Tag: hospitality

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 171 (Custom Mary)

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 171 (Custom Mary)

by | Nov 23, 2025 | , , , , | 0 |

Custom Mary

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say, “It’s just man’s tradition. It’s just a custom.” At its worst misunderstanding, the tradition or custom is seen adversarial to Torah obedience and as evil. As a simply uninformed understanding, it’s a lack of research or direction into how Yeshua taught and lived customs and traditions…of men.
 
For instance, the letter of the Torah does not say to go to a synagogue every Shabbat. But how should one “hear” the Word, which is a commandment? Synagogues were an answer to that question. The Torah was read every Shabbat, so Scripture tells us that Yeshua went to synagogue every Shabbat:
 
• And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. (Lk 4:16)
 
Yeshua wouldn’t do something evil, so this was a good custom even if the Torah does not say, “Thou shalt enter the synagogue every Sabbath.” How to differentiate among the direct mitzvah (commandment), the custom or tradition that helps one to do the mitzvah, and an outright tare? The answer comes from knowing that the Word is the seed from which we grow fruit and that the heart’s intent is a vital indicator of the fruit grown from it. My offer to help with a Biblically sound way to look at customs and traditions for believers was to write the booklet: Truth, Tradition, or Tare: Growing in the Word.
 
This brings us back to our topic of hospitality over the last several weeks. Hospitality is how we invite the very Presence of Adonai into our homes, towns, and gatherings. In the following account of hospitality, the hostess is a woman named Martha, and she had a sister named Mary (Miriam). Custom dictated that a host or hostess like Abraham and Sarah provide a safe refuge, water for washing, and food and drink for their guests. It was customary. Traditional. Martha busied herself providing these customary things for Yeshua and his disciples, but Mary was more, well, I’m going to say it…not Custom Mary:
 
• Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Lk 10:38-42)
 
Martha was missing something in her hospitality, just as we can miss it in any custom or tradition we practice: why do we do it? To strengthen our relationship to the Holy One and His Word? Or to earn righteousness or the esteem of others through our own efforts?
 
Yeshua gently pointed out to Martha the important aspect of customary hospitality: it is to strengthen the relationship between the ministry of the Word and the recipients of the Word. To make it come alive. In this case, the Word was literally alive in Martha’s home!
 
In fact, Yeshua would have greeted the home with peace when he entered, just as he instructed his disciples to do. Instead of receiving the peace, Martha remained in a state of worry and bother. She did not receive the blessing. Mary, however, was eating and drinking it in, getting to know what the Living Word should be in her life. The custom of hospitality is to enable Kingdom ministry, to provide a temporary little Temple sanctuary for the minister.
 
Martha was not wrong if she wanted to continue preparing food to serve the disciples, but she was wrong if it became contentious and destroyed the very relationships she should be strengthening with other believers. Yeshua was well able to perform a miracle of bread, oil, wine, fish, or any other meal she was serving. He’d certainly done it for others who offered what little they had, and so had Elijah. And I’m sure he was prepared to wait if her meal took longer. After all, he was there to grace her with his Presence, not to grade or promote her on culinary skills. He wanted her to drink him in!
 
To Martha, however, the customary, traditional way a woman of the First Century was viewed as valuable was in her domestic skills. To Yeshua, his custom was to invite all to sit and learn at his feet. Male, female, Jew, non-Jew, slave, free…all could learn and grow in the ministry of the Word. It was the better part of hospitality. It didn’t negate the need to feed and house the visiting ministers, the other part, but it was the better part of the whole equation. Perhaps, Yeshua is saying, the point of the serving is forging peace with people and Heaven. Hospitality is the designated vehicle for it.
 
Yeshua didn’t pick Martha’s home so she could become righteous through serving; he picked her because she believed in him; she already was righteous. She just needed some extra training like he had to correct his other disciples on things like fighting over higher positions, water-walking, and poor demon management.
 
A righteous guest seeks a righteous home for hospitality, and he/she has the authority to bless that sanctuary home with peace:
 
• “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house* is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.” (Mt 10:9-15)   
 
*”The House” is a euphemism for The Temple 
 
Yeshua clarified hospitality: it is receiving by 1) providing refuge, food and drink, and water for washing as well as 2) receiving his Word. Yeshua had to remind Martha to receive the Word, too. The heart of the Temple was in the hidden place of the ark, the Word of the Torah emplaced between the two cheruvim where the Voice would speak. Out loud.
 
Hospitality is how the average person enters the holy Sanctuary to experience the Voice and Presence of Adonai through His designated ministers of the Word.
 
• “You shall keep My sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the LORD.” (Le 19:30)
 
What did First Century Jews understand about this commandment? And why did Yeshua instruct his disciples so specifically about hospitality as they ministered in his name and authority?
 
Rashi explains it in his comments to Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:30:
 
• “’And revere my Sanctuary.’ He should not enter the grounds of the Temple neither with his staff, nor with shoes on his feet, nor with his moneybelt, nor with the dust that is on his feet, i.e., he should not enter with dirty feet. And although I enjoin you to have reverence with regard to the Beit HaMikdash [Temple], nonetheless, ‘you shall observe my Sabbaths; the construction of the Beit HaMikdash does not override the Sabbath.” 
 
Contextually, Rashi’s point is that Sabbath will occur in every place for all time, and so commandments specific to the Temple services will be overridden by commands specific to Shabbat. As Yeshua understood about the magificent Temple, it would not long endure. Instead, the righteous of the earth would have to function as little sanctuaries in the nations where they lived and were sent. He would continue to build the Temple through them and to send the Presence, the Ruach HaKodesh.
 
In practice, Yeshua sent his disciples to continue his work; in order to do that work, they would need holy homes to provide Temple hospitality. For this, the home would need to be a “worthy” one. The family would need to conduct its daily life toward the preservation of holiness of Shabbat. 
 
Such a family was fit for Kingdom ministers, and those minister-guests were obligated to treat it with the same courtesies as they would enter the Temple itself. Yeshua’s requirements were identical to the customary Temple protocols for entry. A home that provided water to wash the feet was a prepared holy temple. As the repentant sinful woman washed Yeshua’s feet with her tears, receiving his forgiveness, so a righteous home signaled receiving the guest with physical water as well as receiving the Word of shalom he or she brought to the house…and House.
 
The reverence of Shabbat is linked to entering the Temple itself, placing that home in a very high spiritual status, worthy of blessing for its hospitality.
 
The disciples would bless the homes of Custom Marys the same as they would proclaim blessings in the Temple, for the host was standing in to bless them as the priests would bless the tribes coming up to worship, and all, even those “night watcher” servants of exile from among the nations, offered blessings to YHVH.

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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 169 (The Second Story and the Third Heaven Part A)

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 169 (The Second Story and the Third Heaven Part A)

by | Nov 9, 2025 | , , , , | 0 |

The Second Story and the Third Heaven
This week I’d like to visit the architecture of resurrection. Yes, such a thing is possible! Scripture gives us several examples from literal buildings. Last week’s newsletter gave a hint with the resurrection patterns in the homes of the women who extended hospitality to Elijah and Elisha. There are even more examples than that.
 
Just to review, the last several newsletters have investigated the Torah’s ancient call to hospitality, not just a a nice thing to do, but as a vital preparation to inherit the Kingdom. Our hospitality study trail through the Torah, Prophets, Writings, and New Covenant started with Song of Songs 5:1, a restoration of the Bride and Bridegroom to the Garden of Eden:
 
• “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”
 
Elijah in 1 Kings 17:9 protected the widow and her son during the famine. Because she used the last of her flour and oil to feed the prophet of YHVH, she never lacked during the tribulation. She also hospitably gave him an upper room in which to dwell during the famine. In return, her son was resurrected from the dead in that upper room. Because she ministered to the man of God during an apocalyptic famine, she received multiplied miracles of nourishment and resurrection. 
 
And in Elisha’s “double portion” fashion, he performs two resurrections for the hospitality of the upper room. First, the barren Shunnemite woman is rewarded with a son, and then later the son is resurrected from the dead:
 
• “Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat food. She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.” (2 Ki 4:8-10)
 
The Shunemmite furnished her upper room with the furniture of the Mishkan. She made a little House for the Presence to dwell over the daily activities of her lower rooms. Elisha, a righteous visitor, was the stand-in for the very resurrecting Presence of Adonai.
 
The upper room is the highest room of our home, a set apart place, yet attached to the rest of the home. What we furnish in the upper room blesses the rest of the home…or not. It can be where heaven meets earth…or not. When the Shunnemite woman constructed an upper room, imagine it as a third story built atop their own living quarters in the second story. Not a brand-new building, but one atop the existing one.
 
Although now more symbolic because its examples are drawn from building construction in ancient times, today we still have upper rooms, those spaces we make to host the righteous believers who will accept our invitations. The visitor becomes the presence of Yeshua in our homes, especially during Shabbat.
 
During the Iron Age (1000–586 BCE; the First Temple Period), the “four-room house” dominated Israelite architecture. The four-room house with pillars was widespread already, but it often had more or less than four rooms. The majority of houses only had three rooms, but could also five or more. The house had long rooms and a transverse broad room in the back, which could be partitioned by walls or columns.
 
The ground level housed valuable livestock and had a working area for storage, weaving, food preparation, or other working tasks. The second level had the living quarters. A rooftop had an area for drying certain products, such as flax or fruits, and it was used as sleeping quarters in the intense heat of the summer for the cool breeze.
 
Below are photos of the four-room house located at the Tamar Fortress. Its size suggests it belonged to a prominent administrator, and it is incredible that its stones were not repurposed for construction under the rule of other empires such as Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, or even the Byzantine. It is a very clean view into the early Israelite construction, characterized by undressed stones. Undressed stones are fitted into the wall or building in their natural shape, while later dressed stones are hewn into uniform blocks.
The Upper Room pattern continues into the Newer Covenant. Yeshua affirms this by directing his disciples to follow a man with a water pitcher to an upper room where the host will have prepared a place for them to eat the Passover together. The experience is profound for the disciples, especially the foot-washing. He re-establishes the heavenly “Upper Room” hospitality pattern for their future Kingdom work:
 
• “When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” (Ac 1:13-14)
 
And it leads to the selection of another disciple (Ps 109:8) to take Judas’ place, for he had been one to receive his “portion,” or blessing from Yeshua’s ministry, like an inheritance for his position:
 
• “For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry…” (v 17) …Therefore, it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” (Ac 1:21-22)
 
The Land of Israel is something inherited at the resurrection. It is more than just a physical piece of property! It is set apart from the inheritance of the nations.
 
Each of the twelve disciples received his share of the hospitable donations of food, drink, or money while they ministered with Yeshua, and in the Kingdom, they would also receive an eternal inheritance for their work. It was vital that Judas’ replacement was an eyewitness to Yeshua’s resurrection, for resurrection is what anchors our second story to the third story. What happened in the physical ministry on earth was anchored to the Third Heaven, also called Paradise or the Garden of Eden.
 
Another upper room resurrection:
 
• “So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them…and he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.” (Ac 9:39;41)
 
Had Dorcas made these garments to clothe the righteous and widows of her congregation? Surely she didn’t just have a room stuffed full of garments! She was doing acts of hospitality to the needy in the holy community by making garments to give away. Don’t you love the association of women, especially widows, with the resurrection of the Upper Room? Elijah’s widow, the Shunnemite woman, the women disciples and Miriam the mother of Yeshua gathered in Acts 1:14, the disciple Dorcas and widows gathered to mourn her? This “New” Testament has some pretty Old roots, doesn’t it?
 
“A wise woman builds her house
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.” (Pr 14:1)
 
These wise women were building a third story, an upper room in their homes, as a testimony to the resurrection of the dead through Yeshua. They served their household faithfully, and they served the household of faith in their second stories from the resources of the ground floor: feeding, clothing, praying, preparing, lighting, sanctifying, learning, washing, listening…and those second stories became the third stories. They invited the saints to the Upper Room, a sanctuary to remind us of the return to the Garden of Eden, the dwelling and inheritance of the righteous ones.
 
When Yeshua returns, the righteous who have inherited the Third Heaven will administrate from a purified Jerusalem with him, and they will guide many upward from their First Story, the animal kingdom over which mankind was to rule. The millennial reign will be so awesome that even the earthy First Story will be restored to its creation glory.
 
So what’s your story? Are we carving time for prayer, study, and hospitality, building the Upper Room, or just spending all day on the ground floor feeding the donkeys and cows? Although it seems strange to build a house on top of a barn, it makes a lot sense, too. The flies would be drawn down instead of up.
 
Another Upper Room example was in the ministry of Paul, this one associated with Motzei Shabbat (the going out of Shabbat on Saturday night):
 
• On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive and were greatly comforted. (Ac 20:7-12)
 
Would you like to know more about Paul’s “first day of the week” resurrection experience in the upper room? It is densely packed with prophetic words and phrases you can put in your study toolkit, so look for the newsletter next week!

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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 168 (Better Homes and Garden)

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 168 (Better Homes and Garden)

by | Nov 2, 2025 | , , , , | 0 |

Better Homes and Garden

The last several newsletters have investigated the Torah’s ancient call to hospitality, not just a a nice thing to do, but as a vital preparation to inherit the Kingdom. Our hospitality study trail through the Torah, Prophets, Writings, and New Covenant started with Song of Songs 5:1, a restoration of the Bride and Bridegroom to the Garden of Eden:

“I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”

This hospitality verse is thought to be one source for the traditional belief that the four rivers of Eden flow with milk, honey, wine, and balsam.

In past newsletters, we made the connection between hospitality to the needy and the righteous stranger and one’s preparation for to inherit, or even just enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 25:34-46). Entering the Father’s House, which was prepared for the righteous from the foundation of the world, is contingent upon preparing one’s own house. Yeshua will definitely knock on the door! The very light of the earth was sown for the righteous at the beginning (Ps 97:11), the light of the Word of good works for them to walk in eternally (Eph 2:10).

A better garden will be filled with the multiplication of human beings, the precious crown of creation created to fellowship with the Holy One Himself. Yeshua taught his disciples that the “rooms” of the Garden, their eternal home of inheritance, are being prepared for them, yet they also must prepare to inherit by preparing their own homes on earth. This would cause the Presence of the Creator to dwell comfortably in them. Better home, better Garden.

“Depart from evil and do good, so you will abide forever. For the LORD loves justice and does not forsake His godly ones; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.” (Ps 37:27-29)

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The commentators to the verse in Song of Songs 5:1 connect it to Psalm 37:27-29 above in the Midrash Rabbah and write, ”The word yishkenu should not be translated as ‘they will dwell,’ but as a causative verb in the present tense, ‘They cause to dwell.’” “If only the righteous dwell upon the earth, what will the wicked do? Shall they fly in the air? Rather, the verse means that the wicked did not cause the Divine Presence to dwell on earth, but the righteous did cause the Divine Presence to dwell on earth.” (5§1)

In yishkenu, you see the root of shachan, “to dwell,” and the “Shechinah,” or indwelling Presence. The Presence of the Creator Elohim has always longed to have an intimate relationship with human beings. He did not appoint them to rule of the earth in order to be a distant, cold judge of their actions, but so they would administer on His behalf according to His will because His Word was alive in them through fellowship. They would be able rulers because of their daily walking and talking in the special abode, the Garden of Eden.

The Garden is thought to hover just above the Land of Israel, its centerpoint over Jerusalem. From there the Kingdom will be administered by Yeshua. The righteous are those whose lives are a home of hospitality to the Presence of Elohim. They CAUSE Him to descend for the fellowship He longs for with His creation.

Inheriting the Land of Israel, the administrative center of the entire earth, is a matter of preparation. Even in Revelation 21:2, the Bride is described as the inhabitants of New Jerusalem “prepared for her husband.” Prepared. Prepared. Who is the Bride? Those who prepared the better Garden, working the will of the Word in their lives, which affects what Yeshua prepares for them in the Third Heaven, or the Garden of Eden. Is there something in our hospitality study to connect us to this Third Heaven?

Yes.

The Upper Room.

An Upper Room is a characteristic of a Better Home preparing for a Better Garden.

This yishkenu is an important nuance of grammar. The righteous are those who cause the Presence of Adonai to dwell on earth. They understand that hospitality is not just a place to spend the night and move on. Hospitality is extending a home that is prepared for the righteous to dwell, even the Holy One Himself. Yeshua’s instructions to inquire about a worthy home to stay in as the disciples ministered wasn’t a random comment. It is a vital insight. They were looking for a sanctuary of reverence for Adonai.

Yeshua instructed his disciples to find a home prepared with righteous hospitality. The morally upright home will be part of the cause the disciples minister freely: teaching, immersing, healing, because they know they have a place to abide that is hospitable, compatible to their goals in that community. That house shares in the inheritance of that Kingdom being built!

Yeshua said, “If you have done it unto the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me.” In the context, he refers to the Jewish sages’ interpretation of inheriting the Kingdom by causing the Presence to dwell. They are royal priests, performing the Mishkan/Mikdash service by ministering to the world as the kohanim ministered in the Holy House.

Hospitality is a vital practice for the believer, an upper room. Jewish scholars made the connection, and Yeshua tied a double-knot on it in Matthew 25.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

Inhospitality and ill-will to the disciple of Yeshua is the same as inhospitality to Yeshua himself:

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,…as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting… (Ac 9:1; 3-5)

The guest is not there to re-arrange the furniture any more than pilgrims re-arranged the Temple. The guest accepts however much or little is offered and blesses the home. Elijah in 1 Kings 17 protected the widow and her son during the famine. Because she used the last of her flour and oil to feed the prophet of YHVH, she never lacked during the tribulation. She also hospitably gave him an upper room in which to dwell during the famine. In return, her son was resurrected from the dead. Because she ministered to the man of God during an apocalyptic famine, she received miracles of nourishment and resurrection.

It is not likely this woman was chosen randomly. Elijah chose her because the Holy One chose her. There was already something of hospitality in her life for him to be sent so far to her home.

Lesson? Prepare hospitality before the tribulation. A generous host who offers in a time of plenty is more likely to be generous in a time of scarcity. It is a resurrection preparation. A better homes-to-Garden habit.

And in Elisha’s “double portion” fashion, he performs two resurrections for the hospitality of the upper room. First, the barren Shunnemite woman is rewarded with a son, and then later the son is resurrected from the dead:

“Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat food. She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.” (2 Ki 4:8-10)

Did you catch that? The Shunemmite furnished her upper room with the furniture of the Mishkan. She made a little House for the Presence to dwell over the daily activities of her lower rooms. Elisha, a righteous visitor, was the stand-in for the very Presence of Adonai.

What have we prepared in the Upper Room of our homes? It is the highest room of our home, a set apart place, yet attached to the rest of the home. What we furnish in the upper room blesses the rest of the home…or not. It can be where heaven meets earth…or not.

If we prepare an Upper Room in our homes of hospitality and service toward the needy and righteous ministers of the Kingdom, then the entire home will be blessed, for that is the deal. Literally the deal, according to Yeshua. A family who receives a minister of Yeshua is entitled to blessings of peace.

Is there more chaos, unrest, need, and warfare in your home than could ever allow you to think of it as a Better Home prepared for the Garden above?

Although it does not address all the home repairs necessary, there is one thing you can do today. Right now. This very instant. And it will begin to reverse the inhospitality to the spirit of shalom on your home. It will begin a sincere song of invitation, a “Shalom Aleikhem”, to the Presence of the Most High.

Begin preparing for a righteous guest next Shabbat. They have the spiritual authority to leave a blessing of peace upon your home. If it’s Shabbat today, just start planning. If it’s a weekday, start cleaning. Buy some groceries. Organize. Air out. Set boundaries.

A steady stream of righteous guests will make your home inhospitable to the chaos. They’ll bring some of the Kingdom with them each visit, a word from the Word, a song, a correction, an exhortation, a word of good counsel. The chaos will either shape up or ship out. Resurrect or retreat.

Try Him and see if His Word is not true.

Furnish your upper room, and see if the lower rooms don’t improve.

Yeshua will be knocking…the person just may not look like what you thought Yeshua looked like.

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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 167 (A Host of Troubles)

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 167 (A Host of Troubles)

by | Sep 28, 2025 | , , , , | 0 |

A Host of Troubles

Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said,

“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him.
Now a traveler came to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”

Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! 

The rich man was quite a host! The hospitality he offered his guest was not real hospitality at all. He faked his compassion for the weary traveler. He was so stingy that he killed another man’s beloved pet and passed it off as his own sacrificial gift for the guest’s benefit.

This would be a prime place for a political commentary on the current state of affairs in the United States’ political situation, but the reader is intelligent enough to understand that facet of the parable. Fake hospitality deceives people into thinking the host really cares and has compassion. What the wicked host offers is nothing more than someone else’s hard work and property.

To review from last week’s text in this heavenly hospitality series, a righteous guest seeks a righteous home for hospitality, and he/she has the authority to bless that home with peace:

“Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” (Mt 10:9-15)  

Yeshua sent out his disciples as his messengers. They were to practice what they’d seen Yeshua do: teach, preach, immerse, comfort, exhort, rebuke, heal, and so on.

“Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (He 13:1-2)

These are not random strangers who visit, but “brothers” in the faith. No doubt the rich man had some level of acquaintance with the poor man he robbed. He knew where and when to steal the poor man’s lamb, perhaps while the poor man was working or gone to the market. A lamb who was raised like his own daughter would not have been left unguarded very often. The rich man’s act was premeditated, cunning, a masquerade of righteousness over a filthy act of cruel robbery.

Strangely, Scripture links two concepts in the same neighborhood, called smikhut (placement). Those two concepts are lack of hospitality and fornication/adultery.

In David’s case, he was the adulterer “rich man” who slaughtered the poor man’s lamb to prepare for the guest. This was also in the neighborhood of hospitality to strangers and “angels” in Hebrews Thirteen. Just skip one verse down:

“Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” (He 13:4)

A wicked person may seem to offer hospitality, but the real motive is self-serving. They are not really serving the traveler or needy person; they are enhancing their own appearance of kindness. The hospitality is not for the benefit of the guest, but for himself. In the following account, the Messiah calls out fake hospitality.

While the host had the means to extend genuine hospitality toward Yeshua, he’d only invited him out of curiosity to hear a new word, listen for something with which to entrap his guest, or to look hospitable to the rest of the townspeople. Instead, an unwelcome visitor extends hospitality that Simon did not:

“Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair…’ “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Lk 7:44-47)

The sinful woman understood the principle of hospitality better than the man who simply was curious to hear an insightful word from the teacher. Like many interactions in the Body of Messiah today, it would feed the host’s pride or critical skepticism, both of which fuel false feelings of self-worth. The repentant woman’s hospitality was of the kind that welcomed the Bridegroom to the Garden with incense of sacrifice.

Simon was thinking Yeshua didn’t know what kind of woman anointed his feet. What Simon didn’t acknowledge was it was the woman she used to be. She was repenting, bringing a sacrifice of her own, perhaps all she could afford, not someone else’s hard work of repentance. If she had been a loose woman, this was not the generous, hospitable woman who washed Yeshua’s feet intimately with her hair. She wanted a new relationship with Heaven through the Sent One, not a fake one. She wasn’t faking her interest in Yeshua. She wanted to change. She had more than a little love.

One way we signal this desire to truly repent is with generosity, especially to the needy and poor righteous. This is one of the “Big Three”: prayer, repentance, charity leading up to Yom HaKippurim.

Real charity.

Love much, be forgiven much. Real charity doesn’t care about who is in the room judging what kindnesses we give to a brother or sister. It wants a genuine relationship with Heaven. It doesn’t offer someone else’s work as their own. It does not seek its own reward for that gift. Any human being on earth can do an act of kindness that connects himself only to the recipient. One who desires to restores hospitality with the Presence of Elohim will see the face of the recipient as the face of Yeshua even if it is one of the “least of these.”

One who does not attribute his or her act of kindness to Heaven is usurping the very source of kindness inside every human being. This compassion is the stamp of the Creator! Even wolves will raise orphan pups and feed the wounded in their pack; how much more should human beings acknowledge that our Creator Elohim created us with a desire to help one another?

If that’s not plain enough, then consider this: A person who takes credit for being compassionate and charitable is offering someone else’s gift as his own. Compassion was something planted in us by our Creator. Gifted. We are all re-gifting generosity to bring Heaven down among us.

Sodom and her four satellite cities were known for lewd behavior. In rebuking Israel, Ezekiel points out another symptom of their wickedness:

“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.” (Ezek 16:49)

Likewise, the Tribe of Benjamin was nearly wiped out for rapacious inhospitality.

Likening Israel to Sodom recalls Sodom’s lack of hospitality to visitors. They were beyond inhospitable and stingy, they were lewd and murderous. They moved the Presence of Adonai farther away from the cities, not closer to it. Ever wonder why one of the “angels” didn’t continue on to Sodom with the other two (Ge 19:1)? Perhaps the one Avraham called YHVH wouldn’t set foot in it.

And like Yeshua told Simon, gratefulness to Heaven for our own undeserved gifts should affect how we receive and love guests.

Avraham had already rescued the Sodomite cities in order to recover his nephew Lot when they were carried away as spoils of war. Were they grateful and generous to others in need after their rescue? No, they did not become grateful hosts to righteous guests. They became worse. And dared anyone to judge them for it.

Yet, the Day of Judgment arrived for Sodom and for King David’s adultery and manslaughter of another for his own sin. Later, David repents and writes,

“Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.” (Ps 51:4)

May we repent before Yom HaKippurim if we have mistreated brothers who are the face of Yeshua at our table. (Mt 25:45)

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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 166 (Idols or Angels?)

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 166 (Idols or Angels?)

by | Sep 21, 2025 | , , , , | 0 |

Idol or Angel?

Scripture commands us not to make images of things in the earth or in the heavens to worship them. This means different things to different people, even within the Jewish community. It is one of those commandments that drives the reader to its multiple other mentions in Scripture to make full sense of it: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” (Ex 20:4)

Some may not possess any figured images, applying the mitzvah very strictly. Others may give their children dolls or have animal sculpture for decoration, applying additional context for the mitzvah, which is having an image for the purpose of worshiping it or acknowledging its power:

You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God. (Le 26:1)

In this application, a person avoids images of known gods, demons, or symbols denoting such, but does not avoid having photographs, artwork, or objects in the shape of animals or heavenly bodies, etc. The Tabernacle and Temple were decorated with images of both heavenly and earthly objects according to a Divinely-prescribed pattern.

The range of interpretations is not unusual, and it lends itself to investigation so that one can learn more about the mitzvah by tracking down every mention of images as idols. This week, we’ll take a look at a song traditionally sung on Erev Shabbat to usher in the Divine Presence on Shabbat, for Shabbat is a moed, an appointed time when the Creator of the Universe promises to visit those who tend His Garden. Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) 5:1 has been our working text for understanding the repopulation of the Garden when the Bride and Bridegroom join the Divine Presence at the wedding feast of resurrection:

I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;

I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.

I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;

I have drunk my wine and my milk.

Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.

This sumptuous wedding meal inaugurates the reign of Messiah Yeshua, for he will return to earth with his holy ones to rule and restore the earth to the purpose for which the Father created it. What we have learned the last few weeks is that earthly hospitality to the righteous brother or sister is the Torah’s pattern of preparation for the restoration of all things. Following our lesson on Avraham and the angels last week, let’s pick up this week with Yeshua’s reiteration of hospitality. A righteous guest seeks a righteous home for hospitality, and he/she has the authority to bless that home with peace:

“Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” (Mt 10:9-15)

Yeshua sent out his disciples as his messengers. They were to practice what they’d seen Yeshua do: teach, preach, immerse, comfort, exhort, rebuke, heal, and so on. The disciples were messengers, sometimes called shliachim in Hebrew for “sent ones.” Another word for messenger in Hebrew is malak:

???????? m?l?âk; to despatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher):—ambassador, angel, king, messenger

Last week’s lesson on Sodom was important to Yeshua’s instructions to his disciples, who were being commissioned to function like the three “men” (anashim) in Genesis 18:2 who visited Avraham. One was called LORD (YHVH) in 18:13, and then when they approached Sodom, the two angels were called malakim (Ge 19:1).

Although the LORD said He was on a mission to investigate the cries of the righteous, poor, and needy in Sodom, Scripture specifies “two angels” continued on to Sodom. Even if YHVH did not continue on after His bargaining session with Avraham to spare Sodom, those He sent functioned on His behalf.

Some scholars say each of the three performed a specific task. The LORD blessed Avraham and Sarah and revealed the plans to them; one angel destroyed the cities; and one angel oversaw the deliverance of the Lot’s family. Although they worked together, each focused on one aspect of the mission. This is a good example of an “angel” representing the Most High. They acted on His behalf, and anything done to them for good or bad was as if it were done to the Holy One Himself.

So why did Scripture call the angels “men”? It demonstrates the importance of hospitality as a preparation for the reign of King Messiah and the return of the Presence of Adonai to His holy city Jerusalem. It is the Garden precept, an opportunity for human beings to show their Creator that they are ready for the return to the Garden. They will do and be the things for which the Creation was prepared for them.

The Holy One enjoys visiting and walking with His unique creation, mankind. As a result, He visits them on this earth while they prepare, both through heavenly malakim and earthly malakim. Because we aren’t always sure which is which, we treat what we think are earthly malakim with the same hospitality we would heavenly ones, for they represent Yeshua himself:

“Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (He 13:1-2)

These are not random strangers who visit, but “brothers” in the faith. What does this have to do with worshiping idols?

It brings us back to that beautiful Erev Shabbat song, “Shalom Aleichem.” Some believers might object to singing the song, saying that it is the worship of angels or speaking to spiritual beings we are not supposed to address. I think this is a basic misunderstanding of the hospitality principle of the Kingdom and the meaning of malak, a messenger of the Most High, whether heavenly or earthly guest bringing the Presence with him/her by virtue of their faithful walk in the Word. Servants of the Most High sent with a blessing from Heaven for the Shabbat home they visit.

By hosting the righteous guest to the Shabbat table, the host has opened his home to the Most High Himself. The host is now part of the work Heaven sent that malak to do even though all the host did was prepare his or her home for the guest with good food and drink, a place to rest comfortably and safely, and a place to wash up from the journey.

Knowing what you know now about Yeshua’s instructions to greet a host’s home with shalom and to bless it with shalom before leaving it, read the song:

Peace be unto you, ministering angels, angels of the Most High, coming forth from the King of kings, the holy One, blessed be He.

May your coming forth be in peace, angels of peace, angels of the Most High, coming forth from the King of kings, the holy One, blessed be He.

Bless me with peace, angels of peace, angels of the Most High, coming forth from the King of kings, the holy One, blessed be He.

May your departure be in peace, angels of peace, angels of the Most High, coming forth from the King of kings, the holy One, blessed be He.

We sing the song not just for the blessings promised to the host home, but for the opportunity to welcome the Divine Presence to fellowship with us at the weekly moed. How Shabbastic is that?

And about those blessings…if your righteous guests are not aware they have the authority to bless your home when they enter and leave, do mention it! Just like honoring one’s father and mother comes with a promise, a righteous host can expect the guest to speak specific blessings that bring shalom, or completeness, to his household. Don’t let that guest leave without blessing you! Be like Jacob, and hang on until they give up that blessing! (Ge 32:26)

You might say, well, you know what? When I go to somebody’s house, I probably won’t heal anybody, or teach a Torah portion. I may not lead somebody to salvation and immerse them.

It doesn’t matter. Your very presence is a blessing of peace, for you are the stand-in messenger of Yeshua. The King of Kings. So be an angel, a malak. Speak what that family needs to make them whole spiritually and physically.

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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 165 (Be My Burning Guest)

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 165 (Be My Burning Guest)

by | Sep 14, 2025 | , , , , | 0 |

Be My Burning Guest

I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk.
Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”

Last week, we learned:

“Of all the righteous ones of Scripture, Avraham and Sarah were the best known for hospitality to strangers, especially when they received the three angels. (So 5:1)

Good gardening is good hospitality to the voice of Adonai, His holy Presence. Because human beings, particularly believers walking in the Way of Yeshua, are in His image, practicing hospitality toward people of faith is an especially sweet fruit of the Ruach HaKodesh.”

Hospitality prepares us to be a part of the Garden of Eden conversation in the Scripture above. We can both invite the Bridegroom hospitably and remain in the Garden because we possess the vital character of hospitality without which a human cannot remain in the Garden. We can be a worthy guest…and friend…who will bless the Garden.

To get a better handle on this trait, let’s take a careful look at what hospitality is. What does the word mean?

Hospitality:

Middle English hospital, “residence for pilgrims and travelers, charitable institution providing residence for the poor and infirm,” “guest accommodations” (probably by ellipsis from hospit?le cubiculum “sleeping room for guests”), noun derivative of hospit?lis “of a guest, of hospitality, hospitable”

The Hebrew word for “guest” is kara ?????

The KJV translates Strong’s H7121 in the following manner: call (528x), cried (98x), read (38x), proclaim (36x), named (7x), guests (4x), invited (3x), gave (3x), renowned (3x), bidden (2x), preach (2x)

Outline of Biblical Usage
to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim
(Qal)
to call, cry, utter a loud sound
to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God)
to proclaim
to read aloud, read (to oneself), read
to summon, invite, call for, call and commission, appoint
to call, name, give name to, call by

The Book of Leviticus is “Vayikra” [“and called”], a book of holies, our calling to create a sanctuary of holiness for YHVH. This hospitality “preaches” His Presence to the earth and His desire to dwell with us. The Torah describes to us our holy “calling.” Not only that, Adonai listens to the cries / proclamations of human beings, especially the poor and distressed.

Somewhere in this world, your name can be proclaimed to Heaven, either in frustration, agony, and pain,
or in gratefulness, relief, and consolation.

How this works is that the needy “give name to” the situation in that home or community. A guest can “summon” Adonai’s attention for blessing or chaos. He will actually come investigate the call for Divine help or proclamation of gratefulness!

• Now the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground, and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, so that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” (Ge 18:1-5)

Avraham understood what a special opportunity he had. Without a guest, who would bless? Righteous guests are given a Divine mandate to bless or destroy a home. It’s an apocalyptic opportunity symbolic of the end of days.

Washing feet and providing a safe place to rest with food is the ancient practice of hospitality to guests, especially honored guests. Yeshua told his disciples to honor one another, not a new commandment, but an affirmation and demonstration of an old pattern of hospitality. It strengthens bonds of holiness and signals a desire to return to the ultimate place of hospitality, the Garden.

Abraham and Sarah’s [Pesach] hospitality was rewarded with a resurrection of their reproductive process.The messenger guest told them that they would have a son at the appointed time next year. The righteous guest has the Divine ability and OBLIGATION to bless a righteous host. In this respect, the blessing is mutual. The host blesses the righteous guest with three basic things, and the guest blesses the host with something that will bring shalom to the household. This is a Biblical pattern and principle.

• “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (Jn 13:16-17)

Yeshua teaches the Garden principle of hospitality. With hospitality, one didn’t wash the whole visitor, but his feet. It is an act of extreme humility, making the benefactor the servant and the guest the recipient of unearned hospitality. Yeshua washed his disciples’ feet to demonstrate the principles:

• “You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. (Jn 15:14-15)

This relationship with his disciples echoed El Shaddai’s relationship with Avraham, the father of hospitality, which was based on believing Elohim, Who credited him with righteousness. Hospitality to the angelic messengers (possibly a pre-incarnate visit with Yeshua) resulted in an actual friendship with the Creator of the Universe. (Is 41:8; 2 Ch 20:7; Ja 2:23)

As a result, Adonai revealed to Avraham not only the specific household blessing of having a son whom he would name Yitzchak, but the destruction of the five cities of Sodom. He didn’t want His friend to be caught off-guard in either the blessing or the destruction.

Likewise, Yeshua regularly updated his disciples on coming events, both good and bad. When he washed their feet at Pesach, he told them what was about to happen. From the hospitable foot-washing, Yeshua continues and points out the disciples who would betray him: the one who betrayed his hospitality of bread and rest at the seder:

• “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.’ From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” (Jn 13:19-21)

Yeshua is re-living the encounter with Avraham, a time when Avraham and Sarah would BELIEVE the promise and receive the power to conceive Isaac a few months later. Yeshua reiterates that when we receive a righteous guest, we receive the One who sent him or her, just as we receive the Father when we receive Yeshua.

When we show hospitality to a guest, our generosity welcomes the Presence of Elohim to His Garden. As He was the benefactor, yet served the undeserving creation, so we must restore our sense of hospitality to welcome Him first like a “guest” so that His Presence no longer must ascend and descend due to sin, idolatry, adultery.

Good hospitality creates a little sanctuary for blessing.

Good guests respect the sanctuary and bless the host’s service.

This is the fractal of the greater principle of the Sanctuary and the Garden; the host blesses the guest who blessed the host. This is the practice of the Temple:

Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD,
Who serve by night in the house of the LORD! Ps 134:1

O house of Israel, bless the LORD;
O house of Aaron, bless the LORD; Ps 135:19

O house of Levi, bless the LORD;
You who revere the LORD, bless the LORD. Ps 135:20
?
The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron. Ps 115:12

A righteous guest seeks a righteous home for hospitality, and he/she has the authority to bless that home with peace:

• “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” (Mt 10:9-15)         

What of INhospitality, though? Are there consequences for being inhospitable?

The answer to that question is found in the nine times “Sodom and Gomorra” are mentioned in the New Testament, or Brit HaChadasha. Yes, inhospitality is a thing. A very bad thing.

Sodom and Gomorrah were famously wealthy, greedy, inhospitable, murderous, and sexually perverted (more on that in a coming newsletter). They oppressed the guests and the needy, who cried out to their Creator at the inhospitality:

• And the LORD said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. I will go down now and see whether they have done entirely as the outcry, which has come to Me indicates; and if not, I will know.” (18:20-21)

When we are inhospitable and stingy, especially to righteous visitors or the poor and distressed, their cry has a direct line to the Heavenly ear. The Holy One WILL conduct a thorough investigation. In the case of Sodom and its daughter cities, the cries were not only accurately describing the inhospitality, but they were ENTIRELY accurate.

And the cities were burned. Destroyed with a spirit of burning.

• “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” (Dt 4:24)

In the verse above, it is in the context of the penalty for idolatry. Colossians 3:5 compares greed to idolatry. Inhospitality is like idolatry.

• “Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you.” (Dt 9:3)

When a city is stingy, greedy, perverted, and sheds blood, it will be burned with fire eventually. The one thing Lot got right was a last-chance opportunity to be hospitable to the One Who burns with fire.

A righteous guest is to seek a righteous home for hospitality, and he/she has the authority to bless that home with peace. It says much that the angels at first declined to spend the night in Lot’s home. The spiritual ambiguity in his home made their reaction like the up-and-down visit to the Garden after Adam and Eve sinned.

Vayikra 6:13 says, “Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out.” Vayikra is our holy calling, our proclamation to the world that the House of Prayer for All Nations is a hospitable place for all to come meet the Bridegroom…while there is still time. How is our home fire burning for righteous guests and the needy? And is it hospitable to them?

Somewhere in this world, your name is proclaimed to Heaven,
either in frustration, agony, and pain,
or in gratefulness, relief, and consolation.

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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 164 (A Leaning Lady)

Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 164 (A Leaning Lady)

by | Sep 7, 2025 | , , , | 0 |

A Leaning Lady

I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk.
Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”

Of all the righteous ones of Scripture, Avraham and Sarah were the best known for the hospitality to strangers, especially when they received the three angels. (So 5:1)

Good gardening is good hospitality to the voice of Adonai, His holy Presence. Because human beings, particularly believers walking in the Way of Yeshua, are in His image, practicing hospitality toward people of faith is an especially sweet fruit of the Ruach HaKodesh.

“Given to hospitality” is not a light characteristic to the righteous. It is integral. It was incorporated into the believers’ daily habits in the Books of Acts, and it is a vital quality for an elderwoman of the congregation…

The number 60 is signified by the Hebrew letter samekh, which means to support, sustain, to lean upon, ordain:

• “Moses did just as the LORD commanded him; and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.” (Nu 27:22-23)
 ??????????? ?????????? ?????? ???????????? ????????? ??????? ???????????????????

The appearance of the letter samekh is round, like a wheel. A burden may be moved more easily in a wheeled cart than dragged or carried, and to ordain someone for ministry is to infuse them with the spiritual strength to be that person who eases the burdens that others must carry for the Kingdom. The anointing of the ordination is to help that servant bear the suffering for that ministry in the Kingdom. As those who ordain must lean their hands upon the one receiving the ordination, so others will lean upon him or her to ease their suffering.

Those who plead for an anointing may not understand exactly what they’re asking for. With the anointing comes the suffering!

By the age of 60, the individual is considered to have committed his or her best physical years to the royal priesthood, slightly different from the Levites, who formally served from ages 25 to 50 (Nu 8:23-26). This did not preclude them from assisting their younger brothers, serving as mentors. The holy Mishkan/Mikdash work was physically demanding as well as exacting.

At the age of 60, a righteous woman has achieved an age where she needs physical support as her due for devoting her life as a royal priestess to the support of the righteous community and her family. She is still a teacher and mentor to the younger, but as others have leaned upon her, now she must lean upon others for physical support:

• “A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.” (1 Ti 5:9-10)

The age of 60 suggests that she has fulfilled the days of her ordination to every good work. Just as Levites were still entitld to portions from the Temple gifts after retirement, so a righteous elderwoman is entitled to eat from the common fund of the congregation she’s served.

Paul defines for Timothy the behaviors that are elderwoman good works according to the Word:

1 bringing up children
2 showing hospitality to righteous strangers
3 washing the feet of the righteous (extended hospitality as in #2)
4 recognizing and assisting those in distress

A reputation is a “name,” and Ruach-filled women who demonstrated this vital attribute of a good name were entitled to full benefits from their congregations in old age. It was NOT the responsibility of the government, but her congregation if her family was unable to provide.

Hospitality is that vital in doing good works, both to relieve the distress of the righteous as well one’s own family. Through her hospitable good works, the elder woman has offered aromatic spices as a royal priestess, making the Holy Name famous. Those aromatic spices are those of good reputation that the Bridegroom Messiah Yeshua will gather into the Garden.

Honoring other believers with hospitality is not just an old lady fruit of the Ruach. It is expected of EVERY believer as an outworking of love.

Remember, love is not always an emotion. Love can be a preference for one thing over another or one person over another in a specific situation. This does not negate Peter and James’ admonitions that “God is not a respecter of persons.” It explains it:

• “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?” (Mt 22:44 KJV)
• ‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know that I have loved you.” (Re 3:9)

vs

• Opening his mouth, Peter said:“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.” (Acts 10:34-35)

For context, the “synagogue of Satan” or “seed of Satan” meant something specific in the First Century. It meant someone who misapplied the Words of Scripture, twisting them like a serpent. The Hillel Pharisees, with whom Yeshua’s teaching frequently aligned, welcomed converts to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, seeing them as children of Abraham, the person who first came to YHVH in faith from a house of idolatry.

The Shammai Pharisees, Sadducees, and other sects rejected Gentile converts. In fact, they did not believe the Gentiles had a place in the World to Come, so they took advantage of the Gentiles who came to the Temple to purchase a sacrifice. If the Gentile did not know to designate his coins to the person at the moneytable, the moneychanger (who exchanged tokens for the sacrifice) would divert the money to the Temple fund for repairs and upkeep, not the sacrifice the Gentile believed he/she had purchased with the money. This infuriated Yeshua! This was not the purpose of the Temple! This was the synagogue of Satan, twisting the Torah to exclude unsuspecting Gentiles. The Shammai Pharisees looked the other way when this happened.

The House of Prayer for all nations was for the “man who fears what is right.” He was welcome there, no matter his lineage or economic situation. This is what the Hillel Pharisees taught, which is what Peter and Paul (a Hillel Pharisee) later affirm, and which John establishes as the norm in his “synagogue of Satan” reference. A righteous Gentile will find himself assigned a higher place in the Kingdom than those who sought to exclude him.

Yet, it is not “right” for the visitor to desecrate the sanctuary in which he is a guest, for to do so would be inhospitable to that very relationship he seeks in the House. Both those who serve and those who visit are obligated to bless one another, which brings down the blessing of peace from the Voice of Elohim, especially through the Birkhat HaKohanim (Aaronic Benediction). One new man.

• “Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.” (Mk 11:15-17)

Inhospitality to those seeking the Voice of Adonai is inhospitality to the Presence of Adonai Himself.

Those who are judged and sentenced to the Kingdom “footstool” by Adonai are enemies of the faith, whether through hostility to Him and His holy ones or unrepentant hypocrisy. A fellow believer should be honored, loved [preferred], and judged according to his active faith, not his bank account. We judge our own assemblies with righteousness according to our brotherhood:

• “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?” (Ja 2:1-4)

The key is that both visitors to the synagogue were righteous men seeking to worship and hear the Word read on Shabbat. To look at two righteous men and show favoritism to the rich one IS wicked. Since we are to judge within our own communities, James says we are evil judges to do such a thing. Favoritism is to be shown the righteous over the wicked, not to set a fellow-believer in a lower place because he lacks money, power, or fine appearance.

• “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.” (Ro 12:6-13)

Practicing hospitality to fellow believers is “incense,” spices fit for the Mishkan.

• Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. (He 13:1-2)

Hospitality to the “brethren,” the righteous guest, signifies one’s willingness to welcome back the Presence of Elohim on earth. The Hebrew cognate to xenos, the Greek word for guest, stranger, visitor, is oreach, (the Sept. for ??????)

The best food, drink, and resting accommodations were prepared for the visitor. Footwashing was a mandatory courtesy:

• “Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree…” (Ge 18:4) Also Ge 24:32; 43:24

Even entering the Holy Land, the feet of the priests were supernaturally and hospitably “washed” as they crossed over.

• “…and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest)…” (Josh 3:15)

And finally, Yeshua demonstrated the righeousness required of the elderwoman:

• “Then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded… If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.” (Jo 13:5;14-15)

Yeshua did not wash the feet of the wicked, nor did he seek out those just looking for miracles or a feel-good sermon at his appointed time. He washed the feet of those who were committed to serving him both in this world and the World to Come. We should do good to all people, but ESPECIALLY to those of the household of faith. Yeshua was not interested in ordaining Lady Liberties, but the Leaning Ladies.

And Gentlemen.

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Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 161 (Corruption)

Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 161 (Corruption)

by | Aug 10, 2025 | , , , , | 0 |

Corruption

This week we continue the thread of study in the Song of Songs that prophesies of the call to Messiah to possess the earth, the awakening of Gog and Magog, as well as the awakening and ingathering of the Bride of Messiah into the Garden:

“I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.” (Song of Songs 5:1)

As with the sending of pomegranates in Chapter Four symbolized the giving of the commandments to Israel, so this expression:

“I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam [oil…]”

…can allude to a “good name.”

Those who bear the good Name have a reputation that is aromatic in the earth already. They do not wait for Messiah Yeshua to return, but they work hard “That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles which know not God:” (1 Th 4:4-5)

Because we must show hospitality to the stranger, alien, orphan, and widow, we must be a miniature “house of prayer for all nations” like the Temple. For those seeking healing, comfort, salvation, and the many things for which humans rely on their Creator to supply, we are the Father’s outstretched arms. And because He is holy, we must be holy.

Like the greeter at the door of Walmart represents our first impression of the store, so believers are the first impression the nations have of their Creator’s holy nature.

Like the holy incense was pounded and compounded for the holy Temple, believers will be pounded and compounded to release the pleasing aromas to the world. The discipline of our evil inclination, or yetzer hara, is like a daily death which turns into a fragrant Temple spice. Likewise, myrrh is a death spice, yet it is compounded with other spices like healing balsam oil to create a compounded fragrance.

 “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” (Ecc 7:1)

The first statement sounds agreeable, but does the second?

If the gathering of myrrh and balsam is the gathering of the righteous to the Garden who have received the Good Name and who have returned their gifts and sacrifices for the sake of His Good Name to the Bridegroom, then how is their “gathering” related to the day of their death and a better day?

Death must occur before there can be a resurrection. What was sown in corruption must be raised incorruptible. Isn’t this what every righteous soul longs for?

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable G5356 body, it is raised an imperishable body;
it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1Co 15:42-44)

For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable [G5349] will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. (1 Co 15:53-54)

“Perishable” is G5349, phthartós, from G5351; decayed, i.e. corruptible, perishable, i. e. mortal, that which is liable to corruption

It is from: Strong’s G5351 – phtheir?

to shrivel or wither, i.e. to spoil (by any process) or (generally) to ruin (especially figuratively, by moral influences, to deprave):—corrupt (self), defile, destroy.

Sin and death go together. As long as we are susceptible to death, we are susceptible to sin. Remove the strength of death, and the strength of sin is removed as well. The aromatic righteous will no longer be subject to the corruptibility of sin that destroys the Temple.

Outline of Biblical Usage G5351:

to corrupt, to destroy
in the opinion of the Jews, the temple was corrupted or “destroyed” when anyone defiled or in the slightest degree damaged anything in it, or if its guardians neglected their duties
to lead away a Christian church from that state of knowledge and holiness in which it ought to abide
to be destroyed, to perish
in an ethical sense, to corrupt, deprave

Ummm…wasn’t Paul a Jew? It explains what he taught the Corinthians, who were quite a lusty folk, that corrupting their bodies with sin was like destroying the holy Temple. Perhaps they were merrily celebrating Chanukkah at the Feast of Dedication with their Jewish friends, yet also merrily carrying on in certain lustful sins, defiling their own temples.

Here are a couple more examples of its use in context:

“If any man destroys G5351 the temple of God, God will destroy G5351 him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1Co 3:17)
“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts G5351 good morals.’” (1Co 15:33)

When Messiah comes into the Garden, he gathers the spices of those who have attained a “good name” and a new day of birth, which also their day of death. These have grieved over their susceptibility to sin after salvation because they know how destructive it is. They labored in their walk with Messiah to do so worthy of the Good Name, the pomegranates of the 613 mitzvot. They diligently guarded the temples of their bodies. When they sinned, they repented. The death of wrong desires was compounded with balsam oil to make a precious ointment that will only be fully understood when we are gathered by our Beloved to the Garden.

As they have offered this sweet-smelling aroma of a sacrificial life, striving to purify their temples, now they are rewarded with a birthday on their death day so that they may no longer be susceptible to sin and its decaying effects. They are assembled to worship in the incorruptible Temple. What could diminish the joy of being gathered in the Garden? Perhaps knowing we didn’t try very hard to encourage more people to join us!

The lost and needy of the world need to see us practicing habits of repentance. We’re not born good at it; we’re born bad at it! When we manage our sins not by hiding or denying them, but by acknowledging them, repenting of them, asking forgiveness of those whom we’ve wronged, and resuming the holy walk, it is proof that Yeshua DOES have the power to transform us and renew our minds.

When we renew our minds, the body will follow. When the body follows, it is a living testimony of Yeshua’s righteousness. This is how we are pounded and compounded as fragrance for both the Garden of our resurrection as well as this earth right now. This is how we gain a reputation as a Temple builder and repairer rather than a destroyer.

If you love Yeshua, then you hate sin. You hate it when you sin. You wish you didn’t have to fight it day after day because you know it is the “old man,” not the one seated with Messiah in the heavens. Like Paul also said, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” (Ro 7:21) Last week’s newsletter explained why satan’s greatest attraction is to the holiest places. If we follow Messiah and guard our Temples, then surely temptations will come. We will sometimes fail and sin, and yet we have the opportunity through repentance to build a good name in this temple of our bodies. As we walk in the Word, we will be pounded and compounded, but know this:

A resurrection birthday is coming. We will die, even if only for the duration of a twinkling of an eye, but it is even better than the day of our natural birth. On the day of our natural birth, we were born with a sin nature. On the day of our resurrection birthday, we will have only a holy nature. A good name.

That persistent gravity of sin and death will be destroyed, and its corruption will no longer have power over you. Your greatest grief, that you would continue to sin even after coming to Messiah Yeshua to accept his salvation, will be comforted. You will know sin no more because you will not desire it. You will desire only to know Yeshua in all righteousness.

Well, done, good and faithful servant.

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