Do Jacob’s
sheep still exist?
During the
past few months a breed of sheep called “Jacobs sheep” have attracted much
international attention. Some experts claim there may be around 5000 of these
sheep in the world at the moment.
Following is a recent news headline from the
Guardian:
'Jacob sheep' from the Bible return to the
Holy Land after red tape shorn away.
Breeders
call for heritage variety to become ‘the Jewish national animal’ as diplomats
intervene to let Canadian-bred flock be brought to the Golan Heights
A
breed of sheep believed to have been raised by the Jewish patriarch Jacob may
soon be brought to its biblical homeland, after an Israeli couple gathered a
herd in Canada and brokered a bureaucratic detente to import the animals.
The
effort to bring 130 “Jacob sheep” to the Golan Heights from Canada had been
inching along for nearly a year, said Jenna and Gil Lewinsky, with the
reintroduction of the breed stymied by red tape between the two countries.
The
couple, based near Vancouver, said the project was initially opposed by
Israel’s Agriculture Ministry because Canada was not on a list approved for
sheep imports.
But
the Israeli embassy in Canada facilitated a dialogue between the couple and the
ministry and sent along “strong recommendations”, embassy spokesman Eitan Weiss
said.
“And
the ambassador visited Israel. He met some people with the ministry of
agriculture and issued a letter,” Weiss said in an interview. “The idea was
very, very nice and of course we said, ‘Let’s push it.’”
According
to Hebrew and Christian holy books, Jacob had received a flock of a speckled
and spotted sheep, as well as goats, as wages.
Late
in 2015 Israel’s agriculture ministry changed its stance, and on Monday said it
has contacted its Canadian counterpart as part of the import process, Jenna Lewinsky
said.
She
said Israeli ambassador Rafael Barak walked in on the birth of a lamb when he
visited her family’s farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia, about 70km (43
miles) east of Vancouver. The couple had started raising the sheep after
receiving a few as a gift from a heritage farm.
“It
should be the national animal of the Jewish people,” Jenna Lewinsky said. “It
would be a very important and historic moment when the sheep return after
basically 2,000 years.”
The
couple said the sheep were expected to reach the Holy Land this year, subject
to passing medical tests, and would be used for educational and heritage
purposes.
• This
article was amended on 16 March 2016. An earlier version said the sheep were
being brought to Israel. The Golan Heights are in fact part of Syria, but have
been occupied by Israel since 1967
See similar articles on Jacob’s
sheep on these web sites:
“Yakov’s
sheep” or the remnant of Yacob/Yisrael
may soon be returning to Yisrael.
Rom 9:25 As He says in Hoshĕa too, “I shall call them
My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved.”
Rom 9:26 “And it shall be in the place where it was
said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ there they shall be called sons of the
living Elohim.”
Rom 9:27 And Yeshayahu cries out on behalf of
Yisra’ĕl, “Though the number of the children of Yisra’ĕl be as the sand of the
sea, the remnant shall be saved.
Rom 9:28 For He is bringing a matter to an end, and is
cutting it short in righteousness, because יהוה shall cut
short a matter on the earth.”
Rom 9:29 And as
Yeshayahu said before, “If יהוה of hosts had
not left us a seed, we would have become like Seḏom,
and we would have been made like Amorah.”
There are possibly a very small group of believers who
believe that Yahshua of Natsaret was the promised Messiah – THAT SIMPLY DO NOT
FIT INTO ANY CATEGORY OF RELIGIOUS DEFINITION. (See images of Jacobs sheep)
They cannot be defined by Christianity, Judaism, Islam
or even as Messianic believers. These believers – Yakov’s flock - do not fit into any conventional group of
people.
Messiah came to save this small flock of Yakov’s
sheep.
Mat 15:24 And He answering, said, “I was not sent
except to the lost sheep of the house of Yisra’ĕl.”
The lost sheep of Yisrael are all those who have been
grafted into the tree of Yisrael – see Rom 11.
Tit 2:14
who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness1
and to cleanse for Himself a people, His own possession, ardent for good
works
Yet it is for these people that the Scriptures were
primarily given. It is these people who have clearly heard the voice of the
Shepherd Messiah to return to the ancient paths of our fathers – Avraham
Yitzchak and Yakov –
Jer 6:16 Thus said יהוה, “Stand in the
ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it;
and find rest for yourselves. But they said, ‘We do not walk in it.’
Jer 6:17 “And I
raised up watchmen over you, and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the ram’s
horn!’ But they said, ‘We do not listen.’
Jer 6:18
“Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is upon
them!
Jer 6:19 “Hear, O
earth! See, I am bringing evil upon this people, even the fruit of their
thoughts, because they have not listened to My words, nor My Torah – and they
rejected it.
Yakov’s flock
hear His voice.
Joh 10:27 “My sheep (Yakov’s sheep) hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me.1 Footnote: 1Rev. 14:4-5.
Could it be that for the most part Christianity has
been following the voice of another “Jesus”?
2Co 11:3 But I am afraid, lest, as the serpent
deceived Ḥawwah by his trickery,
so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Messiah.
2Co 11:4 For,
indeed, if he who is coming proclaims another יהושע,1
whom we have not proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit which you
have not received, or a different Good News which you have not accepted, you
put up with it well enough! Footnote: 1Mt. 24:5 & 23-24, John
5:43.
All of scripture and all of the events of the last days
can only be properly understood as they relate to the return of the flock of Yakov to the land of Yisrael.
Our Torah portion continues:
Gen 33:18 And Yaʽaqoḇ came safely(Heb
“Shalam”) to the city of Sheḵem, which is in the
land of Kenaʽan, when he came from
Paddan Aram. And he pitched his tent before the city.
Definition Paddan Aram – “Paddan” means “table
land” and “Aram” was a name given to gods eg “god with friends” or “god of
every field”
Gen 33:19
And he bought the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent,
from the children of Ḥamor, Sheḵem’s father, for one
hundred qesitah – (value unknown)
Gen 33:20
And he set up an altar there and called it Ěl Elohĕ Yisra’ĕl.
Gen 34:1 And Dinah, the daughter of Lĕ’ah, whom she
had borne to Yaʽaqoḇ, went out to see the
daughters of the land.
Big mistake!
Assimilation is more dangerous than death.
Gen 34:2 And
Sheḵem, son of Ḥamor the Ḥiwwite, prince of the
land, saw her and took her and lay with her, and humbled her.
Gen 34:3 And
his being clung to Dinah the daughter of Yaʽaqoḇ, and he loved the
girl and spoke kindly to the girl.
Gen 34:4 And
Sheḵem spoke to his father
Ḥamor, saying, “Take
this girl for me for a wife.”
Gen 34:5 And
Yaʽaqoḇ heard that he had
defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field,
so Yaʽaqoḇ kept silent until
they came.
Gen 34:6 And
Ḥamor, the father of
Sheḵem, went out to Yaʽaqoḇ to speak with him.
Gen 34:7 And
the sons of Yaʽaqoḇ came in from the
field when they heard it. And the men were grieved and very wroth, because he
had done a senseless deed in Yisra’ĕl by lying with Yaʽaqoḇ’s daughter, which
should not be done.
Gen 34:8 But
Ḥamor spoke with them,
saying, “My son Sheḵem’s being longs for
your daughter. Please give her to him for a wife.
Gen 34:9
“And intermarry with us, give us your daughters and take our daughters
for yourselves,
Gen 34:10
and dwell with us, and let the land be before you. Dwell and move about
in it, and have possessions in it.”
Gen 34:11
And Sheḵem said to her father
and her brothers, “Let me find favour in your eyes, and whatever you say to me
I give.
Gen 34:12
“Ask of me a bride price and gift ever so high, and I give according to
what you say to me, but give me the girl for a wife.”
Gen 34:13
But the sons of Yaʽaqoḇ answered Sheḵem and Ḥamor his father, and
spoke with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.
Gen 34:14
And they said to them, “We are not able to do this matter, to give our
sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us.
Gen 34:15
“Only on this condition would we agree to you: If you become as
we are, to have every male of you circumcised,
Gen 34:16
then we shall give our daughters to you, and take your daughters to us.
And we shall dwell with you, and shall become one people.
Gen 34:17
“But if you do not listen to us and be circumcised, we shall take our
daughter and go.”
Gen 34:18
And their words pleased Ḥamor
and Sheḵem, Ḥamor’s son.
Gen 34:19
And the young man did not delay to do this because he delighted in Yaʽaqoḇ’s daughter. Now he
was more respected than all the household of his father.
Gen 34:20
And Ḥamor and Sheḵem his son came to the
gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying,
Gen 34:21 “These men are at peace with us, so let them
dwell in the land and move about in it. And see, the land is large enough for
them. Let us take their daughters for us for wives, and let us give them our
daughters.
Big mistake – “Yakov’s
sheep” should NOT assimilate with anyone outside the flock of Yakov.
2Co 6:14 Do not become unevenly yoked with
unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness? And what
fellowship has light with darkness?
Many modern day
believers frown on such radicalism. Listen to Yochanan on this issue.
2Jn 1:9 Everyone who is transgressing(wilfully and
arrogantly disregards Torah) and not staying in the teaching of Messiah does
not possess Elohim.1 The one who stays in the teaching of Messiah
possesses both the Father and the Son.2 Footnotes: 11
Tim. 6:3. 2See 1 John 1:3, 1 John 2:22, 1 John 5:20.
2Jn 1:10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring
this teaching, do not receive him into your house nor greet him,
2Jn 1:11 for he who greets him shares in his wicked
works.
These harsh words may have been written because “Yakov’s sheep” were
busy assimilating into the popular religious teachings of the day.
Gen 34:22
“Only on this condition would the men agree to dwell with us, to
be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. (This infers a kind of conversion to the
Elohim of Yisrael)
Gen 34:23
“Their herds and their possessions, and all their beasts, should they
not be ours? Only let us agree with them, and let them dwell with us.”
Gen 34:24
And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Ḥamor and Sheḵem his son; every male
was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
Gen 34:25
And it came to be on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of
the sons of Yaʽaqoḇ, Shimʽon and Lĕwi, Dinah’s
brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the
males.
Gen 34:26
And they killed Ḥamor and Sheḵem his son with the
edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Sheḵem’s
house, and went out.
Gen 34:27
The sons of Yaʽaqoḇ came upon the slain,
and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.
Gen 34:28
They took their flocks and their herds, and their donkeys, and that
which was in the city and that which was in the field,
Gen 34:29
and all their wealth. And all their little ones and their wives they
took captive, and they plundered all that was in the houses.
Gen 34:30
And Yaʽaqoḇ said to Shimʽon and Lĕwi, “You have
troubled me by making me a stench among the inhabitants of the land, among the
Kenaʽanites and the
Perizzites. And I am few in number, they shall gather themselves against me and
shall smite me, and I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”
Gen 34:31
But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a whore?”
CHAPTER 34:1 And the number of all the males that
were circumcised, were six hundred and forty-five men, and two hundred and
forty-six children.
Read these full chapters
in the book of Yasher to discover the true intentions of these Philistines.
Gen 35:1 And Elohim said to Yaʽaqoḇ, “Arise, go up to
Bĕyth Ěl and dwell there. And make an altar there to Ěl who appeared to you
when you fled from the face of Ěsaw your brother.”
Gen 35:2 And
Yaʽaqoḇ said to his household
and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign mighty ones that are among
you, and cleanse yourselves, and change your garments.
Gen 35:3
“And let us arise and go up to Bĕyth Ěl, and let me make there an altar
to Ěl, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me in the
way which I have gone.”
Gen 35:4 So
they gave Yaʽaqoḇ all the foreign
mighty ones which were in their hands, and all their earrings which were in
their ears. And Yaʽaqoḇ hid them under the
terebinth tree which was near Sheḵem.
Gen 35:5 And
they departed, and the fear of Elohim was upon the cities that were all around
them, and they did not pursue the sons of Yaʽaqoḇ.
Assimilation was and
remains the biggest threat to Yakov’s flock.
Gen 35:6 And
Yaʽaqoḇ came to Luz, that is
Bĕyth Ěl, which is in the land of Kenaʽan,
he and all the people who were with him.
Gen 35:7 And
he built there an altar and called the place El Bĕyth Ěl, because there Elohim
appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.
Gen 35:8 And
Deḇorah, Riḇqah’s nurse, died, and
she was buried below Bĕyth Ěl under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was
called Allon Baḵuth – “Alon Bachut”
the oak of lamentation.
Why is this sad event mentioned in the Torah? Does
it not possibly relate to the neglect of the Torah?
Yokes were made from the Terebinth trees. A yoke is
a symbol of taking the Torah upon yourself to follow and obey every word. Is
this not what Yahshua meant when he said we must take the yoke of Torah upon
ourselves – THE WAY HE AND HIS TALMIDIM TAUGHT US?
Mat 11:25 At that time יהושע responding,
said, “I thank You, Father, Master of the heavens and earth, because You have
hidden these matters from clever and learned ones and have revealed them
to babes.1 Footnote: 1Lk. 10:21 – (Yakov’s sheep)
Mat 11:26 “Yea,
Father, because so it was well-pleasing in Your sight.
Mat 11:27 “All
have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the
Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son
wishes to reveal Him.
Mat 11:28 “Come to
Me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest.
Mat 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for
I am meek and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your beings.1
Footnote: 1Jer. 6:16.
Mat 11:30 “For My
yoke is gentle and My burden is light.”