Unlocking The Ancient Secrets Of The Prayer Shawl Pt. 1 Series

Unlocking The Ancient Secrets of the Prayer Shawl (1 of 2)

September 18, 2011 FBC Chester Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker

Introduction:

A Last month a 15 year-old punk from Syracuse, NY was sentenced to 2 years in juvenile detention for assaulting and robbing a 73 year-old man.

1 The boy and a friend of his ran up to a 73-year-old man, punched him in the face, breaking his glasses, and robbed him of 7 cents -- all the money he had in his pockets.

a How about death sentence for picking up sticks?

b Numbers 15.15.32-35

aa Guy was probably picking up some sticks for a fire but he knew it was WRONG, BREAKING A COMMANDMENT. . . . which there was lot.

bb 613 to be exact in the Torah (first 5 books), which was there Bible at the time.

cc You must obey the laws and you can’t read . . . problems.

c In the ancient world very few people could read so the use of symbols, stories, customs, manners were used to teach. (Go to an Orthodox Church, Catholic Church filled with statues, beautiful stained class windows, etc.)

aa I don’t think their practicing idolatry but rather we’re seeing a remnant of how the church taught biblical truths to people who couldn’t read.

bb We’ve got our customs & symbols, too.

(w.w.j.d., bell, stained glass, steeple, etc.)

cc The church adopted this teaching tool because they saw God do it first.

2 Numbers 15.37-40

a The prayer shawl (Tallit) was a piece of clothing designed by God for God’s People to remind them of God’s Commandments which lead to Godly living.

aa Gen. 3.21, tells us about the last piece of clothing God designed in Eden after the fall.

bb At the fall the clothing was about covering sin, the Tallit is about covering in righteousness!

b The most important part of the tallit are the tassels (tzitzit)

3 The tassels remind the Jews of the Word of God.

a Each tzitzit is seven (completion) white strands of thread (purity @ perfection) wound with a blue thread (8 being a number of new beginnings)

b Each time a Jew looks at a tzitzit it reminds of the Law in three different ways.

aa Shema (Greatest of the Commandments; Deut. 6.4-5)

*The LORD is one.

*YHWH= 26 (The Lord) ECHAD =13 (One)

*7 wrappings 8 wrappings 11 wrappings = 26

*13 wrappings = 13

bb Ten Commandments (Blue Thread)

*Blue dye was produced from a snail/mollusk

(Same dye used to color the curtain to the Holy of Holies) until the 7th Century this dye was used in tzitzits when the Muslims killed the dye makers.

*Sold to European royality for YEARS.

*The snails were thought extent for the last 1,300 years so the blue thread turned either to white (or black) until 1983, when suddenly the Murex Tranculus snails begin reappearing in the eastern side of Mediterranean again!

*Exodus 24.10,12 KJV

*Jews have always thought the Ten Commandments were written on two cubes of Sapphire. (Sorry, Cecil B. DeMille)

cc Sum Total of the Law *613 btw.

*tzitzit equals “600" in Hebrew.

*PLUS 8 strings + 5 knots+600=613!!

c John 14.15; 15.10

B The Tallit has fulfilled its function for 3,500 years by calling Jews back to Sinai, Word of God.

1 IL. Ink Flag of Israel (1948)

a Still the flag of Israel today!

b When a Jewish man dies his tallit is wrapped over his face and a tzitzit is removed from the tallit.

aa No longer under the Law.

bb Their life on earth is over.

c If you were murdered, you were to buried in your bloody tallit to show proof, to give vindication & justice to those who killed you.

2 Tallit in Scripture Saul/Samuel, David/Saul.

a 1 Samuel 15.27-29; 24.5

b Prayed for the sick they would cover their sick with the tallit & pray for them.

A Elijah the prophet wore a mantle (Tallit).

1 In 2 Kings 7.8, we find the kind sending his men out to find Elijah.

a His tallit was made of camel hair & a priestly girdle around his waist.

aa He wasn’t a hairy man, he wore a Tallit made of camels hair.

bb A priestly leather girdle around his waist.

b Remember 1 Kings 19.13,, as God passed by front of the cave Elijah was in Sinia, Elijah went out and put his Tallit on his head.

aa Elijah, I’ve found your replacement because I’m gonna take you home alive.

bb 1 Kings 19.19, Elijah puts his mantel/tallit over the shoulders of Elisha.

cc Elisha went home, kissed mom & dad good-bye, sacrificed the oxen and went to become Elijah’s protégée.

2 The time came for Elijah’s departure so he went down to the School of the prophets at Jericho (Preacher boys)