), they had struggled with the boat on the water until after 3:00 AM, when the Dawn Watch of night begins. At that time of night, the warm air at the sea level, meeting the cool winds off the Mediterranean Sea, causes a downdraft from the west, blowing against the boats rowing from the east, over shallow waters that become quickly agitated. The result would be hours of rowing forward (without a sail being useful), while being blown backwards, as the choppy waters would push the boat on an angle to the north.

When we then read, “they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,” the ability to spot Jesus and identify him in the dark says the disciples were close enough to see his features. The Greek word “epi” is written by all the Gospel writers who told of Jesus walking on water, where that word has been commonly translated as “on” or “upon.” However, this preposition is not as fixed to only one translation, as English creates multiple prepositions for all directional values. The word “epi” bears this scope of intent, where its use includes: “2. used of vicinity, i. e. of the place at, near, hard by, which.” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Strong’s NT 1909)

This means John could have intended to state that the disciples (who were struggling against strong winds on a rough sea) “saw Jesus walking,” because Jesus was “at the sea” (in the vicinity of, but on the land surrounding the water). The presence of “and” in the statement actually follows a comma, which makes that segment of seeing Jesus be separate from (when “and” indicates an additional, yet subsequent step) the segment that says, “near the boat coming” (where “engys” means “near, close, nearer”).

This means that after the disciples saw Jesus walking, because the boat was near enough to identify Jesus (who was walking on land or a pier), Jesus then appeared to be coming nearer to the boat, because the boat was coming nearer to Jesus – blown by the wind and moved by the force of the waves.

John then simply stated “they [the disciples] were frightened.” That statement does not mean John could see fear expressed by the disciples; instead, it means he knew this fact by hearing their screams of fear. In Matthew and Mark, they state, ‘“It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear” (Matthew 14:26b) and “they thought he was a ghost. They cried out,” (Mark 6:49b)

Because the disciples saw Jesus appear as a ghost, but John could not see that reasoning for fear (instead, he must have assumed the weather was causing their fright), this says that John was following behind Jesus (on land or pier), with Jesus illuminated by a torch or lantern that he carried in the darkness, to light his path. Thus, it was a source of light that made Jesus appear to the disciples, who were themselves on the water, as a ghost. Their perspective from the water, based on fear in a storm in the dark, would make the boat’s going closer to shore seem like Jesus (walking on shore or a pier) was walking on the water.

The element of Matthew and Mark seeing Jesus appear as a ghost, while physically explainable, is a powerful symbolic statement. They saw the form of Jesus as spiritually approaching them, as the Holy Ghost. Their fear meant they had yet to be filled with the soul-Spirit of Christ. John, on the other hand, did not see Jesus as a Spirit, as he was with Jesus all along, totally devoted to his father’s guidance.

When they all say Jesus got in the boat and they were immediately at the shore, this says the boat had been blown and rocked to the shore or a pier. Jesus got in the boat to cast off the ropes to John, so the boat could then tied off safely. It was then that everyone got off the boat. The harbor where they saw Jesus was either the one it Bethsaida or the one in Capernaum.

It certainly would have taken Jesus and John less than six hours to walk there from the plain of the Bethsaida Valley. They might have reached that destination well before the disciples made it to land, catching a few winks as they waited. Matthew and Mark gave credit to Jesus for stopping the winds, but John wrote nothing about this. Therefore, when Mark wrote, “[The disciples] had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened,” this was why they had fears.

The presence of Jesus made all their fears go away, which made the wind no longer being a problem seem as if Jesus had ceased the storm. Because their hearts had not been opened by the feeding of the five thousand, Mark then was admitting what John said about Jesus being who fed the pilgrims, as the spiritual extension on the faces of the disciples. While the five thousand men were moved to spiritual transformation, the disciples’ hard hearts had blinded them from that.

As such, they lacked the true faith the pilgrims had gained, which then was reflected in their inability to row a boat across shallow waters without Jesus being with them. The disciples had placed all the blame on acts of nature being against them, rather than open their hearts and let God into their souls. With God’s presence within them, the winds would have been in their favor, not against them.

As the Gospel selection for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry should be underway, the lesson here is to receive the Spirit by doing more than assist Jesus, so he does all the spiritual work and you just hand out Sunday leaflets, bowls of charity soup, or let someone enter onto the Interstate without making it seem like a theft of space is occurring. A minister of the LORD realizes that Jesus has promised that an Apostle-Saint can do greater feats than he did, as long as you can hear Jesus speaking to you, saying from within, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

A minister of the LORD knows he or she IS the boat that is equipped to fish for the souls of human beings. When powered solely by physical human strengths, such as the self-ego rowing and a cunning brain tossing out the net, nature alone is a greater power. The fishermen catch no fish and then cry like babes when the going gets rough. This is the true meaning behind the ‘bark of St. Peter’, as he, like all Apostles-Saints, are boats fishing for men’s souls (men = both sexes), with divine guidance … not personal will.

Without the presence of God to command the winds and seas, without the Holy Spirit providing the nets and riggings, and without the Son of Man to carry the souls of the fish caught to the market in fish baskets, in order to pay off the mortgage on the boat, the boat will eventually succumb to the waves of nature and sink to the bottom, with all lost to the world. A minister of the LORD draws in an owner (a soul) that will make the boat sail-worthy, so it will attract this holy crew.

Both of these stories told by John involve movements by a fishing vessel. We fail to see how each harbor the boat docked was where it cast out the nets, fishing for souls. The symbolism of the five loaves and two fish is then that of a minister giving a taste of the lessons found in the Holy Bible, just enough to whet the appetite of the seeker. The collection of the broken pieces is the element of two-way communication, which is the questioning: What did you get out of that sampling? What ingredients did you taste? What is missing?

If the seeker is delighted with that offering, he or she will pour forth views and suggestions that go well beyond that told.

The Judaic religion has its rabbis, who are the teachers of the meaning of the Torah. They offer regular classes that are held in synagogues and schools, and they perform customary rituals as well as give private counselling to the assembly of Jews they serve. The duties of a Christian priest or minister are modeled in kind, with ordination of a priest or minister requiring a formal education in the tenets of denominational dogma (with most generally the same). Still, few synagogues or churches pack in five thousand people who want to be inspired with deep knowledge about what they believe in Scripture (even on the most Holy Days); and fewer still seek out deeper education through Bible Studies and special seminars or instructions.

One would wonder if a true Christian, him or herself a resurrection of Jesus Christ, would be rejected for speaking boldly about the meaning of Scripture, without any seminary professor, ordained clergy, or bestselling religious book author able to verify the sources and proofs of what that true Christian said. I imagine he or she would be rudely treated, as was Jesus in Nazareth, causing him to prophesy, “No prophet is accepted in his (or her) hometown.” (Luke 4:24)

It becomes doubtful that Jesus could reappear, looking just like so many people think he will, and be seen as anything other than some dirty hippie-homeless beggar. That is, unless he could prove he could walk on water and easily turn a loaf bread into a holy feast. Without credential from a respected university, he probably would be asked to leave and not come back.

A minister of the LORD is led by a higher mind to speak the truth of the Word, without any plan to do so. Jesus responded to questions with parables and questions in return, which forced those who did not like his message to think about their initial position and find the flaws in their own arguments. After all, faith does not come from being told to believe, but from a personal epiphany about the truth. Therefore, Jesus did not get into Scripture-quote knife fights; but he also did not step down to those whose flaws were keeping the Jews from becoming priests for Yahweh (without an official degree).

A minister of the LORD does not try to force personal opinion onto others, claiming “Jesus meant to do this” or “Jesus said this to Jews, so I’m sure Jesus wants Christians to say that to every Gentile being in the world.” Jesus never ran for any office. He actually denied that his kingdom was of this world; and he never hung up any “Re-elect Caiaphas as high priest” posters around Jerusalem (nor “Free Barabbas” ones either).

To reduce any religion to the gutter state of politics is to turn that religion away from the face of God, which brings about the fears the disciples had when they tried to row against the wind and rough seas, while holding onto hardened hearts for God above. Trying to tell others what Jesus would do, without becoming Jesus reborn, is never going to attract any crowd that will want to elevate that orator to kingly status.

A minister of the Lord sees how the three-dimensional view of John’s story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, such that his recalling: “Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all,” was said implying (as the other Gospel writers wrote) the pilgrims sat in one hundred groups of fifty. That means (on average) each disciple appeared to pass out bread and fish to either eight or nine groups (8.33). As John saw that scene, all one hundred groups were met by Jesus and all five thousand returned more than they were given.

That scenario means that each group of fifty men (plus families and one disciple) was a gathering of two or more who were in the name of Jesus Christ. It does not matter who those fifty people were before they ran for five miles to meet Jesus as he landed at the harbor of Kfar Aaqeb (see map of harbors). When John saw Jesus pass out the manna and quail of God (“Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated”), all who received the Spirit became Jesus Christ looking at Jesus Christ in the bodily shape of a disciple. All became a collective of fifty churches on the grass, with Jesus Christ coming to preach a sermon in each church, speaking words that opened all their hearts to receive the Christ Mind.

This is what ministry of the LORD is. If that talent can be found grading research papers in any seminary, then that is like having a finely sculpted and equipped fishing boat in the back yard, getting dry rot. One has to set sail, without fear of rejection or persecution, if one wants to be a fisher of souls.

2 Samuel, Language, Teaching

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a – You are the sinner!

January 5, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.

But the thing that David had done displeased Yahweh, and Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says Yahweh elohe of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of Yahweh, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says Yahweh: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.”

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This is the Track 1 Old Testament reading that can be chosen to be read aloud on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost [proper 13], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If chosen, it will be accompanied by a reading of Psalm 51, which sings, “Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.” Those readings will precede an Epistle reading from Ephesians, where Paul wrote, “ lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from John, where Jesus told those who followed him after the miracle of feeding five thousand, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.”

I wrote and posted a lengthy commentary on this reading in 2018. I welcome everyone to read that by searching this site. What I wrote in 2018 still applies today. Rather than restate many elements previously said, I will take a different approach today.

First of all, in 2018 I did not adjust the text to show what was actually written, which has been changed to accommodate English translations [and other languages, certainly]. In these selected verses, there are seven translations of “the Lord,” when “Yahweh” is written. One appears in the last verse of chapter eleven and the other six are in chapter twelve. In verse seven of chapter twelve is written “Yahweh elohe yisrael,” which has been translated as “the Lord God of Israel.” That translation has been modified to “Yahweh elohe of Israel,” because the word “elohe” is a clear Hebrew word that states “gods,” and to change it to “God” means two things: First, people who do not personally know Yahweh cannot discern how “gods” fits their agendas; and, second it says they also do not understand that “yisrael” is not a country, but a statement of “elohe,” where they all are souls that reflect “he retains God.” Therefore, in 2021 I return what was written to its rightful state, not for myself, but for your investigative reading.

As far as all Scripture reading should be seen, to sit back in a pew with a large soda and a bucket of buttered popcorn, pretending this is some black and white movie staring Gregory Peck and Susan Heyward is wrong.

The point of Scriptural readings is THEY ALL reflect on the brain hiding between a pair of ears. If you want to see an old movie, then imagine the end of Reefer Madness, where some second-rate actor begins pointing at the camera, saying, “It could be you … or you … or you.” Regardless of human gender, this reading must be seen as a reflection on just how much EVERYONE is sinful David. No one is Nathan. No one is Uriah the Hittite. No one is Bathsheba. No one, most certainly, is Yahweh; so, all men and women who have ever had extramarital sex needs to hear Nathan speaking to you … and to you … and to you!

In these Old Testament readings, the characters speak with Yahweh, not some generic “Lord.” They call him by name, and He calls them by name. Nathan was a prophet who spoke with Yahweh; and, one can assume that when Yahweh poured out His Spirit onto David, that Spirit was not like the oil poured out by Samuel. Samuel’s oil went on David’s head and ran down his face and neck, as a physical anointing. Yahweh poured out His Spirit upon David’s soul, meaning David probably talked with Yahweh too. He certainly knew His name, as far as his Psalms are concerned.

Maybe it is time to realize the ‘parabola effect’ has taken Christianity from being one hundred percent elohe [or elohim], as the truth of each being reborn as Jesus, all being anointed in the same way as was David. In the beginning, there was a rapid spike upwards; but now, after centuries of having translators have call Yahweh just a “lord” and make the plural of “gods” created by Yahweh be just another name for Him, the tail end of Christianity has come. That is why Scripture is more important than ever, but the problem is it being little more than the blind leading the blind towards a great pit.

As far as the other addition I would like to make at this time, it is relative to the story Nathan told David, about the ewe lamb. This is why this reading is chosen to accompany a Gospel reading about Jesus talking about bread from his Father; and, it is why the alternative Track 2 Old Testament reading comes from Exodus, talking about the Israelites complaining to Moses about not having “fleshpots” in the wilderness, like they had back in Egypt. We do not read how Moses probably got fed up with the complaints and told them, “Well you worshipped lords back where they had fleshpots and now you worship Yahweh. Learn the name and get with the program, The way to a sinful life is easy. Just follow the footprints to the sea and then jump in.”

When the Israelites complained to Moses, like the Jewish pilgrims complained to Jesus, the people who run around calling Yahweh a “lord” are the same ones who never tell anyone the Israelites left Egypt with all their livestock. Given the vegetation in the wilderness was not as lush as it was in Egypt, the had a source of milk; and, from milk can be made cheese. If need be, they could sacrifice some lambs every Passover; so, they were not really starving from a lack of food. They were complaining because the rich Israelites – the one with most of the sheep, goats, and cattle – were tired of being expected to share with the poor Israelites, who had no animals one just one ewe lamb they bought from a rich Israelite.

Likewise, any pilgrim traveler far away from home would never think about traveling without some trail mix or jerky in their bags, because it gets costly feeding the family for two months on the road. This means all the people who reclined on the grass to be fed by Jesus and his apostles had their own food with them. They knew there were no marketplaces at the Jesus ‘open air synagogue,’ so many of them probably told the apostles, “Here, take some of mine to pass out.” That would easily explain how twelve extra baskets of leftovers was gathered, wouldn’t it?

The point of both those readings is not about being fed physical food. It is all about being fed spiritual food, because people in need of a reason to be ‘away from home’ need some positive news and uplifting motivational speeches to continue on. The people who followed Jesus to Capernaum were those who ate physical food, not those nourished by spiritual food. They were pretend people of faith, much like those who belittle Yahweh by calling him a lord. The Israelites in the wilderness with Moses were those complaining, “Listen Moses. We need a miracle every day. It has been a while since the last. We didn’t sign up to be contestants on Alone, so feed us some miracles of faith so we can keep following you and believing in Yahweh.”

By seeing that in the other reading choices for this Sunday, the rich man with “very many flocks and herds” is metaphor for a human being whose soul is void of Yahweh. Having the things that calculate as the measure of wealth is what all rich men and women bow down before and worship. That makes wealth their “Lord,” which is a “Lord” so commonplace that any specific name given to it [like “Mammon”] is still as dead as is the material things the rich think are the rewards due to a worshipper. This is where Christianity is failing today, especially in the United States of America, because so many Christians believe some “Lord” has made them wealthier than the rest of the world. Still, few want to give any of their wealth away to the poor, because they see the poor as not being as religious as they are.

When one sees the “very many flocks and herds” as a statement of plenitude, this should be seen as how many “Lords” there are that people worship. People worship their cushy jobs, where the do little work and reap millions of dollars. People worship fancy cars and mansions in exclusive gated communities. People worship the politicians that make it easier for them to steal from the poor and not get caught. If these people were to be asked who is God, few [if any] would say Yahweh.

That becomes the many verse the one, when it comes to the poor man who bought one ewe lamb and then raised it like a member of his family, loving it with his heart and soul. That is the individual relationship that every true Christian is expected to have with Yahweh – not Jesus – because Yahweh is what allows the poor to afford one ewe lamb. The one ewe lamb is then sacrificed, which makes it then reflect Jesus; and, it also becomes a reflection of Uriah, who was the one ewe lamb sent to his death unjustly. The difference must be seen as having many things or having just one source of love.

Nathan then told David a parable about “there came a traveler to the rich man” and he wasn’t about to spend any of his flocks and herds feeding some “wayfarer,” so “he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared that for the guest.” The wandering wayfarer [from “lā·’ō·rê·aḥ”] are the pilgrims reclining in the grass by the sea and the Israelites led out into the wilderness by Moses. For the rich man to not offer up one of his sacrificial animals for the guest says he had nothing of value to offer, even having as much as he had. While Moses and Jesus offered up themselves [as a ewe lamb] to feed the people, the Temple priests and their hired hands could not satisfy the needs of the people. The same lack of value is found in the Christian churches that close and bar the doors because of COVID19, as they would rather kill someone else than make an offering of one of their valuable [tithes paying] pewples.

Now, David still had the Spirit of Yahweh poured out upon his soul, which would stay with him forever; so, he was able to see how evil it was for a rich man to not sacrifice one of his own animals, instead stealing a poor man’s family member and slaughter it. David was allowed to fail by Yahweh, so no human king would ever be able to boast, “I was perfect all my life!” That means David saw the evil in his own actions, when Nathan cried you, “You are that rich man!”

This is where David becomes a reflection of Christians, as it is very easy for them to yell “Sin!” at someone else; but they are blind to their own failures to serve Yahweh. David’s anger at the sinner had to become his own acceptance of punishment, all while still realizing he had to go back to being the king and go back to working, when he thought he could retire early. David’s remaining decade would be the payments he had to make, so his soul could still be redeemed. Every prophecy of Yahweh through Nathan would come true. For all the spiritual feeding of the flocks David had done in fifty years came to naught; and, David had to take his licks, because a soul does not gain eternal life without hard work for Yahweh.

As the Track 1 optional reading for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should be well underway, the lesson now needs to be realizing selfishness will not gain one salvation. Selfishness is a sin that most people are blind to, as they see the world as ‘dog eat dog.’ Every act David did was legal for a king; but what is legal for a king is not the same as what one’s commitment vows to Yahweh say. The problem with saying, “I believe in the Ten Commandments” is belief is a flimsy excuse for breaking every law as one sees fit. If one does not know the commitment vows, then it is impossible to serve up that to a guest, who comes asking, “How do I get into heaven?”

Exodus, Language, Teaching

Exodus 16:2-4,9-15 – Manna from heaven

January 5, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to Yahweh, for he has heard your complaining.’“ And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am Yahweh elohekem.’“

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that Yahweh has given you to eat.”

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This is the Track 2 Old Testament option for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 13], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If chosen, it will be paired with a reading from Psalm 78, which sings, “He rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them grain from heaven.” Those will precede the Epistle reading from Ephesians, where Paul wrote, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” All will accompany a Gospel reading from John, where Jesus told the people who followed him there, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

I wrote an update of this reading and posted it publicly on my website in 2020. I welcome all who are interested in reading that commentary by searching this site. I had previously written about this and published in 2017 [including all verses 2-15], which also can be read by searching this site. I welcome all to read what I have written prior on this Exodus story about the manna and quail, as nothing has changed that keeps that meaning seen from still being applicable today. Now, I will offer a slight angle on this reading that is designed to make it an easier reflection on the Track 1 Old Testament choice [Nathan tells David, “You are that man!”] and the Gospel where Jesus is encountered in Capernaum after having fed the multitude free food.

An adjustment that I am now doing is relative to my refusal to continue the naming of Yahweh as “the Lord.” In that effort, I have place [in bold type] the name “Yahweh” in the places it was written, but changed by some translation company to “the Lord.” Just so everyone is clear that the Israelites have a word that translates as “lord” [“adon” in the singular, “adonay” in the plural], there are absolutely zero uses of that word anywhere in Exodus chapter sixteen. Also, I have come to the realization that the plural number of “god” [in the Hebrew “elohim”] must not be altered to the singular and then be given capitalization status, as “God.” There are many “gods” that have been created by Yahweh, which can be a universal law [non-human], an angel [non-human], and a Saint [a human soul united with Yahweh’s Spirit]. Moses, David, and Jesus are just three examples of Yahweh elohim, and Yahweh has the power to create as many elohim as He sees fit. Since the translators of Scripture into English most certainly are not elohim, they make mistakes like calling Yahweh a lord and changing “gods” into “God.”

To hear the Israelites complain, “If only we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt,” that is a major statement against having the protection of Yahweh guarding their souls. It says, “If only we had not sacrificed an unblemished yearling lamb, cooked it and ate it, after marking our doorways with that lamb’s blood.” If says, “If only Yahweh had come into our houses and struck dead the firstborn, like happened to Pharaoh and all others who did not follow Moses’ instructions.” That is like hearing a famished Esau say to his brother Jacob, “Birthright!? What birthright? I wants stew now!” In other words, it is something only a child or a fool would say.

When Nathan told David the parable about a rich man and a poor man, the rich man with many flocks and herds is like Egypt, where fleshpots and bread a plenty was always readily available … as long as there was no famine or war that would interrupt that image of what was once before. The metaphor of a poor man is like the Israelites out in the wilderness, with nothing of value that would make him stand out above the crowd. That then makes the metaphor of the little ewe lamb be these men Moses and Aaron and this God named Yahweh, which was not just something representing immense value, but family. The little ewe lamb meant abounding love, both to and from the poor man’s family and the lamb. The complaints made to Moses and Aaron say the Israelite people were still of a mindset that saw themselves as rich men and women, who deserved all their wealth reflected in their many flocks and herds, while also having the birthright to snatch away someone else’s God as their own too. The complaints of the Israelites said they were selfish; and, being selfish is not the way to have one’s soul assured of salvation.

Now, the people who followed Jesus from the synagogue by the sea, where they reclined in the grass and ate their fill of fish and bread [like the rich did, way back in Egypt], they had followed Jesus simply because he meant free food for pilgrims from out of town. They were not poor, as they had traveled long and far to go to Judea for the Passover, so they had enough money to take along food for the trip. Finding Jesus was only a way to keep their many flocks and herds and snatch this ewe lamb as their own, to save cash while feeding their bellies. In that way, they were just like the Israelites complaining to Moses and Aaron, with one exception. That exception is the pilgrim following Jesus were not babies. They were full-grown adults.

The Israelites were like the glint in the Father’s eye, forty years before they would be formed into a fetus in the womb called Israel. That baby would be born when it was cast out into the world when the water burst and the uterus that was Israel and Judah squirted out a new religion for the world to come to know. Because of that difference in age, Yahweh treated the complaining Israelites like would a Father and His screaming baby, who was always either hungry, thirsty, or so messy it needed to be cleaned. Babies are totally incapable of caring for themselves, so parents have to do everything. By the time the pilgrims followed Jesus and began acting like babies, Jesus told them acting like babies no longer cuts it.

The gifts of manna and quail [the quail being a onetime feast] was the equivalent of setting baby in a high chair and letting it splash around in pablum and Cheerios. Because all the Israelites were adults and quite capable of eating goat stew, with cheese and water, the baby in them was their souls. The manna and quail was soul food, designed to pacify the baby, so the ugly adult did not take control and complain unnecessarily.

The manna was akin to spiritual food, before Moses completed writing his five books called the Torah. The manna stopped raining like bread from heaven when Moses left them at the Jordan River with five scrolls he wrote. After that, the spiritual food of the Israelites came from memorizing those words. By the time David was sent as the man with a little ewe lamb, showing all the Israelites they needed to be just like him for the meaning of all those memorized words to come forth. When David changed back into a rich man with many flocks and herds, Uriah became the poor man with one ewe lamb; and, David then sacrificed that as a symbolic act that the Israelites had a soul that knew Yahweh, but to realize salvation would come after their birth and stumbles into adulthood. Jesus then came to touch those souls, waking them up from their slumbers that had allowed the memorization of Scripture to make them rich men with many flocks and herds, but none understood as requiring self-sacrifice.

When David loudly said to Nathan after hearing the parable about his sins, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,” he was proclaiming the answer to understanding self-sacrifice. That self-sacrifice would mean trouble being raised in David’s own house. The embryo Israel would be born with a pure soul, in a body of sinful flesh. It would be born from failure and raised with the troubles of a world that offered no safe harbor. It had been blessed by being given manna from heaven; but it had been cursed by thinking that gift – which it could not understand – made it special in Yahweh’s eyes. To learn self-sacrifice, Israel would have to live up to its name by becoming elohim. It would have to stop being the crying infant only concerned with “me, me, me!” It had die, so it could be reborn and rise again as “He Retains God” [the meaning of “Israel”].

As a reading option for the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry to Yahweh should be well underway, the lesson to be found is learning that Egypt and its fleshpots with plenty of bread reflects where civilization demands the sacrifice of a soul for material things. By having the angel of death pass onto one’s soul, “Welcome to Egypt! Land of a seventy year existence [beyond childhood].” The problem is an eternity of reincarnation, coming back time and time again as some loser, scattered to the four corners of the earth, never finding a place to call home. Get used to worshiping Mammon in this life and find abject poverty and enslaving abuses for several lifetimes after. The only release from that cycle is getting in touch with that pure soul, before it is sold on the free market one more time. There has to come a time when the soul stands up against the flesh and stops selfishly selling out for an illusion that is here today and then gone in a flash.

The only way to have the soul stand up is spiritual food. Spiritual food comes from the divine Scripture that is found in the Holy Bible. It is written in codes that your eyes can read, but not quite understand. To begin to understand, one needs to gather the manna daily – not just once or twice a year [Easter and maybe Christmas]. One needs to consume a day’s worth before trying to eat the who book all at once. Yahweh will be watching, as Scripture is a test, to tell “whether you will follow His instruction or not.” The longer you follow the gathering instruction, the more spiritual food will begin to feed you soul and return it to strength, allowing it to stand up against the flesh. Spiritual food gives the soul the desire to marry Yahweh [not some nameless lord, as the world has too many of those to list]; and, marriage to Yahweh makes one’s soul in union with His Spirit become one of His elohim.

Ministry is worthless when placed in the hands of the selfish, whose only soul cared for is one’s own. The selfish prance about in clothes that make them appear higher and mightier than everyone else, all the while they are abusing those who are poor, with only a pure soul to hold onto. A bad shepherd is one who never leads a flock to green pastures of spiritual food, beside still waters, because that thief has no interests whatsoever in tending one flock. There is money to be made in having many flocks to steal from and many herds to point at as perfections of creation, as unclean as them may be in reality.

The world is so full of bad ministers that is why Yahweh had Moses lead the Israelites away from where sin pulses freely and loudly. It is impossible for a bad shepherd to tell anyone the meaning of manna from heaven, because he or she [add in its these days] has never been taught any meaning beyond Sunday School and children’s church, when the point of manna being said to mean “what is it?” says a minister explains what it is. When false shepherds begin to make up stuff, they begin taking the little ewe lamb of some published author and pretending that baby lamb is their own to serve up for dinner. One has to come to Yahweh to know the meaning of His bread from heaven.

Ephesians, Language, Teaching

Ephesians 4:1-16 – Capitalizing on the truth

January 5, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said,

“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.”

(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

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This is the Epistle reading to be presented aloud on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 13], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. This will be preceded by one of the two pairing possibilities of Old Testament and Psalm readings. Track 1 places focus on Yahweh telling Nathan to tell David his fate for sinning. Track 2 places focus on the Israelites complaining about hunger, so Yahweh promised to send them manna from heaven. The two Psalms then support themes of lament and praise, in accompaniment. All will accompany the Gospel reading from John, where the people followed Jesus to Capernaum and wanted more free bread.

I wrote about this selection and published it publicly on my website. I welcome all to read what I had to say about in 2018 and posted it on my website, which can be found by searching this site. Because the Epistles are designed to force a seeker to delve deeply into the meaning of what the Saints wrote, so much is possible to be seen that it requires more than a casual English translation to begin to unfold its truth. The Epistles are written in this way to prove a priests is indeed filled with the Spirit of truth; and, they are written in this manner to expose the truth to the true seekers, so seeing for oneself raises their souls to a state of faith. For that reason, I will simply analyze a portion of this Epistle selection, as an approach that differs from that taken in 2018. What I wrote then is still applicable, as what I add now only supports that meaning.

The New Testament is made up of writings produced by people after Jesus’ life on earth had ended. It becomes important to see the entire “new bible” as being the writings of men [and women too in apocrypha], who all had become the spiritual resurrections of Jesus. There is no need to canonize any book written by anyone less possessed spiritually. This means the New Testament is the fulfillment of the promise that was presented in the Old Testament, after Yahweh sent Moses to collect human being possessing souls and teach them to become possessed by Yahweh’s Spirit, which became the writings of those individuals who divinely knew that history, wrote divinely inspired songs and became the prophets who were the prototypes of Jesus resurrected [before his birth].

For anyone to believe anything in the Holy Bible is just a book of opinions, written by men who wanted to make a name for themselves, with that opinion possibly flawed [as seen when apparent contradictions seem to make human flaws stand out], there is no benefit to be found from reading Scripture. Holding that opinion means one cannot explain Scripture so others can be led to their souls marrying Yahweh, allowing Jesus to be resurrected within them, saving their souls from another wasted life in the flesh. Only those who see the divinity of every word written, as coming from the voice of Yahweh speaking through a divine author, can one be a continuation of the New Testament.

The Epistles are the test of one’s learning to see the truth of each word. The amazing power of that truth speaks loudly in many ways, which takes their discernment far above and beyond the limitations of normal syntax. It is now with that declaration of the Epistles being Yahweh speaking through Paul that I want to focus here on the capitalized words written in these sixteen selected verses from his letter to the true Christians of Ephesus. The extraction of only those words becomes a letter within a letter.

In these sixteen verses there are seventeen capitalized words.

“Parakalō” – “Invite” [“Advocate”]

“Kyriō” – “Lord”

“Pneumatos” – “of Spirit”

“Pneuma” – “Spirit”

“Kyrios” – “Lord”

“Theos” – “God”

“Patēr” – “Father”

“Heni” – “One”

“Christou” – “of Anointed one”

“Anabas” – “having Ascended”

“Anebē” – “he Ascended”

“Kai” – A marker word denoting importance to follow. [It begins verse 11.]

“Christou” – “of Anointed one”

“Huiou” – “of Son”

“Theou” – “of God”

“Christou” – “of Anointed one”

“Christos” – “the Anointed one”

Every capitalized word must be viewed as a divinely elevated statement, above and beyond the ordinary or normal meaning. For example, a “lord” or a “master” can be anything to which one is enslaved or in submission to, which can range from a job that pays the bills and an addiction that one cannot kick. The capitalization, however, makes the word take on the meaning of Yahweh’s presence within one’s soul-flesh, where “Lord” becomes a Spiritual “Master” that one’s soul has bowed down before. All of the capitalized words take on this heavenly association; and, this is the only reason the Apostles [Saints] ministered and then wrote to continue that ministry.

Without any of the other words written by Paul seen, simply take these capitalized words and read them as them making a most divinely elevated command. They form as: “Invite Lord of Spirit – Spirit Lord – God Father – One of Anointed one having Ascended – he Ascended * – of Anointed one of Son of God – of Anointed one the Anointed one.” If one struggles with hearing what Yahweh is saying through these words alone, then one is far away from salvation; and, more personal work must be done to open one’s soul to Receive the Spirit of understanding.

At the place where I placed an asterisk [*], this is where a capitalized “Kai” is written. The word “kai” should not be read as a word, but instead as a marker of importance to follow. In Ephesians 4 are found 26 uses of “kai,” with two capitalized. In these sixteen verses, there are fourteen of the twenty-six, with only the one capitalized. The capitalization comes at the beginning of verse eleven, which makes the first segment of words in that verse most important to grasp in a heavenly sense, with the whole of the verse maintaining that elevated sense of meaning. That means understanding verse eleven is most important to realize, as necessary information that goes along with this capitalized meaning found in these verses.

Verse 11 then states: “autos edōken tous men apostolous , tous de prophētas , tous de euangelistas , tous de poimenas kai didaskalous .” Translating to: “soul placed them truly messengers , them indeed prophets , them indeed missionary preachers , them indeed shepherds and teachers .” This becomes an important statement about all of the capitalized words stated prior. The primary elevated statement says the “selves” [“autos” means “self,” with a “self” elevated spiritually as a “soul”] are those “souls” that have listened to the “Urgency” for Spiritual marriage and allowed Yahweh’s “Spirit” to become their “Lord.” In those “souls” a divine union has made “God” their “Father,” as His “Son,” each “having Ascended” Spiritually to a state of “One.” Here, those “souls” are called “messengers” [“apostles” and also “elohim” in Hebrew], such that God’s creations become “prophets, evangelists, shepherds,” with this importantly noted to be “teachers” or “rabbis” [in Hebrew].

It is vital to realize these capitalized words can only be found in the Greek text [Hebrew has no capital letters in its alphabet] and not the English translations. Many English versions will take the liberty of taking a word like “autos” and capitalizing that as “He,” if they want the reader to follow their line of though [an agenda] that says the pronoun refers to Jesus. That misses the truth that a “soul” or a “self” is not elevated until it has married Yahweh and become His wife [a “Christ”].

In the quote stated by Paul: “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people,” it is important to realize this is parsed from Psalm 68:18. The NRSV states that verse fully as: “You ascended the high mount, leading captives in your train and receiving gifts from people, even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there.” In that, the truth is David did not write “the Lord God’s.” He wrote, “Yah elohim,” which must be understood to say, “Yahweh gods,” where “elohim” or “gods” are what these sixteen verses of Paul’s epistle are speaking of, in capitalized letters.

As an Epistle reading selected to be read aloud on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry to Yahweh should already be well underway, Paul is teaching what a true “messenger” of Yahweh is. It is a soul who has fully submitted itself to Him, to be the soul that will resurrect as His “Son” Jesus, as two souls that have become “Anointed one” in the same body of flesh, all “One” with “God.” If one’s “Lord” is not Jesus, through his divine rebirth within one’s being, then one is only pretending to be religious; and, that leads the flock away from Yahweh, which harms one’s soul as a false shepherd.

John, Language, Teaching

John 6:24-35 – Calling Jesus “My Rabbi”

January 5, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

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This is the Gospel reading to be read aloud by a priest on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 13], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. This will be preceded by one of the two pairs of Old Testament and Psalms optional for this Sunday. Track 1 places focus on Nathan telling David that Yahweh will hold him responsible for his sins, with Psalm 51 a song of lament, singing: “Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin.” Track 2 places focus on the complaints of hunger by the Israelites to Moses and Aaron, leading Yahweh to begin the feeding program that would be manna from heaven. Psalm 78 sings out, “He let it fall in the midst of their camp and round about their dwellings.” The Epistle reading from Ephesians will be read before this Gospel selection, where Paul wrote, “He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.”

I wrote about this reading and published a commentary on my website in 2018. That article can be read by searching this site. I welcome all to read those views, as the same still applies today. Because I explained the bulk of what this reading selection says, I will now only offer a few observations from different angles.

One thing that became a sudden insight to me just the other day, something I had never thought of before is relative to the feeding of the five thousand. While this reading deals with the day after that feeding, my thought has bearing on this following of people to find Jesus in Capernaum. In my past thoughts on this miracle, I saw Jesus instructing his twelve apostles not only to have the five thousand recline in the grass but also having the twelve separate the five thousand into twelve sections, which would make for about four hundred sixteen each. Each apostle was then given a portion of the five loaves and two fish to distribute to the section assigned to him. Before, I saw the miracle being each of the twelve being possessed with the Spirit of Jesus, so each filled their section with the same Spirit, as spiritual food more than physical food.

Recently, I have seen the abundance of twelve baskets of leftover bread as having a logical explanation, no longer requiring that miracle needing one to believe something magical occurred, beyond the realm of nature, where atheists refuse to believe it is possible for bread to spontaneously be created, turning five loaves in one basket into twelve baskets full of bread pieces. The logic says the five thousand brought their own physical food with them, as they were traveling pilgrims that were prepared to feed themselves. As the apostles preached to the twelve sections of people, the people shared in common what they had, so everyone was filled with physical food, with much left over. In that process, the five thousand were more importantly filled with the spiritual food that was the real reason they came to find Jesus. While fed spiritually by apostles ‘in the name of Jesus,’ they knew Jesus would be the soul who would be “seized” in their soul’s marriage to Yahweh, knowing divinely that Jesus would become the “king” of their bodies of flesh – each an individual realm for his reign.

The thought that now comes strongly upon me is this: The model of the twelve sections of four hundred sixteen people then became the prototype of twelve modern churches, with each apostle acting as the priest or pastor leading a flock of that many sheep. The small portions of the five loaves and two fish is now seen by my imagination as the first offerings of symbolic physical food, which in Episcopal churches [all the universal catholic branches] that constitutes a wafer or cracker. The twelve baskets of leftover bread pieces is then akin to the offerings collected by the apostles; but these first examples of Christian churches do not set the precedence of begging the people for money and they do not pass out free wine. This modern concept of Christian churches, which set expectations that the people should show up expecting a free wafer, with the addition of a sip of wine, all paid for by the congregation’s hefty donations, is the reason John’s chapter six takes an ugly bend with these verses today [and the ones that follow – about “eating my flesh and drinking my blood”]. The roots of a failed “Church” are shown in this reading and the others to follow.

In my 2018 observations on this chapter of John’s, I saw the aspect of Judas Iscariot being one of the twelve as why not all of the five thousand would be spiritually satisfied and no longer seek after Jesus in the flesh, content to await his coming spiritually. Those who listened to a sermon on the Torah and the Prophets [a portion of the five loaves and two fish] were just as dissatisfied as were the normal Jews who attended a synagogue, always being fed meaningless banter. While everyone in that sectional flock shared the food they had, the offering of spiritual food by Judas was quickly turned to nothing. Those would be the ones who followed Jesus, to whom Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

When one realizes the vast majority of the five thousand did indeed receive the miracle of the Spirit, as distributed to them by the apostles ‘in the name of Jesus,’ the vast majority of them would have left spiritually satiated, themselves [a “self” equals a “soul”] finally fulfilled through attendance in a synagogue [‘open air’ as it was]. They would have left the grassy flood plain of the sea, most likely gone to spread their newfound joy with others [the reality of Christianity]. Those who would have been fed the standard lack of spirituality all the rabbis of Galilee had, would have hung around, not realizing others had their souls touched by Yahweh, through His pastors of His flock. Those fed nothing of value by Judas, proclaiming to be taught by the Master Jesus, were found wanting more, after the food from yesterday became the waste of tomorrow.

Between the Gospel reading from John on the ninth Sunday after Pentecost and today’s tenth Sunday offering are two missing verses. John 6:22-23 are left out, seemingly as not fitting the storyline of either. Therefore, the Episcopal Church has omitted them as superfluous and unnecessary.

I see them as now being necessary to be read. Those two verses say [NRSV]:

“The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.” (John 6:22-23)

First of all, this says not everyone had stayed the night where they had been fed the evening before. When the translation says, “the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea,” that indicates only a portion, while still numerous enough to be “a crowd” [“ochlos”]. When the translation then says, “They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone,” this explains why they hung around. Whereas the vast majority had been touched by the Spirit of Jesus, passed on from one truly ‘in his name,’ the ones who had Judas preach to them were without that touch; so they waited to see the one that came to see … not some impostor.

In verse twenty-three, the NRSV has translated, “after the Lord had given thanks.” This is actually a separate segment of words in the Greek text [the last of three segments in verse twenty-three], where a comma mark introduces: “eucharistēsantos tou Kryiou,” which literally translates to say, “having been thankful for God’s good grace of this of Lord.” That sounds like a prayer was said; and, the Jews prayer after a meal, rather than before. The genitive case of “tou” and “Kryiou” says the reason for “having given thanks” [in prayer] means “of this” – the feeding of “bread” – was food provided for by God – “of the Lord.” The capitalization of “Kyriou” must be seen as a reference to Yahweh, as to whom “thanks were given,” more than John referring to Jesus. Still, to the ones waiting to see Jesus, the feeding of the “bread” occurred in his ‘open air’ synagogue; so, they also “gave thanks” to Jesus as an instrument of Yahweh – the “Lord.”

What needs to be seen from the word “eucharistēsantos” is the root Greek word is “eucharisteó,” from which comes the Christian term “eucharist” [“eucharistia”]. Everything about that word means “giving thanks” or “thanksgiving,” and this is especially read by Christians as being related to the Passover Seder meal, at which time Jesus said the ritual Jewish prayer before the breaking of the bread [which is never eaten], called the HaMotzi – meaning “blessing over the bread.” Therefore, a standard Jewish prayer of thanksgiving had been said, which gave thanks to Yahweh for physical bread consumed, with that having happened the evening before boats arrived at the pier near where a crowd of people remained gathered.

When this use of “eucharistēsantos” is seen as a commonly recited Jewish prayer over having eaten bread [or anything of substance], then the truth of verses twenty-four and twenty-five say these Jews were “seeking this Jesus” [“zētountes ton Iēsoun”], saying to him when they found him, “Rabbi , when here have you come ?” [From “Rhabbi , pote hōde gegonas ?”] This identification of Jesus as “My teacher,” the meaning of “Rabbi,” has to be seen as an important statement [capitalized words are always divinely elevated in meaning] that told Jesus, “Here come the bunch that listened to Judas.” Because Judas had left them wanting [like all other rabbis they had ever listened preach], they wanted Jesus, meaning understanding the capitalization of “Rhabbi” important to grasp.

According to HELPS Word-studies, “Rabbi” literally means, ‘My great one; my honorable sir,” such that “my” acts as a statement of possession. Whereas the ordinary usage implies a personal preference to one teacher, as “the teacher of me,” the capitalization raises this meaning to become a statement that says those who sought Jesus and found him felt in their souls that Jesus owed them something. For having shared their bread with others, expecting to get something uplifting in return from coming to Jesus’ ‘open air’ synagogue, they had left their ‘bread’ in the ‘offering’ basket, only getting a nibble of holy bread [a wafer] and a hint of fish. Because they saw Judas as the hired hand of Jesus, they felt that they had bought the right to call Jesus “My Rabbi.”

This needs to be seen as where the current state of Christianity is today. It goes to church [or watches church on some media], makes a financial offering [or mails in pledges and tithes], listens to a hired hand pretend to be Jesus reborn, and then eats a wafer and sips some wine, prays some canned prayers and goes home spiritually empty. The reason Christians go to church is to feel like Jesus is theirs, bought and paid for; but the result is always disappointing. This should be seen as why people searched for Jesus in Capernaum. Unlike the vast majority who had been fed spiritual food by true apostles, those who get the shaft from pretenders keep seeking some value in return for their money and support.

Simply by understanding the divine elevation of “Rhabbi” as a powerful statement of the failure of a religion to serve the needs of the flock [as the Jewish temple-synagogue system had, just as like the Christian church-denomination system does now], it is easy to see that was what Jesus responded to, rather than the question, “when did you come here?”

It is because Jesus was called “My Rabbi” he said, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” In that, the segment of words that says, “not because you saw signs” can be Jesus knowing what they did not see. He told them “because you saw signs,” means “sēmeia” means both “miracles” and “tokens.” Whereas the vast majority went away talking about the miracles they witnessed, all this group fed by Judas saw was some token objects: tiny shreds of bread and some crumbled fish. Whereas the vast majority praised they finally understood the meaning of some Scripture, all the group that listened to Judas heard was the ‘same ole same ole nothings’ they always hear preached. Thus, Jesus knew by them calling him [who none had ever heard preach before] “My Rabbi,” it was because they had “not seen miracles.”

By Jesus then saying, “because you ate your fill of the loaves,” he was saying he knew they all shared commonly what bread they had brought with others, so all were filled physically with food. That was a cost to them, which they willingly paid; but for that price of admission they expected to see the show, the same one the vast majority saw. Judas had shown them nothing they had not seen many, many times before. That failure to live up to the price of feeding neighbors their own bread meant Jesus owed them. He could then be called “My Rabbi.”

With that, I will leave it up to the reader to ponder how the ensuing conversation between Jesus and the crowd unfolds. Again, this chapter of John is heading towards an ugly end, where the Jews will think Jesus is promoting cannibalism. This means, unlike the vast majority who had left spiritually satisfied who left and did not follow Jesus angrily, the ones who sought Jesus because they felt he owed them something is an attitude of birthright. They were Jews in pilgrimage, which says they followed the rules of Mosaic Law [as best they knew how to] and they expected to go to heaven, because they were the select group known to be God’s chosen people. Therefore, the conversation between Jesus and those who feel they deserve rabbis like Jesus to bless them and tell them they are going to heaven needs to be seen from a Christian perspective, where Christians assume much the same.

Again, I offered insight into the whole reading in my prior posting. Feel free to read that as the rest of this reading is pondered. Pay close attention to the “works of God” and think about those who say “belief” is all that is needed, with “works” left for others. Think how so many Christians poopoo James’ statement that “belief without works is dead,” because so many misunderstand “pistis” by thinking “belief” is the same as “faith.” Belief without works is dead faith. Calling oneself a Jew or a Christian is having a “belief.” However, calling oneself either without doing the “works of God” means a soul bound to reincarnate after the flesh is dead.

As the Gospel reading chosen to be read on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry for Yahweh should be well underway, the tendency is to see the crowd as doing a good thing. They all just wanted to follow Jesus, in the same way the vast majority of people calling themselves Christians today want to say they are always looking for Jesus. The lesson is to see oneself as one of those who did not sail away on the filled with the Holy Spirit boat, as not being one of those whose souls were engaged to Yahweh, knowing by doing good works their souls would be joined with the soul of Jesus – their king and lord. Todays lesson is seeing how often one calls Jesus “My Rabbi,” as if Jesus was some fictional character in a book, who is never one with one’s soul. The lesson is to realize one is not seeing any miracles surrounding one’s life.

A ministry for Yahweh begins by being able to know that name. A ministry must realize through one’s soul marrying Yahweh that the name “Jesus” means “Yahweh Saves,” so to be “in the name of God” one is “Jesus” reborn. One cannot stand like a Judas Iscariot, making up things one heard in Sunday School when six years old and then acting like a preacher, crying crocodile tears for emotional theatrics. One must be Jesus resurrected in one’s flesh, so the miracles of spiritual feeding never ceases. Wherever one goes as Jesus reborn, the miracles keep on satisfying the crowds. Anything less always leaves them wanting more and looking for where the truth can be found.

Language, Psalms, Teaching

Psalm 51:1-13 – David’s song admitting his sins, begging for forgiveness

January 5, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

1 Have mercy on me elohim, according to your loving-kindness; *

in your great compassion blot out my offenses.

2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness *

and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, *

and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you only have I sinned *

and done what is evil in your sight.

5 [4] And so you are justified when you speak *

and upright in your judgment.

6 [5] Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *

a sinner from my mother’s womb.

7 [6] For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *

and will make me understand wisdom secretly.

8 [7] Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *

wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.

9 [8] Make me hear of joy and gladness, *

that the body you have broken may rejoice.

10 [9] Hide your face from my sins *

and blot out all my iniquities.

11 [10] Create in me a clean heart elohim, *

and renew a right spirit within me.

12 [11] Cast me not away from your presence *

and take not your holy Spirit from me.

13 [12] Give me the joy of your saving help again *

and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

——————–

This is the Track 1 psalm that accompanies the 2 Samuel 11-12 reading about David’s sins and Nathan giving him Yahweh’s judgment against him. This song of lament was written by David specifically because of that event with Nathan, making it the perfect accompaniment. The pair of readings will precede a reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where he wrote, “We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.” All will accompany the Gospel selection from John, where Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Verse one of this Psalm actually includes what the NRSV has separated and presented as the heading for this song. They identify Psalm 51 as “A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” This is written into verse one, but omitted from that presented as verse one.

The Episcopal Church, in all it’s almighty David-being-equal self has changed the numbering of this song, although the words of the NRSV are maintained. Verse 4, according to the NRSV, is four lines, like verse one but the other verses all only have two lines. The Episcopal Church has looked down upon this as a glaring mistake, waved its holy wand and <poof & presto> they have added a nonexistent verse that happily [in their eyes] throws more confusion onto the Christian faithful, which they have no intention of ever addressing, much less explaining. You will note that I have amended the verse numbers to what they really are.

Also in my corrections above are two uses of “elohim” [there is a third in the verses not included in this reading] that have been erroneously translated as “O God.” The Hebrew word “elohim” is the plural form of “el,” clearly translating as “gods,” of which none of the translators recognize. They all take a word clearly written in the plural number and transform it into being a capitalized “God.” The name of the “God” David, Nathan, Bathsheba, and Uriah the Hittite worshipped was “Yahweh.” The use of “elohim” is important to see as the “elohim” are the angels and saints who are two as one with Yahweh, as His messengers to the world. David had been one of the “elohim,” but now his fall has endangered that state of being.

It should be realized that David was not just some talented songwriter. The lyrics of the Psalms were divinely inspired. This should be seen as an example of his soul still be married to Yahweh, after Yahweh poured out His Spirit upon David’s soul [after Samuel poured physical oil from a horn on his head]. That spiritual event would remain with David’s soul forever. David was allowed to fail in order to condemn the line of kings that would rule the land they coveted more than Yahweh. Thus, it was as an “elohim” that David wrote this song of lament, after Nathan had told him Yahweh’s judgment upon his human house, which had been disgraced.

It should also be understood that Yahweh does not inspire His elohim to write Scripture for simply telling historical facts and figures. Everything David did and was punished for is a reflection of everything sinful done ever since and to this day [and well beyond]. The reader of Scripture needs to see how Scripture is a finely tailored fit for the reader’s past, present, or future. Scripture is thus written for the benefit of warning others that what has happened once will happen again; no one is immune to the trappings of sin.

In the part of verse one that follows the introduction that has been omitted, three Hebrew words start, which are: “ḥān·nê·nî ’ĕ·lō·hîm kə·ḥas·de·ḵā”. These words make a statement in the first segment of words, saying “show favor upon me elohim according to your loving kindness.” This needs to be read as David requesting Yahweh show favor to his status as an elohim [a wife whose soul has forever merged with Yahweh’s Spirit], with that state of being said to be because of Yahweh’s “loving kindness.” The aspect of “love” is read into this translation because that elohim relationship was due to a marriage based on love and subjection.

That statement containing elohim is then followed by two more segments of words, which say, “according to multitude of your mercies” and “blot out my transgressions.” This says that not only has Yahweh created many elohim out of “kindness,” but He also has created states of forgiveness very many times, as all human souls face lives knowing sin before they become sincerely repentant and submit their souls to Yahweh for judgment. All who have married their souls with Yahweh’s Spirit, having become His elohim, have had all of their “transgressions blotted out” and erased. Verse one is David’s plea for forgiveness, which comes from admitting his sins, as made clear to him by Nathan about his dealings concerning Bathsheba.

Verse two then furthers this state of having sins blotted out, where the comparison is being “washed clean.” The NRSV translates this as, “Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin.” So many Christians hear about baptism by the Spirit [the anointing Yahweh personally poured out unto David’s soul] and then load up on trucks and drive down to the nearest Christian church and stand in line for a baptism by water. David is not expecting holy water to be poured over his head, because he had no concept of water doing anything more than washing filth off one’s body. This means verse two is David asking for a second helping of Yahweh’s divine Spirit to be the cleansing agent that restores his transgressed soul to elohim status.

In verse three, David confesses his sins. This is a required element of repentance. To remove a problem, one first has to admit one has a problem. David did that by stating [NRSV], “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” In that, to say “I know my transgressions,” the Hebrew word for “know” [“yada”] is more than a brain remembering how events of the past went down. Because David was an elohim and his soul was married to Yahweh, his “knowledge” came from the Mind of God [as a “Christ” or “Messiah” or “Anointed one”], so David totally “knew” his “transgressions,” because his soul had become immersed in his sinful acts. His actions became ever-present to his being, haunting his soul, as if the soul of Uriah had become his constant reminder surrounding him.

The first half of verse four states [NRSV], “Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” This says David had the legal right to do everything he did, as a king. Because Yahweh had instructed Samuel to set the framework for what having a human king meant for the Israelite people, David had broken none of those parameters. He had the free reign to rule as corruptly as would any other human king, like those who ruled over other nations. The marriage of David’s soul to Yahweh raised him to a level of responsibility that meant David’s soul was where Yahweh was the only King. As long as David lived righteously, as a good wife to Yahweh, then Yahweh ruled as King of Israel, with David along for the ride. However, when David began to act as that king, he cheated on his commitment to Yahweh; so, everything a human king ever does with unchecked power is “evil” in the eyes of Yahweh.

The second half of verse four [which the Episcopal Church calls verse five], says [NRSV], “And so you are justified when you speak and upright in your judgment.” This is David admitting he did everything he has been blamed by Yahweh for having done, saying Yahweh spoke justly in his judgment that David’s house will face ruin. Nathan told David that Yahweh had promised: “I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house” and “I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” That said David’s kingship would collapse publicly, as punishment for his sins. David agrees that spoken through Nathan was “justified” and “upright.”

It is this verse four that is what separates the souls of sinful Christians from the soul of sinful David. The lesson to be taught here is accept one’s punishment in the physical world, no matter how hard and bad it may be. David admitted he sinned and asked for Yahweh to wash clean his soul; and, if that meant destroying his kingship and everything surrounding him in the physical world, then let that be. It is far better to suffer for ten years until death and then have one’s soul released to eternal life, all debts of sins paid in full, than it is to beg God to forgive one’s sins and then beg to not lose everything one has sinned a lifetime amassing. Christians beg Yahweh for all kinds of luxuries in the material realm, when none have ever considered their soul’s need to marry Yahweh and become an elohim. In that way, they all play King of Self, subjecting God to being their lackey who needs to be forgiving, with perks.

In verse five, David wrote a truth that all human beings must realize. He sang [NRSV], “Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.” This fairly accurate translation is still in need of tweaking, because there is absolutely nothing anyone knows about David’s mother being the bearer of sinners into the world. A literal translation of the Hebrew makes this verse state: “behold in iniquity I was brought forth , and in sin , conceived me my mother.” This becomes the elohim of David singing, because when the Spirit poured out upon David’s soul, it surrounded him with the presence of the Father. That is different from “my mother,” where the masculinity of Yahweh and the femininity of the material world is what is being stated here, not maternal birth.

The “mother” that must be seen is the ‘goddess’ known as “Earth.” The world is the realm of the feminine essence, with “Mother Earth” also being one of Yahweh’s elohim. The feminine essence, being the opposite of the masculine Spiritual essence, makes the material realm ripe for offers that turn souls away from Yahweh and towards “mother” earth. This is the meaning of David saying, he looked [“behold!] and was lured into the world of “iniquity,” so he “was brought forth” into the feminine essence, away from the masculine. Once away from Yahweh, David “sinned.” Rather than being a product of union in the masculine – a soul merged with divine Spirit [an elohim] – David became “conceived” of “my mother,” not the Father. While the general statement of this verse says ALL HUMAN BEINGS are born of sin, being neuter souls implanted into feminine essence bodies of flesh, that becomes a crutch – an excuse for sins – which is easily overcome through divine marriage of a soul to Yahweh. It is, however, easier to not marry Yahweh than it is to make that commitment.

Verse six then sings [NRSV], “For behold, you look for truth deep within me, and will make me understand wisdom secretly.” In this, there is balance or symmetry that reflects on the “Behold in inequity” of verse five, now with “Behold truth” David was able to see, in a state of being that was the opposite of sins. Rather than reading “you look for truth deep within me, “”truth” is the Spirit that leads all elohim. The element “deep within me” comes from “ḇaṭ·ṭu·ḥō·wṯ,” which means “inward parts.” The “inward parts” of a human being is the “soul,” which can also be stated as one’s “heart.” That then leads to the literal stating, “and in the hidden wisdom you will make me to know.” This says Yahweh does no look for truth within, as much as David made it clear that truth is wisdom, which comes through the unseen element of one’s soul, through marriage to Yahweh.

Verse seven then sings [NRSV], “Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.” In this, the NRSV has eliminated the presence of “hyssops,” which is an aromatic fragrance that adds a pleasing scent to that which is washed. This then leads to “wash me than the snow I shall be whiter than.” What David sang here says the stench of his sins needed to be purged with strong aromatic smells that mask the odors of sin that surrounded David. There was also a blackness of filth that surrounded his soul’s glow, which he wanted scoured until gleaming white. The symbolism is a soul married to Yahweh is fragrant and clean, not foul and dirty.

Verse eight then sings [NRSV], “Make me hear of joy and gladness, that the body you have broken may rejoice.” In the first part of this verse, the converse says David could not sense the sounds of happiness that came from those who surrounded him, because not only were they lamenting his plight, but so too was his own wails of sorrow drowning out everything else. When David wrote, “may rejoice the bones you have broken,” this is more than a plea for his body to stop aching, as much as “bones” [from “‘ă·ṣā·mō·wṯ”] is more a statement about “self,” or his “soul” no longer feeling the presence of Yahweh. David feels his “substance” has become “broken” away from Yahweh; and he longs to “rejoice” the mending of that break.

Verse nine then sings [NRSV], “Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.” Whenever the Hebrew word “paneh” is written, the meaning of “face” must be seen as relative to the first Commandment, where one married to Yahweh promises to always wear only the “face of Yahweh before Him.” Thus, what David is saying here is he “hid the face of Yahweh” by wearing the “face” of self, which then led him to “sins.” Again, David’s soul makes a plea for the sins of the flesh to be removed from the soul, restoring the eternal union of an elohim.

Verse ten then returns to that concept of an elohim, as David sang [NRSV], “Create in me a clean heart elohim, and renew a right spirit within me.” Here, the literal translation says, “a heart clean create in me elohim , and a spirit steadfast , renew inward parts”. In that, the word translated as “heart” [“leb”] also means, “inner man, mind and will.” As “inner man,” this balances the use of “qereb” at the end, or “inward parts.” They are both the same, as a soul. Thus, David was pleading to be made “clean of soul,” where “ruach” is the “steadfast spirit” of Yahweh married to David’s soul, which will “renew” his “soul” by the return of Yahweh’s presence.

Verse eleven then sings [NRSV], “Cast me not away from your presence and take not your holy Spirit from me.” This repeats the word “ruach” [both uses as “wə·rū·aḥ” – “and spirit, breath, wind”], where the plea specifically asks Yahweh “not to cast away” David’s soul from the presence of Yahweh. One must see this as a cheating wife begging her Husband [who refuses to grant or demand a divorce] not to keep her around, while having nothing to do with her as punishment. The translation of “holy spirit” is misleading, as the Spirit of Yahweh can be nothing other than Yahweh, the epitome of holiness. The “spirit” is the same as in verse ten, which is more than a “soul” [a “breath of life” into a body of flesh], because the “Spirit” is the marriage of Yahweh to a soul. Thus, the condition of “sacredness” or “holiness” is that the “spirit” projects upon the “soul” of the wife. David is pleading that his status as an elohim not prevent him from continuing to do Yahweh’s work on earth.

Verse twelve then sings [NRSV], “Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.” Here, the idea of doing Yahweh’s work is confirmed, as David pleaded, ‘restore to me the joy of your salvation,” where the true “joy” came from David leading all the Israelites to be saved. Again repeating the word “wə·rū·aḥ” [“and spirit”] for the third verse in a row, David is asking Yahweh to be generous to those who depend on David [as their king] to benefit from a leader that was divinely married to Yahweh and the conduit of His Spirit for the people.

It is important to realize this song of prayer for cleansing continues for seven more verses, none of which will ever be read aloud in an Episcopal church. The point made by these verses is David was led by the love of Yahweh to sincerely repent his wrongdoings in song, asking not for a return to the way things were, but to allow him to salvage some good in the remainder of his time on earth. One must realize that Yahweh led David to write this song for the many others after David who would also know the failure of their souls to wear the face of Yahweh and become His elohim through divine marriage.

As an accompanying song of lament that is clearly the choice to sing along with the sad story of Nathan’s words told to David, about Yahweh’s judgment against David, the lesson to be gained on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should be already well underway, is to see the warning placed upon one’s soul. David was righteous as a spiritual wife to Yahweh for over fifty years of his life, having been anointed when just a boy shepherd. David was allowed to turn away from Yahweh and fail miserably, in order to forever set a curse upon the lineage that would be the rulers of nations that claim assistance from Yahweh. This song of repent and lament has to be seen as one’s own, should one ever lie about being “in His name” or murder the pure and innocent, where Uriah is a projection of Jesus. It is very easy to let oneself fall into this web of deception and think punishment is unjust.

David was rewarded with eternal life, just as was Adam and Eve after breaking the laws; but the remainder of David’s life was anything but peaceful. There are so many ways that one’s physical body can become the punishment for past sins, where the test is to allow that sad state of existence, always praying to Yahweh for strength to stay the course of pain and suffering, so one can be released to eternal peace. So many false shepherds in Christianity today pander to the moans and groans of the few who cry the loudest, never giving any comfort to the ones who silently withstand pain and suffering, knowing the truth that this world is no longer worth sacrificing eternal peace for a moment of restitution. All priests who pander to social media and politics should resign their positions and begin a lifetime of self-flagellation, while begging Yahweh to forgive their selfish blindness.

Language, Psalms, Teaching

Psalm 78:23-29 – Receiving the manna and quail from heaven

January 5, 2026 R. T. Tippett Leave a comment

23 So he commanded the clouds above *

and opened the doors of heaven.

24 He rained down manna upon them to eat *

and gave them grain from heaven.

25 So mortals ate the bread of angels; *

he provided for them food enough.

26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens *

and led out the south wind by his might.

27 He rained down flesh upon them like dust *

and winged birds like the sand of the sea.

28 He let it fall in the midst of their camp *

and round about their dwellings.

29 So they ate and were well filled, *

for he gave them what they craved.

——————–

This is the accompanying Psalm for the Track 2 Old Testament reading from Exodus 16, where Yahweh promised to rain manna from the sky and quails would be provided for an evening dinner. This song of praise speaks of that event in Israelite history, making it a perfect companion reading. If chosen, these will be read before the Epistle selection from Ephesians, where Paul wrote, “each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from John 6, where Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Psalm 78 is one of the “contemplations of Asaph,” who is said to be a singer-musician for the Tabernacle in Jerusalem, appointed by David. It appears that the story told in song is much aligned with what is written in Scripture, becoming mush like songs sung in churches today, where the lyrics are chosen to match what Scripture says [in translation].

In verse twenty-three is said metaphorically that the “clouds above” [“šə·ḥā·qîm mim·ma·‘al”] hide the “doors of heaven” [“wə·ḏal·ṯê šā·mā·yim”]. In a physical sense, a cloud is the collection of water droplets that have evaporated from the land, rising to gather in collections in the air. Physically, a “cloud” is where rain normally comes from. Spiritually, a “cloud” reflects the soul’s presence within a body of flesh, where the soul cannot be seen due to it being captured in the form of material cells. This makes verse twenty-three say metaphorically that Yahweh “opened” a channel between His heavenly presence and the souls within the Israelites.

In verse twenty-four, it is important to know [from the Exodus reding this accompanies] that “manna” means “what is it?,” as a question about that collected daily. The aspect of “rained down manna upon them” [“way·yam·ṭêr ‘ă·lê·hem mān”] should be a materialization that fell downward through the air, most likely as tiny flakes [like snow] or a fine mist [like dew], which collected on the ground and became transformed into a soft solid. The people were told to consume this as divine “grain ,“ which would become “bread from heaven” [“ū·ḏə·ḡa·nō·šā-ma-yim”]. The element of “what is it?” should be applied to how yeast is explained to be a living creature that changing sugar into alcohol. The question is then relative to seeing it as a necessary ingredient that brings a desired result, where knowing answers as to why become irrelevant. Here, the Israelites must be seen as the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, and milk, into which yeast must be added to give rise to them.

When verse twenty-five sings, “So mortals ate the bread of angels,” the literal might imply that, but actually says, “bread of strength eaten.” The implication of angels is not stated; however, to intuit this as the “bread of angels,” one must then be aware that the angels are “elohim,” so mortals [from “’îš” – “man”] could become the creations of Yahweh, as His servants or messengers. This must then be seen as the “strength” of spiritual uplifting that was necessary to become truly a ‘child of God.’ This “food enough” literally states “provisions sent to them” [by Yahweh] to keep them “full” of divine strength.

Verse twenty-six then sings, “He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens and led out the south wind by his might,” which is not a detail of the event of Moses explaining the coming of manna and quail. Moses was aided in the crossing of the Red Sea [or reed sea] by a strong “east wind.” There is nothing in Exodus about a south wind, so both directions of wind must be read in spiritual terms, not physical terms. An “east wind” becomes metaphor for sunrise [“the east”] in the “spirit” [“ruach” as “wind,” although not written here], where this “east wind” [“qā·ḏîm”] symbolizes the souls of the Israelites [full of manna] were mixed and ready to be placed in the spiritual over of “heaven” [“baš·šā·mā·yim”]. The “south wind” is then the necessary heat added, which makes the dough rise, through the yeast releasing gasses within the mixture. This bring about spiritual enlightenment [“the east”].

Verse twenty-seven speaks of the arrival of the quail. Here, the same word as used to begin verse twenty-four is used [“way·yam·ṭêr”], such that the metaphor of “rain” is repeated. This shows the meaning being “heaven-sent,” where “rain” is the natural way the gods [“elohim”] of nature prepare the earth so it can produce fruit. By then referring to this “rain” as being “like the dust” [“ke·‘ā·p̄ār”], this bears the metaphor of “flesh,” which means the quail reflect upon the bodies of the Israelites being nourished, after their souls had been fed spiritual food. That “flesh” then being identified as those of “winged birds” [“‘ō·wp̄ kā·nāp̄”], the metaphor is the Israelites were visited by “angels,” who were consumed so their souls were merged with those angels, making them “elohim.”

This leads to verse twenty-eight, which sings of Yahweh letting this “fall in their midst” [“way·yap·pêl bə·qe·reḇ”], where the word translated as “midst” means “inward parts.” Rather than this be a statement that the angles dropped into their “camp,” it says the two became married as one inwardly, on a soul-spirit level of being. It was there the angels [the formation of elohim] made their ‘camp.” The whole of the Israelite people became a “camp” of elohim. Therefore, “round about their dwellings” is less about the tents the Israelite people lived in and more a statement about their being divinely possessed, so the “quail” became one with those who consumed them after the manna.

Verse twenty-nine is the last in this selection about the manna and quail sent by Yahweh to His complaining people. The NRSV translation says, “So they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.” In this, one needs to remember the sayings of Jesus, about being fed for a day, verses being fed for a lifetime. By this verse singing, “and they were filled” [“way·yiś·bə·‘ū”] the meaning is spiritually. Their souls hungered for the uplifting motivation to serve Yahweh, which had to be more than simply listening to what Moses and Aaron said. By being “filled” they were married to Yahweh spiritually. They had become His elohim. By giving them “what they craved,” their “desire” was to be like Moses and Aaron, so they could lead themselves just as they led themselves. That desire was a necessary “filling” of Spirit, in order for their time spent in the wilderness to last.

In these translations, I see that Asaph was indeed divinely inspired to write in the same manner as did David. The ruth comes forth from his words in the same way. This tells me that the “appointment” by David that made Asaph become a musician-singer in the Tabernacle system is more in line with the “appointments” of twelve disciples of Jesus, raising them to become apostles. This tells me that the fact that David was an elohim of Yahweh he then ‘touched’ Asaph, so he became one too. In fact, the appearance of Nathan as a prophet advising David, with no history as to how he rose to that rank, suggests that Nathan also had been “appointed” to that position, through a divine need for a spiritual assistant. Because Yahweh flowed throughout Israel via David, mush like Yahweh flowed throughout the Israelite encampments via Moses, all became reflections of those leaders, as ‘touched’ to follow their leads. Thus, Nathan told David the news of his judgment after having been put in contact with Yahweh by David; and, in the same way, Asaph was assisted by Yahweh’s Spirit to summarize in song the events of Exodus 16, because Asaph had been ‘touched’ by David.

As the accompanying Psalm to the Exodus reading, it is self-explanatory as to why it is chosen to be sung aloud on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry to Yahweh should already be well underway. This sings praise of the receipt of Yahweh’s Spirit within one’s soul, so one becomes a “winged creature” for Yahweh. One needs to understand Scripture from the manna exposing “what it is.” Then one needs to fly to others and touch their souls. This is the purpose of ministry; and, one can only complain about religion not being enough, until one shows Yahweh a desire to be filled with His truth.

Explaining the Readings

Tag Archives: Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

2 Samuel 11:1-15 – Overcome by the swells of worldly influence

2 Kings 4:42-44 – A miracle of the first fruit

Ephesians 3:14-21 – Praying to be like Paul’s Ephesians

John 6:1-21 – Feeding the assemblies spiritual food

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a – You are the sinner!

Exodus 16:2-4,9-15 – Manna from heaven

Ephesians 4:1-16 – Capitalizing on the truth

John 6:24-35 – Calling Jesus “My Rabbi”

Psalm 51:1-13 – David’s song admitting his sins, begging for forgiveness

Psalm 78:23-29 – Receiving the manna and quail from heaven

The Episcopal Lectionary Discerned