Therefore thus says ADONAI YAHWEH to them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. I, YAHWEH, will be their ELOHIM, and my servant David prince among them; I, YAHWEH, have spoken it.
Ezekiel 34:20-30
…
They shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the animals of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. I will raise up to them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more. They shall know that I, YAHWEH, their ELOHIM am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says ADONAI YAHWEH!
Shalom, I’m Abigail Ben David!
How She Came to Know Messiah
I witnessed how my parents’ faith made them different. I could see the Holy Spirit in them and evidence that they had a real relationship. I vaguely remember asking my Mom about it when I was very young and praying with her to ask Yeshua into my life. I felt the Holy Spirit and witnessed the evidence of God’s presence ever since.
One of my first real experiences with faith was when my Brother Solomon’s finger accidentally got caught in the door. He lost the very tip of it. Fingernail and all. The Doctors said that it wouldn’t grow back and that they might have to do an operation to graft skin on it. There was a waiting period to see if it was needed. They told Mom to keep it clean and bandaged. Then they’d see how it turned out and decide whether to operate based on its progress from that point. They said it would never grow back to normal. We all gathered around every night as Dad and Solomon prayed for God’s healing. I still remember Dad holding it up every night before bed and asking God to heal it. I remember we all prayed as well throughout that time. When we went to the appointment and the Doctor took off the bandage, he was surprised to find that it was indeed healing and that the operation wasn’t necessary. We were told Solomon likely wouldn’t have a fingernail anymore, but even that was growing back! His finger grew back to normal and is healthy to this day. We were all encouraged and strengthened to know God’s healing power.
Her Testimony
Growing up, I was fortunate to witness the positive effects of Holy Order between my Father and Mother. I’m grateful for their guidance. From an early age, I remember Mom instilling the desire to learn and seek answers. Sitting on the couch while learning to read, practicing math facts, studying the science of nature, she always had a way to tie it into worshiping our Creator. She was/is always an inspiration to seek God and His truth. (Both my parents are, but focusing on Mom right now.) Mom, in all her own ways, living life the way she did, being herself, inspired me to want to live my life for God.
A lady once asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I answered, “A woman of God.”
She laughed with slight frustration and said, “But you’re already one! I mean, what do you want to do when you grow up?”
I remember I felt confused. To my parents, being a man or woman of God wasn’t about merely believing in Him. It was about giving their whole lives to do what God wanted them to do. About being free to do whatever He asked of them whenever He asked it. That’s what I wanted to be, and I couldn’t imagine how a goal like “become a ballerina” or “be an astronaut” could possibly be worth anything compared to that.
I’ve fought to become the kind of person that’s capable of giving God that ever since. Now that I’m older, I’m fortunate enough to have a way to contribute to the Ministry. But I have so much more to learn about being a woman of God. And there’s so much more growing I have to do to bear fruit. That’s why I’m glad to have these discussions and witness what God is doing with His other women!
How Messiah’s Praiseworthy Women has Impacted her
As the host, I’m in the very fortunate position to ask for wisdom from Proverbs 31 women each month. It’s been wonderful to connect with so many Godly women and learn from the wisdom and experiences that they have to share. I also love watching them grow in their walk as we all continue on this journey together. Each month, it’s like God is teaching me a new lesson. Both reminding me of things I thought I knew, and teaching me so much more. I’m grateful to God and everyone who participates on the panel or comments as part of the audience.
Favorite Scripture Verse
Therefore, thus says ADONAI YAHWEH to them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad; 22 therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 I, YAHWEH, will be their ELOHIM, and my servant David prince among them; I, YAHWEH, have spoken it. 25 I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil animals to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 The tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am YAHWEH, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them. 28 They shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the animals of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up to them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more. 30 They shall know that I, YAHWEH, their ELOHIM am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says ADONAI YAHWEH!
Ezekiel 34:20-30
The devil has had far too much success among the people of God. We are scattered to the 4 winds across thousands of denominations, schisms, and sects. Our faith, our spiritual health, our souls are injured, and the truth is muddied. So much has been taken from us. We’ve been robbed of the leadership God’s own Son came to earth, lived, died, and rose again to establish. The Covenants of promise are distorted and warped into alternate, modern, church-friendly versions if they’re taught at all. His Word and ways are taught either as religious legalism or they’re done away with altogether under the name of easy grace. Either side’s religious doctrine was diabolically designed to get people just close enough to God to feel satisfied they know Him, while holding them just far enough away to keep them from ever becoming a real threat to the devil or his hordes. For generations, we have been trapped in this ever-worsening, sad state. We truly are the dry bones of Ezekiel 37.
I love Ezekiel 34 because there YHWH promises to give us HIS leadership, HIS ways, HIS judgments, and HIS restored nation. He promises that we will be slaves to the nations no more and that we will be free to be men and women of God without hindrance. No more will we struggle to keep the Sabbath and make a living because all our jobs will be on Holy Time. Need encouragement to keep the Torah? You’ll actually have people to talk to about it that know the struggle and have something other to say than “Follow the world” or “Here’s some random religious doctrine a Babylonian scribe made up 3,000 years ago”. The waters will no longer be muddied. His sheep no longer oppressed. And I will witness the healing of His Remnant Nation.
