Worthy Brief - 9/4/2026
Friend, the storm revealed what the dry sesaon hid!
Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Yeshua (Jesus) often used examples from nature in his parables, and this one comes from a danger every Israelite understood. In the hills and wilderness, there are many dry riverbeds called nachal (נַחַל) in Hebrew. During summer, these riverbeds are quiet. The sand is smooth, the walls provide shade, and there is no water. It is the easiest place to build because you do not need special tools or much effort. You can simply start laying stones.
However, wise people in Israel understood what happens to a wadi when it rains. Storms can hit the hills far away, and the dry ground cannot absorb the water, so it rushes into the riverbeds all at once. A dry wadi can turn into a river within minutes, without warning. The water arrives suddenly, carrying rocks, trees, and anything built in its way. Those who have not seen it may not believe it, but those who have never forget.
This is the main point of the parable. Two men, two houses, and one storm. Yeshua uses the same words to describe the storm for both men: the rain fell, the floods came, and the winds beat against the house. He wants us to see that both men faced the same test. The difference was not the storm, but what each man did before it arrived.
The wise man, the chacham (חָכָם), built his house upon the rock. Luke tells us he dug deep to reach it. That means he labored while the sun was shining and the wadi was still dry, when no one else could see the urgency. To dig through hard ground in the dry season can look like wasted effort. No visible storm justifies it. But the wise man is not building for the weather he sees. He is building for the flood he has been warned is coming, because he trusts the Word of the One who told him it would come.
The foolish man is not called evil, nor is he said to reject Yeshua. He listened to the same teachings, the same Beatitudes, and the same call to follow the narrow path. He just did not act on them. That is the only difference between the two houses. In Hebraic understanding, hearing and doing always go together; shema (שְׁמַע) means to hear and obey. If someone hears but does not act, he has not built on the rock, no matter how much he likes the message. From the outside, his house looks the same, but the flood reveals the truth.
This is why Yeshua places this parable at the very end. As He concludes the Sermon on the Mount, He says, in effect, everything I have spoken to you is bedrock. Dig down to it. Build there.
The Psalms have long called God the Rock, tzur (צוּר). "The LORD is my rock and my fortress" (Psalm 18:2). "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (Psalm 61:2). When Yeshua says His words are the rock, He is placing Himself where only God stands, and He is telling you that obedience to Him is the one foundation the flood cannot move. David said it plainly, "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it" (Psalm 127:1). The wadi builder labored. He just labored in vain.
Also, notice the mercy here. Yeshua is warning you ahead of time that a storm will come. He is not making a threat, but giving you a chance to prepare while there is still time. Every challenge you have faced, and every one still to come, is like a flood in the wadi. He has told you how to stand firm when it happens.
This is a life of ashrei (אַשְׁרֵי), the truly blessed life. Blessed is the one who took the Word seriously in the dry season, when obedience looked unnecessary. Blessed is the one whose foundation was laid in secret and revealed in the storm. Blessed is the one who, after the rain has descended and the floods have come and the winds have done their worst, is still standing on the Rock with the house intact.
Friend, the dry season is a gift. This is the time to dig deep. Take Yeshua's words and put them into practice now, while life is calm, in the everyday moments where obedience matters even if no one notices. Each act of following His Word is like adding another stone to your foundation. When the flood comes—and it will—you will see what the storm was meant to show: your life is built on the Rock, and the Rock cannot be moved.
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George & Baht Rivka
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My hope is that people will begin reading, share their thoughts, and leave honest reviews so others can discover the message of the Kingdom as well.
If you’ve been thinking about getting a copy, this is a great time to pick one up.
Available now on Amazon at a special first-week price.
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