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2013-05-16 11:37:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Parashat Nasso - We can often hear people preach the gospel saying "Christ died for you". But what good is it to proclaim that truth if you don't first understand why he had to die for us in the first place? These texts, pointing us to the holiness of God, show us more than anything why the promise of a Messiah and a redeemer was necessary. We are defiled with sin and guilty of breaking his law.

2013-05-14 06:59:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

This evening the holiday of Shavuot (pentecost) starts.

On the day of Shavuot, the children of Israel received God's holy Torah. The precise instructions from God on how to live a pure life and which sacrifices to make when sin needs to be atoned. In the same way, the apostles received the Holy Spirit - the supernatural manifestation of God's power that makes the Christian a new creature that desires a pure life and fellowship with God rather than living in sin.

To be set free from slavery in Egypt is not enough - we also needed a Torah to guide us so we have knowledge of what sin is. Similarly, salvation from sin cannot be complete if we continue to live in our old sinful nature. That's why we need the Holy Spirit.

2013-05-09 10:23:30 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat baMidbar - We see the beginning of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham - that his seed will be like the stars on the sky and like the sand of the sea. Shabbat Shalom!

2013-05-08 06:08:50 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Today is Jerusalem Day! Celebrated every year on 28th of Iyar, as the anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification in 1967. "As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it." (Isaiah 31:5)

2013-04-25 13:48:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat Emor. There is not one thing is this parasha that does NOT speak directly about the Messiah! He is our holiness, he is our salvation, he is our sacrifice, and he is our celebration.

2013-04-18 06:12:51 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Parashat Acharey-Mot and Kedoshim. Two of the most amazing parashot in the Bible. "The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the LORD has commanded that all blood be poured out on the altar to take away the people's sins. Blood, which is life, takes away sins.", "Be holy for I am holy", "Love your neighbor as yourself".

2013-04-15 12:03:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The Independence Day starts tonight. Happy 65th birthday to Israel! 

When the LORD brought us back to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! How we laughed, how we sang for joy! Then the other nations said about us, “The LORD did great things for them.” Indeed he did great things for us; how happy we were! /Psalm 126

2013-04-14 07:15:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Memorial Day of the fallen soldiers. We Israelis grow up knowing that others have died for us. And that we are expected to do army service and risk our lives for our country. And after our service, we live our lives knowing that people are risking their lives right now in order for us to be able to raise our kids and live where we do, being who we are.
But shouldn't this be true for all Christians, not just Israelis? How often do we comprehend that Jesus actually died for us?

2013-04-11 13:23:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashot Tazria & Metsora - This parasha is about the laws rituals and sacrifices for people that have been contaminated by leprosy, or other kinds of difficult skin sicknesses

2013-04-08 06:06:38 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Today is the Memorial Day for the Holocaust here in Israel. Many Jews remember being beaten in the freezing snow while hearing the Christmas songs of the guards in Auschwitz. And they still remember the belts the guards wore that said "God is with us". How do you think that has shaped their view of Christianity?

2013-03-27 14:15:38 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

בַּעֲרוּ אֶת הַשְּׂאוֹר הַיָּשָׁן לְמַעַן תִּהְיוּ עִסָּה חֲדָשָׁה. הֲלֹא אַתֶּם כְּמַצּוֹת, שֶׁהֲרֵי נִזְבַּח שֵׂה הַפֶּסַח שֶׁלָּנוּ – הַמָּשִׁיחַ. /הראשונה אל הקורינתים ה' 7

2013-03-27 14:15:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Get rid of the old yeast! Then you will be like fresh bread made without yeast, and this is what you are. Our Passover lamb is Christ, who has already been sacrificed /1 Cor 5:7

2013-03-25 13:43:12 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Happy Passover! It starts tonight. Yeshua, our passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

2013-03-21 06:31:50 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat Tsav and haShabbat haGadol - Keeping commands and ritual requirements will not help us if we live a life of moral sin.

2013-03-14 15:03:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat vaYikra - The instructions of the sacrifices are very detailed, since the importance of the salvation from sin, could hardly be underestimated. Shabbat Shalom!

2013-03-07 08:29:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Our Modern Hebrew New Testament is now available on the Youversion app for iphone and android. Easy copy-paste of full Bible verses, sharing to social networking, and easy to use with any of Youversion's many reading plans.

2013-03-07 08:26:53 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

The last Parasha of Exodus, and Shabbat haChodesh - It's the last Shabbat before the Spring Month of Nissan. The month of Nissan is the month of spring. The time of renewal. The time of the new tabernacle, the new temple, the new covenant. Shabbat Shalom!

2013-03-01 14:24:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Shabbat Shalom! This Shabbat is "Shabbat Parah" - The Sabbath of the heifer. Read why Jesus is our red heifer. 

2013-02-24 07:55:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Happy Purim! "The story of Esther is ... more than just an actual story. It's a prophetic story, telling us the story of the salvation. Mordechai is a picture of the Messiah - who saved us from sin and delivered us from the evil, and has been given the authority of the entire creation"

2013-02-14 15:58:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat Terumah - "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" Shabbat Shalom!

2013-02-07 22:26:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Parashat Mishpatim. What does "an eye for an eye" really mean? Shabbat Shalom!

2013-01-31 15:56:23 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Parashat Yitro. This Shabbat, all synagogues in the world will be reading the Ten Commandments, and immediately after that: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

2013-01-24 11:09:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Parashat beShalach - The parting of the Red Sea, the manna in the wilderness, the water from the rock, and the war against Amalek. (and very few words on the Tu biShvat holiday)
Shabbat Shalom!

2013-01-24 09:37:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Throughout the year the Bible Society in Israel has had many different opportunities to share the message of the Living Word of God in different events and occasions. We are grateful for this.

2013-01-19 13:07:41 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Parashat Bo - The Exodus out of Egypt. One of the single most remarkable events in world history!

2013-01-14 10:21:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

We are happy to see that the Knesset Ethics Committee has decided to reprimand MK Ben Ari for ripping up the Bible that we sent him. We appreciate it as a sign of democracy and freedom of religion which the State of Israel stands for.

We pray for the day when the people of Israel will realize that this "Christian Bible" is in fact a very Jewish Bible. Not only was it written by Jews, but it was also destined first to the Jews.

As we just recently finished reading the Parashot about the life of Joseph, how similar is this to how the brothers of Joseph (the House of Israel) looked upon their own brother, and thought him to be a total foreigner and a gentile.

We pray for the day when the Messiah of Israel will reveal his face to his own beloved People of Israel, comfort them, and use the same words that Joseph used when revealing himself to his brothers: "for God... more »

2013-01-10 10:07:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Parashat vaEre - God delivered his people out of the slavery in Egypt in a marvellous miraculous way, and he also delivered us out of the slavery to sin in a marvellous miraculous way - by sending his son to die on the cross for us.

Also, sorry about missing last weeks parasha - it is updated and right there on the page, so you can catch up.

Shalom, from a snowy Jerusalem!

2013-01-01 08:06:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I'm usually not this late with last week's parasha, but the closing of the fiscal year took a lot of my energy this week. Happy new 2013! Here's the parasha of last Shabbat.

2012-12-21 21:08:50 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Parashat vaYigash - "The reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers is wonderful. He explains to them that they don't need to be afraid because of what they did, since it was all a part of God's plan. Because Joseph's initial misery and humiliation eventually became a salvation for everyone, including them. Sounds familiar?"

2012-12-13 11:54:30 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Parashat miKetz - "Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou."

2012-12-08 10:06:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Tonight we light the first candle! Happy Hanukka!

2012-12-05 11:50:41 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Shalom everyone! This Shabbat we read Parashat vaYeshev - the first part of the story of Joseph. Click to read how Joseph resembles Yeshua, and how the story of Judah and Tamar relates to our salvation

2012-11-22 09:24:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Parashat haShavua is finally back on track! Time to catch up the last month.

2012-11-19 14:20:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The State of Israel is constantly battling assaults from its neighbors.  The media is constantly asking the question of who is to blame.  “Who started it?”  There are many different ways to answer this question...

2012-11-19 14:18:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Update: Most of our staff is in Jerusalem, and we are all fine. No BSI staff has been called in yet, but there are a number of believers from different Messianic congregations from all over the country that have. We have two staff members in Tel Aviv, and one of them is currently abroad. There have been sirens, and our collegue there has been running to shelters, but as you know from the news, no one has been hurt in Tel Aviv. "Iron Dome" has been successful and intercepted the rockets. Pray for the safety of all of us, and for everyone in this region.

2012-11-19 14:18:08 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Dear friends of the Bible Society in Israel. We are so blessed and encouraged to have you holding us in prayer. We are blessed to experience the love of Christ in the midst of hatred and hostilities around us. We, the staff of the Bible Society in Israel as well as the Palestinian BS and the Arab Israeli Bible Society together pray that the Lord would give us the courage and wisdom to be His advocates and testimony. He is what we pursue and want to present to our peoples.

Please pray with us for God's mercy and love upon our peoples and for all who suffer and die on both sides as a result of this war. Please pray that we will be faithful intercessors and a source of refuge during these difficult days, what a responsibility and privilege. Please pray that our testimony to our peoples will be evident and glorifying to our Lord. Please pray for the safety of our staff.

Victor... more »

2012-11-07 12:49:59 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

New Hebrew compact Bibles arrived today! They'll be available within minutes on our website. Which one would you choose? Make your order today!

2012-10-02 09:46:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

We celebrated Sukkot yesterday. We keep celebrate during the week. "We now know that Passover was fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross, and that Pentecost was fulfilled when the disciples received the Holy Spirit. Sukkot, however, has not yet been fulfilled. It is still in the future."

2012-09-27 08:26:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat Haazinu. This is the parasha before the last one. Moses has finished his speech and now says this song, called Ha'azinu, "listen", named after the first word in it. It details God's relationship with Israel.

2012-09-24 14:57:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Tomorrow evening starts Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement. The holiest day of the year. This is the one time once a year when the high priest would go in to the holy of holiest, as described in Leviticus 16 and ask for atonement for the people.

The life of a born-again believer is marked by constant repentance and admission of sins. Not just once a year. We can use this day of fasting to "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith" (2Cor 13:5)

2012-09-16 06:24:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Shana Tova and Happy New Year 5773 from the Bible Society in Israel! "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God" /1 Thes 4:16

2012-09-14 07:11:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat Nitsavim "And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live."

2012-08-29 14:08:26 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat Ki-tetse. Many small laws about this and that. Including the law about a dead body hanged on a tree. Does that remind us of something...?

2012-08-23 06:23:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Parashat Shoftim - "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". Did God say this or not? Did Jesus turn against it? If so, did Jesus disagree with his Father in this matter? Can God disagree with himself in that way? Click to read my answers to these questions.

2012-08-15 07:26:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat Re'eh - "The legal consequences of trying to lead others to idol worship is death penalties here. This is totally in line with the biblical principle we find in the new Testament, that the wage of sin is death. As we read these passages, let's never forget that these punishments are the punishments that we legally deserve, and that Christ took in our place!"

2012-07-27 08:22:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Parashat Dvarim and Shabbat Chazon - it's the Shabbat right before Tisha be'Av. Even when they sin bad, and even when God's punishment is very hard, he never lets go of the people of Israel. He leads them to victory. They are his forever. "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Lam 3:22-23

2012-07-20 06:47:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat Mattot-Masaei - The last Parasha of the book of Numbers. Chazak, chazak, venitchazek.

2012-07-17 07:05:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

מַה-נָּאווּ עַל-הֶהָרִים רַגְלֵי מְבַשֵּׂר, מַשְׁמִיעַ שָׁלוֹם מְבַשֵּׂר טוֹב--מַשְׁמִיעַ יְשׁוּעָה; אֹמֵר לְצִיּוֹן, מָלַךְ אֱלֹהָיִךְ. /ישעיה נ"ב 7

2012-07-17 07:05:45 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

How wonderful it is to see
a messenger coming across the mountains,
bringing good news, the news of peace!
He announces victory and says to Zion,
“Your God is king!” /Isaiah 52:7

2012-07-12 07:55:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Parashat Pinchas - "Something that we see throughout the stories of this parasha is God's desire for holiness. Flee sexual immorality, give equal rights, keep the sacrifices. Don't be like the rest of the world. Belong to God. How do we achieve this holiness? By going to a lot of big meetings and conferences? No. By spending time with God alone. Set time to be with God alone!"