It is April 24, 2022. Or, on God's calendar, it's the 1st month 21st day or the 7th day of Unleavened Bread, a festival Sabbath and also Firstfruits. We are now counting omer....

Samuel has embarked on a new industrious study. He's reviewing the "613 commandments" the Jews have listed and the accompanying Bible verses. How do they get to 613? Do they match the Bible?...

My study is logging every date mentioned in the Bible and seeing what event happened then. A Bible study friend has asked me to add the events of Esther soon, and I'm glad I did that before our writing the Passion texts [texts that are sent from us during Passion week in order for the recipient to have a "real time" experience of what happened when during this week in Jesus' life/death/resurrection]. I see that, in Esther's time, on the 13th of the 1st month, Haman was before King A, asking for a decree to kill the Jews. Meanwhile, in Jesus' time, around the same time of year (day before Passover), the religious leaders and Judas were plotting to kill Jesus!

Interesting that both Haman and Judas died by hanging and, really, both at their own hands. Haman meant it for Mordecai, but got trapped in his own snare...

I've been thinking about the deep study done over just the last week or so regarding Jesus' life. What if we did that over His entire life? Went that intense with it as we did for the Passion Texts, but for all of His life, death, resurrection, and return to the disciples? Then, I thought about one of the spots I've always been curious about and people have conjectured about, but only Jesus really knows.

When the adulterous woman is dragged before Jesus and the principle of stoning her was brought before Him, [Look at John 7:40-8:11] He said His words. But, He also bent and wrote on the ground. So many wonder what He wrote. Some say their names and sins. Some say just their sins.

As I was picturing Jesus squatting and writing, I'm like, "this looks familiar." Then, I thought of a human finger writing a mystery previously and...aha! Daniel 5! Look at verse 5 -- "Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote." He turned pale and was frightened, then he asked the wise men of Babylon what it meant. They didn't know. The queen came in and suggested he ask Daniel.

Daniel said the king could keep his gifts, told him what he was doing wrong in comparison to his father (Nebuchadnezzar) and how Nebuchadnezzar fell because of his heart becoming arrogant and hardened with pride, thus he'd been deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. But, this king, Nebuchadnezzar's son, didn't learn from that.

"Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from His temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways. Therefore, He sent the hand that wrote the inscription. This is the inscription that was written:
"MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.
"Here is what these words mean:
"MENE: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
"TEKEL: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
"PERES: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." (Dan. 5:23-28)

Belshazzar gave Daniel the purple clothing, a gold chain around his neck, and had him proclaimed as 3rd highest ruler in the kingdom, but he still was slain that very night and Darius (Mede) took over "at the age of 62." (Dan. 5:31).

Another theory about Jesus writing equates it to Jeremiah 17:13, but I'll start with verse 12. "A glorious throne exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake You will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water."

I think that's part of it, too. Jesus is the Living Water. Also, notice that the writing on the wall in the royal palace was NEAR THE LAMPSTAND, where Jesus walks in Revelation. He was writing in the dust, yes, WITH HIS FINGER, as the hand on the wall had. Jesus bent down and STARTED to write, but they kept questioning Him. He stood and said, "...Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7) Then, verse 8 -- "Again, He stooped down and wrote on the ground." First bending down, I wonder if He wrote: "MENE..." Next bend down, He maybe got the rest out -- "...MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN."

He's writing for scholars who know the Bible. They would surely have known both Daniel and Jeremiah well. Perhaps the dual meaning hit them, and they knew they should be cautious. I see parallels between the stories.

Interesting, too, what Nebuchadnezzar said after he'd been driven away to live like an animal, but then raised his eyes to heaven and his sanity was restored. He praised God. And, he said in Daniel 4:37 -- "Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything He does is right and all His ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble."

Jesus was sure able to humble the proud...still is able. <3

The Pharisees had a numbered amount of days to reign and that would be brought to an end. Jesus became our High Priest. They were weighed on the scales and were found wanting. They weren't able to cast the first stone. Their "kingdom" was divided, I'm sure. Not sure how to make that parallel. Hmmm....the curtain was rent so even Gentiles and people of all nations could enter the Holy of Holies. The Jews were scattered. The followers of Jesus went on to make disciples. Jewish leaders continued on their path...divided. Yet, as they accept Jesus, the Kingdom comes together again? Hmmm...