070825

Scale calibration mess, new batteries now though!

Short Adoration but needed it desperately
Source of my joy & comfort

Can't do IOP!!
So spent like TWO HOURS looking up support groups online

1PM BK. SO TIRED. My brain feels like its been through a blender


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Daily readings finally returning us (after blessed tangents) to Genesis 32.
After this we go back to "leb"?? Maybe? Relevant to my name

In any case, finish these researches so we can FINALLY GET BACK TO 2 CORINTHIANS!!

⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️‼️ At Peniel, a life of grasping ends in dependence; the limp memorializes grace!
(WHAT IS MY LIMP? Have I wrestled so arduously with God in the night, practically demanding to be blessed and REFUSING to let go of Him, so that He reached out, TOUCHED and crippled me?)


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"Jacob" serves as a poetic or covenantal synonym for the nation of Israel... the theological hinge between Abraham and the twelve-tribe nation.

Oracles prove that God’s sovereign choice governs events before our first breath... Jacob’s unmerited choosing by elective grace encourages believers to rest in the divine initiative.

Acquisition of birthright and blessing... the tension between divine election and human scheming...

⭐‼️Through difficult dealings with others whose own attitudes and behaviors "bring out our worst qualities" and irritate our wounds, it is God Who disciplines us, humbles us, and shapes our character in the school of tested virtue, ultimately to help us GROW & HEAL, and hopefully also make BOTH parties into holier people... to bring us closer, in grateful love despite the trials, to both God and each other.

⭐ Reconciliation requires repentance and restitution.
‼️You NEED to actively RE-ENTER that person's life IN ORDER TO reconcile– the word implies "eye to eye" restoration!
Are you willing to see things from their perspective, entering into the pain YOU caused them? That's a key part of contrition!!
‼️Have you SAID you are sorry– directly, clearly, and incontrovertibly so? Or have you made excuses, tried to justify yourself, avoided the issue, only "implied" apology, or refused to make an in-person effort?
‼️ Have you SHOWN you are sorry? Have you earnestly & bluntly assessed the damages? Have you made serious, concrete, active, honest, full efforts to repair, restore, replace, or "make up for" what you did? Have you actually & fully paid back debts or property? Or have you "given yourself a discount" on justice & penance? 

⭐‼️ Jacob's family's sojourn in Egypt was preceded by years of personal struggle & trial, having been initiated by family betrayal & brutality. And yet, the ultimate outcome– always planned in God's Omniscient Good Will– was this time of great favor & rest & abundance, which served to preserve the covenant-seed people of Abraham during famine, and even more importantly, set the stage for the eventual and essential Exodus. 
(What well did your "brothers" throw YOU in, that brought you to Egypt? What was YOUR job under what Pharaoh? What famine brought your brothers back to you? What Exodus is on your ultimate horizon? Does any of that apply? Ponder it WITH CHRIST. These are types & patterns for the Church’s soul.)

⭐⭐⭐‼️Scripture thereafter alternates between the two names:
"Jacob" often highlights weakness, need, and historical rootedness.
"Israel" stresses calling, destiny, and covenant fulfillment.
Prophets sometimes pair them (Isaiah 9:8; Hosea 12:12) to confront the nation with both identity and responsibility.
⭐The name is prophetically used by God to announce restoration AND expose sin, to (re-)promise the Messiah in Israel's bloodline, and affirm remnant hope (rooted in covenant).

⭐⭐Jacob's grace-enabled transformation from deceiver to prince demonstrates sanctification’s lifelong process.
(HIS NAME CHANGED ALL AT ONCE; HIS LIFE DIDN'T!! IT HAD TO "GROW INTO"/ "EVOLVE INTO" HIS NEW NAME!!)
⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️ Prophetic promises given to “worm Jacob” (Isaiah 41:14) offer hope and assurance to the weak that God’s Covenant Love still does not exclude or reject them, and that His Power is perfected in frailty... even in the most miserable and wretched.

⭐‼️"House of Jacob” ...is a summons to covenant loyalty. It reminds the people that their collective origin lies in one man (who was simultaneously) brought low and raised by grace.

⭐The title “God of Jacob”... comforts the humble, emboldens warriors, and magnifies God’s holiness... it links seeking God with bearing Jacob’s name, binding worship to (covenant) lineage and faith... the title frames trust versus self-reliance. 

Jacob’s name gathers the narrative of one man, the identity of a people, and the promise of universal redemption... it embodies grace that elects, disciplines, transforms, and preserves in both individual AND communal contexts– a testimony that the “God of Jacob” remains forever faithful to His Word and His people.


‼️‼️‼️Hosea 12:2-6 NLTCE
"Now the Lord is bringing charges against Judah. He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways, and pay him back for all he has done. Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him— the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the Lord is his name! So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him."


Hosea 12:1-6 MSG
"...God is bringing charges against Israel. Jacob’s children are hauled into court to be punished. In the womb, that heel, Jacob, got the best of his brother. When he grew up, he tried to get the best of God. But God would not be bested. God bested him. Brought to his knees, Jacob wept and prayed. God found him at Bethel. That’s where He spoke with him. God is God-of-the-Angel-Armies, God-Revealed, God-Known. What are you waiting for? Return to your God! Commit yourself in love, in justice! Wait for your God, and don’t give up on him—ever!"

Hosea 12:12-14 MSG
"Are you going to repeat the life of your ancestor Jacob? He ran off guilty to Aram, Then sold his soul to get ahead, and made it big through treachery and deceit. Your real identity is formed through God-sent prophets, who led you out of Egypt and served as faithful pastors. As it is, Ephraim has continually and inexcusably insulted God. Now he has to pay for his life-destroying ways. His Master will do to him what he has done."

Jacob ran away to the land of Aram. Jacob ran away from his brother Esau. He had cheated Esau and Esau was very angry with him. He worked there as a shepherd so that he could get a wife.

"Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and there Israel served (Laban) for a wife; to earn a wife he tended sheep. But by a prophet the Lord brought (the nation) Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet (Moses) Israel was tended."

‼️‼️‼️"Jacob, having "become two bands," trusting in God and enriched by God, returned from Syria to the land promised to him by God; (the nation) Israel, distrusting God and enriching himself, was to return to Assyria out of the land which the Lord his God had given him, amid the loss of all things."

"If you boast of your riches and nobility, you seem to reproach your father, who was a poor fugitive and servant."

"God says to Israel = Though ye pride yourselves on the great name of "Israel," forget not that your progenitor was the same Jacob who was a fugitive, and who served for Rachel fourteen years. He forgot not ME who delivered him when fleeing from Esau, and when oppressed by Laban. But Ye, though delivered from Egypt, and loaded with My favors, are yet unwilling to return to Me... all these benefits ye forget, and provoke me to anger by abominations and no-gods."

Thus the distress and affliction of Jacob are contrasted with the exaltation of his posterity. The great object of this contrast is to impress the people with the goodness of God to them in lifting them up out of the lowest condition, and to inspire them with gratitude to God for such unmerited elevation and with thankful yet humble acknowledgment of his mercy.
...The object of this is to call to the nation's remembrance that elevation from the lowest condition, which they were to acknowledge with humility every year, when the first-fruits were presented before the Lord. For Ephraim had quite forgotten this. Instead of thanking the Lord for it by love and faithful devotedness to Him, it had provoked Him in the bitterest manner by its sins of idolatry & faithless pride.

"It is a question whether the terms “Jacob” and “Israel” stand in the parallelism of identity or contrast, but the use of the former term in Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 2:5-6, makes the former use more probable. In this case both names stand practically for the kingdom of Judah as the true representative of Israel, the apostate kingdom of the Ten Tribes being no longer worthy of the name.

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1. Plague of dust-boils against Egypt
2. Curse of covenant-breaking on Israel
3. Curse of covenant-breaking on Israel
4. God's Judgment against proud nations attacking Jerusalem
5. God's Judgment against proud nations attacking Jerusalem
6. God as Judge marches on/ kicks up stormclouds like the dust

80. abaq = light particles (as volatile) -- (small) dust, powder... fine, airborne powder: dust that can be thrown, scattered, or stirred up. Each occurrence assumes a hot, arid Near-Eastern climate in which dust is ever-present and easily mobilized, making it an apt vehicle for God’s self-revelation.

The plague dust is not merely a natural irritant; it is supernaturally charged, showing that even the smallest particles obey the LORD’s word. The very dust becomes a vehicle of holy judgment!
⭐Remember that God's Divine judgments, though severe, always aim to expose idolatry and deliver people from bondage. The use of dust reminds us of this?? It is, in itself, not bad or destructive; it's just dust... and it can be swept away so easily. God's judgments, likewise, can be "reverted" to "harmlessness" when we repent of our pride– becoming humble as the dust– and accept our judgment from His Hand? God can then "sweep away" our iniquity like dust, removing the sores caused by our sins.
His terrific holiness is in harmony with His tender compassion.

‼️‼️‼️‼️ Lifeless dust replaces life-giving rain in the curses for covenant-breaking, reversing creation’s order and striking at agricultural dependence (on God's gifts of bounty). Judgment (for spiritual infidelity) falls by transforming blessing into blight... When unfaithful hearts turn from God, even His most basic Blessings can be withdrawn... and will be, if those hearts harden & refuse to repent.

‼️‼️‼️Isaiah likens apostate Judah’s fading glory to withered blossoms that “blow away like dust.” The picture is of beauty turned weightless and worthless, stressing how quickly human achievements vanish when severed from covenant loyalty.
‼️‼️‼️The cloud of dust kicked up by Israel's advancing enemies is both literal and symbolic— literal evidence of overwhelming military force, and a sign that God’s foretold judgment is advancing inescapably... BUT those same enemies that once seemed formidable as fortresses dissolve into insignificant dust when confronted by God’s sudden intervention. And this applies to ALL human strength = "Your hired soldiers in whom you trusted, will be destroyed as dust or chaff in a whirlwind." ...But to believers, we have the assurance amidst all hostility & oppression (external and internal) that God can reduce any and all of our powerful adversaries to dust in an instant.

⭐‼️Nahum declares, “clouds are the dust beneath God’s feet.” The prophet lifts the imagery to its highest plane: creation’s most majestic vapors are but dust under God’s stride. What terrifies nations is no more than road dust to the Sovereign of hosts, affirming His absolute transcendence.
This gives us both humble hope & reverent perspective in Worship– the One we approach in supplication & prayer walks upon what overwhelms us.
"Large as they are, He treads on them, as a man would on the small dust; He is Lord of the clouds, and uses them as He pleases."

"The LORD is powerful, yet patient; he makes sure that the guilty are always punished. He can be seen in storms and in whirlwinds; clouds are the dust from his feet."
"The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will never leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and raging storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet."
"The LORD does not easily become angry, but he is powerful and never lets the guilty go unpunished. Where the LORD walks, hurricanes & tempests arise; the clouds are the dust raised by his feet!"
⭐The Divine Warrior Destroys His Enemies but Protects His People. He marches out in the whirlwind and the raging storm; dark storm clouds billow like dust under his feet.
"The Lord is long-suffering, and his power is great, and the Lord will not hold any guiltless..."

⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️‼️"God can be long-suffering, because He can, whenever He sees good, punish. His long-suffering is a token, not of weakness, but of power. He can allow persons the whole extent of trial, because, when they are past cure, He can end it at once."
"The wrath comes only at the last, but it is ever present with God. He cannot but be displeased with the sin; and so the Psalmist describes the gradual approximation to its discharge... We see the arrow with unextinguishable fire, ready to be discharged, waiting for the final decision of the wicked, whether he will repent or not, but that still "the Day of the Lord will come"... sooner or later, in due season, the wickedness or righteousness of them shall be upon them.
...though God be surrounded with darkness, yet as an army afar off is discovered by the dust that their feet raise, so will God at last appear as an enemy with great power marching against His enemies, and from above, as well as from the darkness of clouds, destroy them... The powers of heaven are arrayed against the might of earth.

⭐⭐⭐ "abaq" marks decisive moments when God confronts rebellion, protects His covenant, or unveils His majesty. Whether falling from the sky, blowing away blossoms, or swirling under divine feet, dust underscores two complementary truths:
1. The frailty and impermanence of human pride. (Weightless, pitiful, easily scattered & blown away)
2. The unchallengeable authority of the LORD over every element of creation. (Even miniscule particles serve & praise Him)

"Anaq" Dust functions as a vivid biblical shorthand for judgment, ephemerality, and divine supremacy. Wherever dust appears, Scripture calls the faithful to humility, vigilance, and renewed trust in the LORD who both scatters and gathers the dust of the earth.

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79. abaq = A primitive root, probably to float away (as vapor), but used only as denominative from 'abaq; "to bedust", i.e. Grapple; to wrestle.
"To get dusty" "to be in the dust with"

⭐⭐‼️...the struggle reverberates through Scripture.
Jacob is returning from Paddan-Aram with wives, children, and livestock, facing a potentially lethal reunion with Esau. The ford of the Jabbok becomes the stage where the patriarch’s lifelong pattern of striving—first with Esau, then Laban, and now God Himself—reaches its climax. Night, isolation, and suspense all frame "abaq" as as a turning-point event within redemption history.

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BRIEF INTERJECTION =
"ford" = "ma'abar" = from "abar"; "to pass over/ cross over (literal or figurative); to go through; used very widely of any transition 

⭐5674 "Abar" = The root conveys movement from one side to another—whether spatial, moral, relational, or covenantal. From Genesis to Malachi the verb shapes narratives of pilgrimage, judgment, mercy, and disobedience, binding together the motifs of crossing, passing, and overstepping that run throughout the Old Testament.

⭐⭐‼️Abraham the “Hebrew” bears a name rooted in "abar," marking him as the one who “crossed over” the Euphrates to follow the call of God.
⭐⭐The Exodus climaxes when Israel “passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground”. The physical crossing anticipates a spiritual deliverance later echoed in the Prophets.
⭐⭐The Jordan crossing under Joshua completes the patriarchal promise (begun WITH Abraham), making "abar" the verb that frames entrance into covenant land.
⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️ Each pivotal act of redemption is literally a passage from bondage to blessing, embedding "abar" at the very center of Israel’s collective memory.

⭐⭐At the covenant-cutting of Genesis 15:17 “a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces,” signifying the Lord’s unilateral commitment.
⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️Ezekiel 16 describes the lifechanging drama ofGod’s marital covenant with sinful Israel =
"On the day you were born, no one cared about you... No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die. But I passed by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said, 'Live!' And I helped you to thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and became a beautiful jewel... but you were still naked. As I passed by you again, I saw that the time had come for you to fall in love. I covered your naked body with my wings and I promised to love you. Yes, I made a marriage covenant with you, and you became mine.”
The verb underscores two breathtaking and inherently linked events. First, God Himself– willingly, freely, and without any external coercion– "passes by" us when abandoned by our "parents" of fallen human nature & the physical world, and CHOOSES to save and sustains our aborted life in the face of certain death, the ultimate threshold; HIS "passing by" us INTERVENES & INTERCEPTS, causing a clear and decisive "transition" in our history from hopeless doom to sudden shocking unexpected hope– and HIS WORD is the POWER that marks our "crossing over" from death to life!!
Second, God Himself RETURNS to us, after an exile and exodus, and this time He willingly crosses the threshold into INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP– an even greater "transition" from death to life, because this MARRIAGE is a PERMANENT TRANSITION from a  state of objectifying oppression and violent hatred into one of liberating covenant love & tender fidelity. We go from being "despised slaves owned by a taskmaster" to "a beloved wife belonging to her husband."

⭐"Those to whom God gives spiritual life, he takes into covenant with himself. By this covenant they become his= both subject to Him in service, which speaks their duty: and at the same time His portion and treasure, which speaks their privilege."

⭐⭐⭐"The outcast child was now an adult virgin, a marriageable woman." = ANOTHER "TRANSITION" CONCEPT; "passing" from childhood to maturity, from maidenhood to marriage!

⭐⭐⭐‼️"Thou wast of marriageable age, but none was willing to marry thee, naked as thou wast. I then regarded thee with a look of grace when the full time of thy deliverance was come." It is not she that makes the advance to God, but God to her; she has nothing to entitle her to such notice, yet He regards her not with mere benevolence, but with love, such as one cherishes the person of his wife... So Israel became "the wife of God's covenant"... engaged by marriage to love, cherish, protect, and safeguard... giving them the greatest, most inviolable, and solemn assurance of His conjugal love, care, and faithfulness.
⭐⭐⭐"Thou becamest mine"; by the obligations of God's kindness we could be no less, for we are His by His own voluntary act and consent, by promise and profession.

⭐⭐❤‼️‼️ "The time of thy misery was the time of my love and pity towards thee." ...the season fittest for the discovery of my purposes towards thee, was the time of love.
⭐"...this "time of love" was the time of redemption of the people of Israel out of Egypt, which was an instance of the great love of God unto that people; and which time was fixed by him; and when it was come, at the exact and precise time, the redemption was wrought... so there is a set time for the calling and conversion of God's elect, who are therefore said to be called according to purpose; and, when that time comes, all means are made to concur to bring it about: and this is a time of love; for though the love of God to his people IS before all time, yet it is manifested in time; and there are particular times in which it is expressed unto them; and the time of conversion is one of them; and indeed conversion is the first time that there is a manifestation and application of the love of God made to the souls of his people. But this is a "time of loves"; as it is in the original text; denoting the large abundance of it which is now shown forth; and the various acts of it now done; as bringing of them out of a most miserable condition, out of a horrible pit; plucking them as brands out of the burning; quickening them when dead in sin; speaking comfortably to them, and applying pardoning grace and mercy to their souls: and it may include both the love of God to his people, and their love to him; for now is the love of their espousals... the marital covenant now implants the grace of love in them, to God and Christ, and to His people, Word, worship, and ordinances; a love which before had no place in them."

⭐⭐ God gave promise, in spite of previous degradation, of capacities that would render it worthy of the love of the Divine Bridegroom... He provided for the purification, clothing, adorning, and maintenance of His wife. As the bride prepares herself for the wedding by washing and anointing, so did the Lord cleanse Israel from the blemishes and impurities which adhered to it from its birth... "That you should be a chaste wife to me, and that I should maintain you and endue you with all graces."

⭐⭐‼️"abar" ALSO lies behind “Passover"!! The thematic overlap strengthens the redemptive resonance.
"On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD."
⭐⭐Echoing the consequential Exodus, Isaiah offers the Lord’s assurance: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”
⭐‼️ Israel's Adversaries “pass through the land” as instruments of judgment against those unfaithful to God– marking out a transition from a state of self-deceptive "peace" to the divine chastisement of war. They go from "one side to the other" in their invasion; Israel is "brought into a different status" by the assault, no longer untouched. (The disturbing imagery is intentional; Israel is suffering the consequences of covenant-breaking, the concurrent curses of INFIDELITY.)
⭐Zechariah forecasts a day when “no oppressor will again pass over” Jerusalem, hinting at ultimate security in the Messianic reign. The final stages of God’s plan mirror the formative crossings of Exodus and Joshua, promising a consummate passage into everlasting peace. (MARITAL LANGUAGE)
⭐the faithful of Israel “pass through the valley of Baca (weeping)” and THEY make it a place of springs.
⭐⭐‼️‼️ Rescue and wrath both ride on the same verb, revealing divine sovereignty over every passage.

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BRIEF INTERJECTION =
BACA = THE "VALLEY OF TEARS"!!!!
⭐⭐‼️"Baca" = a metaphorical season of grief.... framed by pilgrim language (travel = transitive state!!) and by sanctuary longing, binding the valley to Israel’s worship journey... it can be treated as a figurative description of any stretch of hardship on the way to the temple... pilgrims knew both literal dryness (thirst for water) and inner sorrow (thirst for God) on their long journey of exile. Yet The psalm links a steadfast, persevering heart with outward progress ("we walk by faith").
"Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As THEY pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a well/ a place of springs/ a source of flowing water; even the autumn rains will cover it with blessings (with pools of water). They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion."
⭐⭐⭐‼️ Ultimately, Transformation comes through committed faith: the "weeping" valleys become “springs,” prefiguring the prophetic promise that God will turn deserts into pools when Messiah comes– and He will make a "royal highway" through the transformed wilderness FOR THE REMNANT to walk on and RETURN HOME to their land AS HIS KINGDOM... a "holy highway" which the unclean shall not "pass over"!!!
⭐The valley of Baca lies between departure and presence, (TRANSITION) reminding the Church that her present trials are temporary compared to the joy of her destination (CROSSING OVER)– of appearing “before God in Zion" in worship together.

⭐"...their journey to Jerusalem was often unpleasant or inconvenient. But their zeal for God’s service did easily overcome this and other difficulties... just as the benign showers turn a wilderness into a garden, so resolution and faith turn disadvantage to profit."

⭐⭐‼️‼️‼️"Make it a well" — Or, wells; that is, they dig diverse little pits or wells in it for their relief. This trouble they willingly undertook, rather than to neglect the opportunity of going up to Jerusalem at their solemn times. And possibly they did this, not only for themselves, but for the benefit of other travellers who came after them; whereby they showed both their piety and charity... it may be meant of what pious persons had done before that time; who, having their hearts set upon God’s house, and the ways leading to it, and being desirous to advance the worship of God, and to encourage the people to come to Jerusalem, endeavoured to make those ways easy and convenient; and particularly because those eastern countries were hot and dry, and springs of water were scarce there. By their merciful labors, they helped to alleviate the thirst & grief of those future faithful who would follow the pilgrim road.
"The rain also filleth the pools" — never to be outdone in generosity or kindness, God recompenseth their charitable diligence in making the pits/ cisterns, by giving his blessing and sending rain wherewith they may be filled, and all the thirsty travellers refreshed... His own compassionate nature assured that their faithful, hopeful actions for His sake were not in vain.

⭐⭐❤❤"the passage may be employed as an illustration of the effect of religion in diffusing happiness and comfort where there was trouble and sorrow - as if lifegiving fountains should be made to flow in a sterile and desolate valley... Religious worship– the going up to the house of God– turns that in the journey of life which would otherwise be gloomy and sad into joy; makes a world of tears a world of comfort; has an effect like that of changing a gloomy path into one of pleasantness and beauty... By the power of religion, by the presence of the Saviour, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, even our most troubled & afflicted times become seasons of purest joy– times remembered ever afterward with most fervent gratitude, as among the happiest periods of life. For religion can diffuse smiles over faces darkened by care; can light up the eye sunk in despondency; can change tears of sorrow into tears of joy; can impart peace in scenes of deepest sorrow; and make the most gloomy vales of life like green pastures illuminated by the brightness of noonday.
...Wherever the faithful come, though it would be sorrow and tears, yet they are attended with prosperity and blessing... the sterile and desolate valley through which the pilgrims are passing is made joyous by the cheerfulness, the happiness, the songs of those who are on their way to the house of God. This fact, this image, suggests the idea that this is similar to the effect which is produced in that valley when copious rains descend upon it, and when, though commonly desolate, it is covered with grass and flowers, or is "blessed" by the rain. This is an illustration of the happy scene of the cheerful and exulting movements of the pilgrims on their way to the house of God. The one suggests the other; and the psalmist has a combined image before his mind, the one illustrating the other, and both showing how a vale naturally desolate and sterile may be made cheerful and joyous... so the grace of God, by the exercises of His worship, refreshes and revives the hearts of His people, so that for sorrows they have "rivers of delight".

⭐⭐‼️‼️"Baca" does not seem to design a particular place; but any difficult and troublesome place, any rough valley, or dry and thirsty land, where there was no water: so saints are passengers, travellers, or pilgrims, in this world, and often pass through a valley; are in a low valley, through the weakness of grace; a rough one, through affliction; and a dark one, through desertion and temptation; and a valley of weeping and tears, on account both of outward and inward trials. The way to Zion, or to the house and ordinances of God below, lies through the valley of weeping; none come rightly thither but who come weeping over their sins and unworthiness; or by repentance towards God, and by looking by faith to Christ whom they have pierced, and mourning for it... and the way to Zion above lies through a vale of tears, shed in plenty by reason of sin, a man's own, original and actual, the sins of professors and profane, by reason of Satan's temptations, the hidings of God's face, and the distresses, divisions, and declensions of Zion; yet relief is afforded, help is given, refreshment is had, in this valley, for such passengers... the rain of divine love covers the passengers with spiritual blessings, which flow from it; Christ, whose coming is compared to the rain, brings a train of blessings with him to his people; and the Gospel, which drops as the rain, and distils as the dew, is full of the blessings of Christ; is a glorious revelation of them, and is the means of conveying them to the saints; or the "teacher covereth", or "is covered with blessings".

⭐The vale of Baca was some waterless and barren valley through which pilgrims passed on their way to Jerusalem; but faith turns it into a place of springs, finding refreshment under the most untoward circumstances, while God refreshes them with showers of blessing from above, as the autumnal rains clothe the dry plains with grass and flowers... When the righteous pass through a time of suffering or calamity, they turn it into a time of refreshment. The rain of God's grace mantles all the valley with a luxuriant vegetation; in other words, the blessing of God rests on those who act uprightly, and causes them ever to increase in righteousness and true holiness. 

⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️Many hindrances must be cleared away if the poet is to get back to Zion, his true home; but his longing carries the surety within itself of its fulfilment: blessed, yea in himself blessed, is the man, who has his strength in God, so that, consequently, the strength of Him to whom all things are possible is mighty in his weakness... the pilgrim-high-roads with their separate halting-places (stations) were constantly present to the mind of such persons. And though they may be driven never so far away from them, they will nevertheless reach the goal of their longing. The most gloomy present becomes bright to them: passing through even a terrible wilderness, they turn it into a place of springs, their joyous hope and the infinite beauty of the goal, which is worth any amount of toil and trouble, afford them enlivening comfort, refreshing strengthening in the midst of the arid steppe.

...Not only does their faith bring forth water out of the sand and rock of the desert, but God also on His part lovingly anticipates their love, and rewardingly anticipates their faithfulness: a gentle rain, like that which refreshes the sown fields in the autumn, descends from above and enwraps the Valley of Baca in a fulness of blessing. The arid steppe becomes resplendent with a flowery festive garment, not to outward appearance, but to them spiritually, in a manner none the less true and real.
And whereas under ordinary circumstances the strength of the traveller diminishes in proportion as he has traversed more and more of his toilsome road, with them it is the very reverse; they go from strength to strength, they receive strength for strength, and that an ever increasing strength, the nearer they come to the desired goal, which also they cannot fail to reach. 


⭐ ⭐‼️Struggling pilgrims can find encouragement in this transformative "passing through": our Seasons of grief do not negate our forward movement toward God’s Presence, and may actually serve to bring further blessings. This also gives a truer Perspective on suffering: any Temporary aridity we suffer can actually heighten our anticipation of temple joy, shaping a theology of hope amidst affliction.

⭐‼️ Note that the pilgrim travelers “make it a place of springs”; by their active faith in pursuing God amidst trials, they participate in God’s transforming work.

⭐‼️The plural verbs in Psalm 84 emphasize shared journey; we must foster community solidarity & mutual strengthening through life's valleys.

Early Christian writers (e.g., Jerome on Psalm 84) interpreted Baca typologically as earthly life, with “rain” symbolizing the Holy Spirit who revives the faithful on their way to the heavenly Zion.

Baca stands as Scripture’s vivid intersection of lament and hope: a momentary landscape of tears that, in God’s economy, becomes an oasis of grace for every traveler pressing toward the courts of the Lord.

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BACK TO "ABAR"

⭐‼️‼️‼️Transgression: Crossing Forbidden Boundaries
When applied to law and ethics, "abar" turns from movement to moral overreach: “Why are you transgressing the command of the LORD?” “They have transgressed My covenant” ... those who “cross over” the law will perish.

⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️‼️Every act of worship involves a threshold— either into covenant fidelity or into apostasy. Thus the same root that narrates salvation also names sin; life hinges on which boundary one chooses to cross.

⭐Call to Faith: Like Abraham, believers are summoned to “cross over” from idolatry to obedience, trusting God’s promises despite visible uncertainties.

‼️‼️Holiness and Boundaries: Teaching on transgression must stress that sin is not merely rule-breaking but illegitimate crossing of God-ordained limits.

⭐Baptism symbolizes passing through water into newness of life, providing a New Testament sacramental echo of the Exodus.

⭐‼️Missional Movement: The gospel propels the church to “pass beyond” cultural and geographical barriers, reenacting the redemptive crossings of Scripture.

⭐"Abar" traces a grand biblical storyline: God brings His people through obstacles, into covenant, and ultimately into His Presence, while warning against the deadly crossing of His commands.
⭐Every passage in life—geographical, spiritual, or moral—finds its meaning in response to the God who Himself “passed by” Moses in glory, and who, in Jesus Christ, crossed the chasm between heaven and earth to redeem humanity.


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Covenantal Identity: At Yabbok, Jacob’s wrestling match and subsequent renaming to “Israel” transform him from schemer to covenant bearer. The river thus becomes a threshold between old identity and new calling.
• Boundary and Inheritance: Recurrent references in Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges anchor Yabbok as a fixed point in Israel’s territorial theology. The land is described with precise borders, underscoring God’s faithfulness in granting and protecting inheritance.
• Victory by Divine Initiative: Israel’s triumph over Sihon up to Yabbok (Numbers 21) and Jephthah’s rehearsal of that victory (Judges 11) highlight God as the One who “gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel” (Deuteronomy 2:33). The river’s mention in war accounts emphasizes that geography is ultimately subject to divine sovereignty.

Jacob’s night encounter anticipates Gospel motifs of God taking on visible form, wrestling with human weakness to bless. Jacob’s wound and new name foreshadow the cruciform pattern of loss preceding exaltation. The setting by a river—symbol of cleansing and life—hints at future baptismal imagery fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus at the Jordan.


• Personal Transformation: Like Jacob, believers often meet God in liminal spaces. Seasons of struggle may occur “at the ford of Yabbok,” yet they usher in deeper intimacy and a redefined walk.
• Respecting God-Given Boundaries: Israel’s restraint toward Ammon (Deuteronomy 2:37) models obedience that trusts God for timing and territory. Ministry labors must likewise heed divine limits rather than grasp at opportunities out of season.
• Remembering Past Victories: Jephthah’s appeal to the historic conquest up to Yabbok encourages rehearsing God’s acts to strengthen faith amid present challenges.

Yabbok threads through Genesis, the Torah, the conquest, and the judges era as both a literal watercourse and a theological marker. It frames encounters with God, defines inheritance, and testifies to victories granted by divine hand. The river’s enduring lesson is that at every crossing—whether geographic, spiritual, or ministerial—God remains sovereign, faithful, and prepared to bless those who cling to Him even in the wrestling.


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Jabbok marked border of AMMONITE territory = descendants of Lot by INCEST!!

After Israel’s victory over King Sihon, “Israel took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, up to the Ammonites”... Moses reminds Israel that they respected the Ammonite frontier: “You did not go near the land of the Ammonites, the bank of the Jabbok, or the towns of the hill country”.

‼️‼️When Israel left Egypt, the Ammonites refused to assist them in any way, and God punished them for their lack of support

‼️‼️‼️"the reason the Ammonites were punished to be forever forbidden from marrying into the Israelite nation is because they did not greet the Israelites with food and water when they traveled in the desert. When someone acts inhumanely, such as denying water to a thirsty group of weary travelers in a hot desert, this expresses a deeply rooted evil nature, which no one would encourage their loved ones to associate with"

"none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam... to curse you."

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"Sometimes considered “the most difficult prayer,” the Litany of Humility has a powerful way of piercing one’s heart. Like other litanies, the Litany of Humility is a simple series of pleas for intercession. In this particular prayer, we beg Our Lord to grant us radical humility, no matter how difficult that may be. And it is indeed difficult. Throughout the Litany of Humility, one finds oneself actively asking to be placed in situations the rest of the world would avoid. One asks to go unnoticed, to be set aside, to be decreased, humiliated, suspected, wronged, and even forgotten…
While these instances may seem undesirable, the humility necessary to embrace the discomfort of these situations is transformative. By actively choosing to forego the false glories of our culture, we free ourselves to choose the true glory found in following the will of God. The simple repetition within the Litany of Humility helps us to recall the Lord’s urgent reminder in the Gospel of Matthew: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”"

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