Zion, a Love Story - II

I was inspired to write the story in the previous post when I contemplated how YHWH's love for us has remained unanswered for so long, how people invented their own doctrines containing a mix of pagan and biblical elements, and how YHWH's name has been erased from the Bible and substituted by a Ba'al (LORD) title.

And then I read Psalm 84:5:
“Blessed are the men whose strength is in Thee, in whose heart are the highways to Zion”.

Although Zion also is used synonymously with the city of YHWH and Israel in a figurative sense, when you read the prophets you will notice its predominant meaning is much more than that.

In its most essential prophetic form the meaning of Zion is of a spiritual nature.

Zion is best described as the umbilical cord between YHWH and His people.
From mount Zion YHWH’s Law goes forth and is sown in the soil of the hearts to bring forth fruits of Zion.
From mount Zion YHWH’s living Word goes forth to make hearts ready to accept the living Word and His Law. Whereas the written Law could not change the heart, the living Law can.
From mount Zion YHWH’s living Comforter goes forth to bring the Sonshine unto the seeds sown in the heart of man so that the land can bring forth fruit after its kind.

I have written critically about various religious denominations on my blog when their views and tenets are contrary to and/or destroy the intent of YHWH’s purpose, and I have criticised both Christianity and Judaism.
YHWH’s story is a story of love, not of creating deceptive religious veneers which mask the absence of that love.

Just as YHWH is one, Zion is one in its expression of the One.
It is not possible that Zion can contradict itself.

If YHWH’s Law goes forth from Zion, then His Son, in Whom YHWH has become our Salvation, will not be contrary to that Law, but He will embody that Law.
Yahshua was the living embodiment of the Law (Torah) and sought to inspire man to keep the Torah from the perspective of true love for YHWH.
The Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit Yahshua sent to us, was to change from within and inspire and nourish a sincere love and respect for YHWH and His Torah within us. The Ruach HaKodesh inspires fear in the fallen angels since the Spirit destroys all darkness.

Does a sincere love and respect for YHWH express itself in trying to alter His commandments into our image of right and wrong?
All too often the argument of Grace vs. the Law, the Spirit vs. the letter is used as a false lever to create a chasm between the Testaments in the Bible, often accompanied with the argument where we see ourselves as authorized to lay down our own concept of the Law.

Surely you agree that imposing your own vision upon YHWH is not a sign of respect, and that it should be YHWH who should instruct us, not the other way round?
There really is no division between the old vs. the new; this division is the result of a false argument.

“Blessed are the men whose strength is in Thee [who believe in YHWH’s Salvation, Yahshua, as their hope and strength], in whose heart are highways to Zion [who point the way to the Salvation AND YHWH’s Law AND YHWH’s Force of Change, the Ruach HaKodesh]”.

“Well, that is just your interpretation”, you may think.

No, it is not, and I will show you by quoting the prophets and what they have written about Zion.

First of all, Zion as I already described is where YHWH dwells.
Zion is where we go when we want to be in contact with YHWH.
What do I mean by that?

To experience YHWH we have to keep His Torah (love and respect for YHWH), believe in His Salvation (that the Originator of life brings from His dimension through Zion to our dimension) and thus partake and be moved by His Spirit (so that we become living expressions of YHWH’s presence in our heart and thereby living temples wherein YHWH dwells).

"YHWH dwells in Zion":

Joel 3:17:
“So you shall know that I am YHWH your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.”

Isaiah 8:18:
“Here am I and the children whom YHWH has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From YHWH Elohim, Who dwells in Mount Zion.”

In YHWH’s dwelling place His Law is the rule (His Torah as opposed to man’s His-Tory as a result of man’s His-Teria), and righteousness abounds:

Isaiah 33:5:
“YHWH is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.”

Micah 4:2 and Isaiah 2:3:
“Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of YHWH,
To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.
For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of YHWH from Jerusalem.”

In YHWH’s dwelling place we find our Salvation, Yahshua:

Isaiah 28:16:
“Therefore thus says YHWH Elohim: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a Stone for a foundation, a tried Stone, a precious Cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.’”

Isaiah 46:13:
“I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My Salvation shall not linger.
And I will place Salvation in Zion, for Israel My glory.”

Isaiah 59:20:
“The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, says YHWH”.

Romans 9:33:
“As it is written: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling Stone and Rock of offence, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’”

Romans 11:26:
“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob’”

From YHWH’s dwelling place the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) goes forth:

Isaiah 31:9:
“’He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the banner,’ says YHWH, whose Fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.”

Referring back to ‘Zion, a Love Story’, where YHWH looks at His people with a longing love in His heart:

Jeremiah 6:2:
“I have likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and delicate woman.”

The Man continued to love the woman, in spite of herself:

Jeremiah 3:14:
“Return, O backsliding children, says YHWH; for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family [individuals, single cells of the new Israel, personally selected by YHWH brough under the care of Yahshua], and I will bring you to Zion.”

Jeremiah 30:17:
“For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds, says YHWH, Because they called you an outcast saying: ‘This is Zion; no one seeks her.’”[That's why I love Him so much, He welcomes misfits and outcasts in His Home such as yours truly]

Still the woman persisted in looking for love in the wrong places.
Her continued rejection of the Man who loved her caused the Man to return to the Mountain Zion in sadness.
And as He went away His absence was felt by the woman who took the Man for granted and treated Him like dirt:

Lamentations 2:6:
“He has done violence to His tabernacle, as if it were a garden; He has destroyed His place of assembly; YHWH has caused the appointed feasts and Shabbats to be forgotten in Zion [yet in anticipation of His return we are to become the embodiment of Zion and keep His feasts and Shabbats]. In His burning indignation He has spurned the king and the priest.”

Lamentations 1:4:
“The roads to Zion mourn because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.”

The pain in the heart of the woman is answered by the pain in the heart of the Man, yet even so, He knows she still is not ready:

Jeremiah 8:19:
“Listen! The voice, the cry of the daughter of My people from a far country:
‘Is not YHWH in Zion? Is not her King in her?’
‘Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images- with foreign idols?’”

Still His heart goes out to the woman He loves:

Lamentations 1:17:
“Zion spreads out her hands, but no one comforts her”

He never stopped loving and eagerly waits for the right moment:

Zechariah 8:2:
“Thus says YHWH Sabaoth: ‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; with great fervour I am zealous for her.’”

Zechariah 8:3:
“Thus says YHWH: ‘I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of YHWH Sabaoth, the Holy Mountain.’”

Zechariah 1:17:
“Again proclaim, saying, Thus says YHWH Sabaoth: ‘My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; YHWH will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem.’”

Isaiah 62:1:
“For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her Salvation as a lamp that burns.”

Isaiah 31:4:
“So YHWH Elohim will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.”

She will return to the One she rejected:

Jeremiah 31:6:
“For there shall be a day when the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to YHWH our Elohim.’”[the return to Zion, i.e., return to YHWH, His Truth, His Torah, His Salvation, His Ruach HaKodesh]

Isaiah 52:8:
“Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together; for they shall see eye to eye when YHWH brings back Zion.”

Isaiah 51:11:
“So the ransomed of YHWH shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

Then she will know the saving grace of the Man, she will know the truth reflected in the Man’s writings, Torah, and point others to the highway to Mount Zion:

Isaiah 33:20:
“Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, A tabernacle that will not be taken down; not one of its stakes will ever be removed, nor will any of its cords be broken.”

Jeremiah 50:5:
“They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces toward it, saying, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to YHWH in a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten.’”

And she will forsake her own ideas and look at the Man for correction:

Isaiah 24:23:
“Then the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed; for YHWH Elohim will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously.”

And even though she was treated as an outcast, like the Man who loved her, she is comforted by the Man:

Lamentations 3:31-32 and 3:22-23:
“For YHWH will not cast off for ever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love”
“The steadfast love of YHWH never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is Thy [His] faithfulness”

Micah 4:7:
“I will make the lame a remnant, and the outcast a strong nation; so YHWH will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever.”[Again, the outcasts finally find love and acceptance in the 'Man who never stops loving']

Isaiah 61:3:
“To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of YHWH, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 30:19:
“For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.

Isaiah 14:32:
“What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That YHWH has founded Zion, and the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.”[those lacking a rich spirit, meaning, a spirit with the means to resist and reject YHWH's truth, are blessed because they will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven]

Then the Man who never stopped loving will be answered by the woman’s love and revenge all the injustice and abuse she suffered:

Isaiah 34:8:
“For it is the day of YHWH’s vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”

Isaiah 10:24:
“Therefore thus says YHWH Elohim: ‘O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt.’”[don't fear anti-christs and pseudo-messiah's when your heart is in Zion]

Isaiah 10:32:
“He will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.”[threats of malicious men who hate YHWH in their hearts are like wind and avail to nothing]

Jeremiah 50:28:
“The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon declares in Zion the vengeance of the YHWH our Elohim, the vengeance of His temple.”[there will come a time to move out of our Babylons into the safety of YHWH's herd]

Zechariah 2:17:
“Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.”[figuritively: we should purge ourselves of all pagan elements and clothe ourselves in the purity of Zion; literally: we should prepare to leave behind our Babylons (exile) when the call comes]

Jeremiah 51:24:
“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion in your sight, says YHWH.”[the Babylonian ways and their promoters will be judged]

Joel 2:1:
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of YHWH is coming, for it is at hand”[Yom Teruach, the day of the 'loud noise', the feast falling on the first day of the seventh month; like the walls of Jericho fell when Israel made a great noise, the noise of those whose hearts are in Zion will announce the crumbling of the Babylonian/Greecian/Roman walls]

As the Man executes judgment against those who sought to come against Him and His bride, He will make sure that His bride will be safe and protected:

Joel 2:32:
”For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as YHWH has said, among the remnant whom YHWH calls.”[for the ones whose hearts are rooted in Zion there will be protection]

Joel 3:16:
“YHWH also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but YHWH will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”

Isaiah 52:1:
“Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you.”

Obadiah 1:17:
“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness”

And as the Man’s love finds the answer He has been hoping for she will become His bride:

Revelations 14:1:
“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.”

144,000, all twelve tribes united in One because they answered His love and returned to Zion, looking for the One they once rejected.

Isaiah 4:3:
“And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 12:6:
“Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

...and so where I began becomes the end:
“Blessed are the men whose strength is in Thee, in whose heart are the highways to Zion”.

The Man who waited thousands of years for His love to find an answer in the woman He loves, doesn’t such faithfulness, patience, endurance and devotion speak volumes about the character of the Man who never ceased to love?
If there ever was a Man able to conquer the stoniest of hearts, His name is YHWH, the faithful One.

“The steadfast love of YHWH never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness”

Have a blessed Shabbat.