The Beverly Hillbillies
and
Yeshua
It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land, “Married”; for the LORD delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. (Is 62:4)
The Land of Israel married?
Yes!
The full plan of Creation was not for Elohim to create an estranged, distant earth that He found offensive. He...
The Beverly Hillbillies
and
Yeshua
It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land, “Married”; for the LORD delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. (Is 62:4)
The Land of Israel married?
Yes!
The full plan of Creation was not for Elohim to create an estranged, distant earth that He found offensive. He created it so He could walk and talk with His creatures, especially human beings; they were made in His image for just this purpose. The Garden of Eden was the geography of the starting place of this Divine plan, a perfect setting for human beings to become acquainted with Him.
Elohim placed every plant good for food in Eden so they could enjoy the variety of His bounty (with one exception). In other words, He made a most hospitable environment to begin the journey together. The home looked good, smelled good, sounded good, tasted good, and felt good to both the Creator and His creatures.
Sin, however, made the Garden inhospitable to the human beings, and they were expelled. Sin could not inhabit such a holy place. Their disobedient presence had made the Garden also inhospitable to the Presence of their Creator.
“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking [מִתְהַלֵּךְ] in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (Ge 3:8)
The idea of the voice of Elohim descending and ascending comes from this verse. Because Adam and Chavah sinned, Elohim no longer holekh, but mithalekh, as if He were going up and down. It is thought that Heaven withdrew one level when Adam sinned, eventually withdrawing seven levels due to such behavior such as that wickedness that preceded the Flood, then eventually descending with the faith of righteous men such as the patriarchs and Moses. 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 what does all this have to do with the Beverly Hillbillies?
Younger folks may not remember the Beverly Hillbillies, but we older ones not only remember them, we remember when they went from black and white to “living color.” In a nutshell, Jed, Granny, Jethro, and Ellie Mae lived in the wooded mountains of northwest Arkansas. Jed shot at some “food” (it was a possum, so it wasn’t really food) and hit some bubblin’ crude oil instead. They sold the farm to oil men, became rich, and moved to Beverly Hills, a place more fitting of their new wealth. Their neighbors in Beverly Hills were less than thrilled at the hillbillies next door with their strange mountain ways. In contrast, the Beverly Hillbillies extended “a heapin’ helping of their hospitality,” always quick to share a meal or provide accommodations to guests…even a refreshing swim in the “cement pond.”
Their hospitality wasn't something they began because they'd become suddenly rich. It was something they'd practiced in the remote hills when they had next to nothing. In the midst of their inhospitable neighbors, the Beverly Hillbillies created a little island of hospitality. Likewise, an inhospitable earth needed a people who would sanctify a place to invite the Presence of Elohim to His creation once again.
The clue was in the “leaping, ascending, descending” reflexive verb mithalekh (rather than holekh) that described the movement of Elohim after Adam and Chavah sinned, indicating an inhospitable environment for His Presence. Through the agency of the righteous, especially Moses, The Mishkan (Tabernacle) and Mikdash (Temple) provided His Presence the opportunity to dwell before the fullness of the marriage takes place. It will be a full restoration of the Creation plan, both a people and place for human beings to be with their Creator and administer the earth on His behalf.
At Mount Sinai, the Presence descended to an earth that had become inhospitable to Him. Also at Mount Sinai, the Israelites received the instructions for the building of the Mishkan. Its design was based on the pattern of Creation, all the way to the two cheruvim embroidered on the veil.
“The Mishkan represents the fulfillment of God’s purpose in creating the world.” (Midrash to Shir 5§1)
Mankind and the earth were created so that Elohim could descend to the Garden, the holiest place on the planet, and fellowship with his most holy creation. Mankind was to create and maintain the atmosphere of hospitality in the Garden. The Mishkan also was built to do this for times of intimacy and communication. By offering “the food of your God,” the sacrifices, and building a resting place between the two cheruvim as it was in the Garden, Israel hospitably provided a welcoming place for the Presence of Elohim. Of course, He didn’t physically eat the sacrifices, but He consumed the hospitable, welcoming intent of the hearts that offered the best they could afford, something Abel knew, but Kain refused.
As a result of his inhospitality, Kain was driven from place to place, building cities but never finishing them. Perhaps this was a proper reaping of his inhospitality. Because his murderous, stingy heart contributed to the earth’s continued inhospitality to the Creator, Kain suffered the inability to dwell permanently in one place. Israel, however, is a people restoring the heaping helpings of hospitality by obeying the mitzvot in the earth…from generous hearts. Through faith in Yeshua, who said, “If you love me, keep my mitzvot,” they sanctify their lives to him, and he likewise promised to dwell with those who love and obey him:
“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (Jn 14:23)
Through Yeshua, humankind can create a hospitable home for the Father once again. It is what we were created to be and do. The word “hospital” is related to hospitality. It is a refuge for the traveler to rest and heal in comfort from the journey. It is a little Garden of Eden we prepare in our hearts in the midst of an inhospitable world that rages against their Creator. It is our preparation as little tabernacles and temples of the Ruach HaKodesh to one day marry and live in a married Land.
“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven.” (2 Co 12:2)
The Third Heaven is thought to be the Lower Garden, Garden of Eden, or Paradise. It is the realm that withdrew from the earth when Adam and Chavah were expelled from it for their inhospitality. It is also where the palace of King Messiah is thought to be, referred to as “The Bird’s Nest,” or Kan Tzippor, just above the Temple Mount. Indeed, Yeshua lamented, “How many times I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks…but you would not.” (Mt 23:37) Inhospitably, Jerusalem, the Holy Hill, killed the prophets.
Another level of Eden, or Upper Garden, is thought to be just above the Garden of Eden, the Lower mirroring the Upper. When New (Renewed) Jerusalem descends, Eden will once again merge with the purified earth of the Promised Land below it and “marry” it, for it will be hospitable to the Presence. Obedient. Generous. A heapin’ helping of hospitality to the Creator from the Holy Hillbillies.
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