The Shofar Newsletter
THE SHOFAR Newsletter of Bet Yeshurun Messianic Assembly
Good News for the Assembly of Bet Yeshurun
No. 1705 / August 23, 2025
2025 Gatherings (services start at 3:00 pm; doors open an hour earlier. )
8/24 Sabbath
8/30 Praise & Worship
8/31 Sabbath
9/6 Praise & Worship
9/7 Sabbath
9/8 Pentecost (FirstFruit of Oil) **
9/9-14 Wood Offerings ***
9/13 Praise & Worship
9/14 Sabbath
9/17 Yom Peguim (Leap Day services for the autumn season)
9/18 Yom Teruah (Day of Shouting/Trumpets) *
* A Holy Day like Sabbaths (a day for no work)
** A Holy Day (time and location of gathering to be announced)
*** Days of personal reflection (no gathering of BYA scheduled)
2025 Schedule for Reading the Bible in One-Year
Ketuvim; Mishley (Proverbs) Book of Proverbs
8/22 - Chapters 1 – 4 8/23 - Chapters 5 – 8 8/24 - Chapters 9 – 12
8/25 - Chapters 13 – 16 8/26 - Chapters 17 – 20 8/27 - Chapters 21 – 24
8/28 - Chapters 25 – 28 8/29 - Chapters 29 – 31
Ketuvim; Iyov (Hated) Teachings of Job
8/30 - Chapters 1 – 5 8/31 - Chapters 6 – 10 9/1 - Chapters 11 – 15
9/2 - Chapters 16 – 20 9/3 - Chapters 21 – 25 9/4 - Chapters 26 – 30
9/5 - Chapters 31 – 35 9/6 - Chapters 36 – 42
Shir ha’Shirim (Song of Songs) Solomon’s Ruth (Friend) Teachings
9/7 - Chapters 1 – 8 9/8 - Chapters 1 – 4
Eykah (How) Lamentations Qoheleth (Convener) Ecclesiastes
9/9 - Chapters 1 – 5 9/10 - Chapters 1 – 6 9/11 - Chapters 7 – 12
Ketuvim; Hadassah (Myrtle Tree) Teachings of Esther
9/12 - Chapters 1 – 5 9/13 - Chapters 6 – 10
Ketuvim; Ezra (Help) Writings of Ezra
9/14 - Chapters 1 – 5 9/15 - Chapters 6 – 10
Ketuvim; Nechemiah (Consolation of Yah) Writings of Nehemiah
9/16 - Chapters 1 – 4 9/17 - Chapters 5 – 8 9/18 – Chapters 9 – 11
9/19 – Chapters 12 – 13
Tabernacle Invitation
Interested in joining Bet Yeshurun Assembly? Please contact Pastor ObadiYah by email, telephone, mail, or in person at a gathering of Yahushuah’s Body.
Wood Offering
Another Pentecost
(Nehemiah 10:34-35) “We cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring [it] into the House of Elohim, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of YAHUAH Elohim, as written in the law (Torah): And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the House of YAHUAH.”
In the opening passage, Nehemiah describes the wood offerings that were used in Temple sacrifices. Ancient Israelites had rebuilt the House of YAHUAH after their return from Babylonian exile. This prayer of Nehemiah is a reminder of his role in cleansing the Temple’s priesthood, in assigning of the wood offerings for sacrifices and in reinstituting the FirstFruit Feasts: (Nehemiah 13:29-31) Remember them O’ Elohim, because they defiled the priesthood, and the Covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. Thus, I cleansed them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of priests and Levites, everyone in his business; for the wood offering at times appointed and for firstfruits.
Nehemiah was diligent in his service of that House of YAHUAH. While it was physically destroyed centuries ago, there’s a spiritual Temple, which still exists today. So, in this article we’ll study Scripture regarding physical and spiritual wood offerings: (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) Know ye not that ye are the Temple of Elohim and the Ruach of Elohim dwelleth in you? If any man defiles the Temple of Elohim, him shall Elohim destroy; for the Temple of Elohim is holy, which ye are.
Sacrificial wood was important to Nehemiah, who haddescribed it as a Torah command. Yet few understand the significance of wood offerings or YAH’s Feasts for that matter. However, the Zadokite priests, who lived by the Dead Sea before the Messiah’s birth and after His death, kept YAH’s Feasts and presented wood offerings from their community. For example, one scroll (4Q324d) which was discovered around 1946, then translated and published in 2017 reveals 6-days of wood offerings after the FirstFruit Feast of New Oil. Another Scroll (11Q19) also includes wood offerings with these words: “The twelve tribes of the children of Israel were to bring wood for the altar, and the tribes of Levi and Judah brought wood on the first day; the tribe Benjamin and the sons of Joseph brought wood on the second day; the tribes of Reuben and Simeon brought wood on the third day; Issachar and Zebulun on the fourth day; Gad and Asher on the fifth day; then Dan and Naphtali and on the sixth day.”
Bet Yeshurun Assembly (BYA) will celebrate that Feast in three weeks and keeps those times of wood offerings (see service schedule on back page).While many today follow or adhere to other worship calendars, the earlier referenced Zadokite Scrolls had Appointed Times (Moedim) of YAHUAH and a calendar that’s supported by many biblical references, plus the Book of Jubilees and the Book of Enoch. These are the basis of the worship schedule, which BYA follows.
A key feature of Israel’s sacrificial system was not permitting the altar fire to burn out. So, each morning a priest would place fresh wood that was supplied by the Israelite families (tribes) onto an altar before he presented a burnt offering: (Leviticus 6:12-13) The fire on the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
The fire of YAHUAH served as a focal point of sacrifices and its meticulously placed wood reveals a specific Way of approaching HIS never-ending, all-consuming fire! (Psalm 50:7-13) “Hear, O’ my people, I speak; O’ Israel, I testify against thee! I am Elohim, thy Elohim. I will not reprove thee for sacrifices or burnt offerings, continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest [is] mine, [and] the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains. The wild beasts of the field [are] mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world [is] mine and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?” (Deuteronomy 4:24) YAHUAH Elohim is a consuming fire, even a jealous Elohim.
Peter reminds us that Yah’s suffering and death means we can do nothing less in light of His perfect sacrifice other than to “follow” Him with our own life of sacrifice: (1 Peter 2:21-24) For even hereunto were ye called because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow His steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not but committed to Him that judges righteously: Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.
While Yah’s sacrifice can be viewed as a spiritual wood offering, it behooves us to put our own spiritual wood offering on the sacrificial fire as without wood (which can picture men and nations in the Bible) there is no fire. Reflect upon other spiritual aspects of wood (trees) as found in this ancient parable: (Judges 9:7-20) Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that Elohim may hearken unto you. The trees went forth [on a time] to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour Elohim and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, reign over us. But the fig tree said to them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, reign over us. And the vine said to them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth Elohim and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees to the bramble, Come, reign over us. And the bramble said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come [and] put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
Dedicating time to bring dead branches in our lives (wood offerings) like these in the next passage is a way to keep a fire burning forevermore on the altar! (Galatians 5:19-21) The works of the flesh are manifest, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim. (Hebrews 12:29) For our Elohim [is] a consuming fire.
Offering spiritual wood isn’t an actual sacrifice, but tossing it onto the Fire (the Almighty’s presence) of YAHUAH can bring about blessings upon our individual and collective bodies. Thus, these days of wood offerings are opportunities for BYA to spiritually prepare for the fall Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), Feast of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). Those who disregard, or knowingly reject wood offerings miss a Yah-some opportunity! (2 Tim 2:19-21) Adonai knows them who are His and let everyone that names the name of Messiah depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also wood and earth; and some to honor, some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use and prepared unto every good work.
Like fruit trees pruned to produce more fruit, by removing the dead wood in our lives shows we trust in Yah to help us bear more Spiritual Fruit: (Galatians 5:19-21) The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Torah).
This Shofar closes with some more encouraging words from Paul for the Believers in his time and for today’s Disciples of Yah: (Romans 12:1-2) “I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of Elohim, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Elohim, [which is] your reasonable service. Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect, Will of Elohim.” Shalom, Elder Curt
Announcements
Upcoming FeastAll friends and family of BYA are invited to celebrate our next Pentecost (FirstFruits of Oil) with an outdoor gathering on Monday, September 8, 2025(time and location TBA). Please join us in keeping this Feast of YAHUAH.
Thoughts for Meditation
Isaac Newton, mathematician and physicist in the 17th century - “I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.”
Galileo Galilei (1564 -1642 astronomer) - “When I reflect on so many profoundly marvelous things that persons have grasped, sought, and done, I recognize even more clearly that human intelligence is a work of God, and one of the most excellent.”
Martin Luther - “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”