Cucha amirone jeta pacadique yogome
We know there is always more that needs to be taught: (Titus 1:5)
We know that there is always more to teach Dupade’s believers. That’s how it was for Titus. He was responsible for teaching the believers in Crete about things they had not yet learned. For us here in Tobité, one of the things yet to be taught is the right way to enter Dupade’s house.
I want to tell you about what Dupade’s servant named Titus did concerning what Dupade gave him to do – he did it! He instructed the people there in Crete. What the Apostle Paul asked Titus to do is like what Dupade wants for us believers to do today, and that is to obey what Dupade tells us to do.
No Ayoré person ever refused to obey the bird *Asojna long ago:
Was there ever an Ayoré person anywhere, when we still believed in Asojna, that abandoned her ways and refused to obey her? No, everyone did what she said to do. When Asojna said: ‘Don’t drink water,’ they didn’t drink water. When she said: ‘Don’t suck honey,’ they didn’t suck honey. When she said: ‘When they arrive back to camp after collecting honey, before they can drink water or eat honey they must go through the ceremonial whipping,’ and only after that was completed did they drink water and eat honey.
We call the place where we gather together to hear Dupade’s Words “Dupade’s house.” But Dupade’s true house is each of us who believe in him, and we are called, the house of Dupade that lives.
Dupade is about peace and not confusion. (1 Corinthians 14:31-33)
Asojna forbade the young men to eat when they first got back to the village. And Dupade also has instructions for us concerning coming into his house.
I want you to know that just as the little bird Asojna forbade the young men to eat while hunting honey, Dupade has things that he forbids, also. He asks that we not be noisy in his house, and that we should open our ears and listen to whoever is speaking. When his word says there should not be confusion in his house, I’m sure it means that we are not to be noisy in his house. Dupade doesn’t want us to gather and then to start talking about other things, but rather to come with the purpose of hearing His Words and encouraging one another. (Hebrews 10:25)
You may be thinking that I am scolding you, but that is not what I am doing. In another place we are told to exhort each other. And this is my exhortation – I am reminding you of what you already know – that the one we now listen to is Dupade, just as we once listened to the little bird. We no longer consider Asojna the one to worship and serve, now we serve the living Dupade and do the things he says to do. We used to fear the little bird and that is why we obeyed her, but when we heard that it is Dupade who truly loves us, we responded to his great love and now we obey Him. I am reminding you of how our forefathers once listened carefully to the little bird and did all that was required of them, not ignoring any of the things she asked them to do. And that’s is how we should be with Dupade.
The burning bush: (1 Corinthians 14:40)
Dupade spoke to Moses when he appeared to him in a burning bush, and he said: ‘Before you approach the bush that has fire coming from it, take off your shoes, and then come toward me.’ That’s what Dupade said.
And Moses feared Dupade and quickly took off his shoes. He didn’t ignore when Dupade said, ‘Don’t come near me until you take off your shoes, for the place where I am, is holy.’
When his shoes were off, then it was that Dupade continued to speak to Moses, and he said: “I who am speaking to you right now am the same Dupade your forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob listened to.”
We should not treat Dupade’s house like any other house, and we should not be noisy in his house. Dupade is here with his believers and that is why they should not joke and laugh and whisper with each other.
This is how it was with the little bird Asojna long ago. When an Ayoré would whip one of the young men who was fasting, he didn’t make jokes about hitting the young man’s buttock. He didn’t laugh at all. That’s because they feared the bird.
The earth swallowed Korah and those with him: (1 Corinthians 10:11)
Korah and his friends didn’t like it that Moses and Aaron were their leaders. So one day they scolded them, and Dupade heard it and he defended his faithful servants, Moses and Aaron. He made the earth to open up under Korah and them and they fell in. The earth closed over them, and Dupade sent a consuming fire to burn up the other 250 men who followed Korah, and immediately fire consumed them. Járipe!
And we should fear such a powerful Dupade as that, and do the things he asks us to do, like being quiet and respectful when we come to hear His Words. There are so many things Dupade has asked us to do that we are not doing. And so we are unsure of how Dupade will deal with us. But Dupade’s Words record what Dupade did to Moses’ people; and Dupade wanted us to know about this and that’s why it’s in his Words, and that is why I told you about the earth swallowing Moses’ countrymen. When Dupade is displeased with what we do, he can punish us. When nothing is going right for us, it might be a good thing to go to Dupade and ask him to forgive us for the ways we have displeased him. I think that one thing that would cause Dupade to be pleased with us is to see many believers here in our village gathering to worship him in a respectful way, and then he would bless us here in our village. Let’s not be lazy. Let’s not be lazy about gathering to hear his Words.
It’s true that Dupade said to Moses: ‘Get far away from them for I’m going to destroy them. They have not taken my Words seriously.’ He said that because they acted like Dupade was a common thing and they did not fear Him. They worshiped the image of a bull that one of their leaders made for them, and they even called it Dupade. One of Dupade’s believers in vain tried to convince Dupade not to destroy the people, but Dupade was determined, for he hated what they were doing. He wouldn’t listen to the believer that tried to get him to stop. He totally disregarded his counsel to not destroy those who worshiped the image of the bull.
And it’s like that here in our village when Dupade is displeased with what we are doing. So when one of us prays about a dry spell, he might pray in vain, because Dupade is displeased, and he doesn’t do what He is asked to do. He doesn’t open his ears.
There are two kinds of sickness:
You remember that some time ago I taught you about the two ways a person can be sick. Our human suffering has to do with our bodies, according to Dupade. On the other hand, there is a sickness that takes place in our souls and that is caused by sin. Our sin is like a sickness in our souls. (Psalm 66:18)
But if a person confesses his sin to Dupade, then Dupade does something very special for that one. He forgives his sin, and that person is completely well and clean again.
I’m telling you this because you’ve heard that when Dupade approves of the people in a village, he answers their prayers and they have enough food and don’t go hungry. He can rid us of sicknesses when we have faith in Him. And when we are in right standing with him, he can pour rain down upon us and we won’t have poor harvests. The neighboring places might have poor harvests, while we who put our trust in Dupade to give us good harvests don’t experience hunger.
The coming of the Lord is drawing near: (James 5:8)
What Paul said to Titus, that dear young man of long ago, was very true. He said: ‘Titus! I left you on the isle of Crete so that you could teach the people in their town. There were other things that I had not yet told them about Dupade’s Words. So, tell them about those things so that they can do them, too,’ he said. He went on to say, ‘If you are faithful to tell them these things, they, also, will believe in Dupade,’ he said.
And these words that Paul told Titus were true. And what I’ve been doing here is what Titus had to do in Crete – I have explained to us a new thing that no one has taught us before. And that new thing is that we should be respectful in Dupade’s house.
You know how I’m always mentioning the Lord’s return to earth, and how he’ll leave those who oppose him here on earth but take his believers. Well, when he comes then, soon he will also judge the world.
When you drink the wine you remember Jesus’ death:
Since we took very seriously our worship of the little bird, we should now take very seriously our worship of Dupade, doing what he tells us to do and not being disrespectful in his house. You realize that I’m speaking to all of us, adults, and children. You know how our forefathers worshiped the little bird by doing exactly what she told them to do and not flying over any of her commands. This is what she said to the men and the young men: ‘While you are out in the woods don’t eat anything, and don’t drink water,’ she said. And like that, Dupade gave instructions about eating and drinking.
This is what Jesus told his disciples to do: ‘Drink this juice until I come again,’ he said. He said: ‘Eat this bread until I return, and then I’ll know that you haven’t forgotten me,’ he said. But we haven’t been doing this thing that Dupade has told us to do.
It’s true that up till now we haven’t been doing what Dupade said to do here in our village. For Jesus said: ‘Drink this juice for it is the likeness of my blood that I spilled out for you,’ he said this to the believers of that time. He said: ‘I spilled out my blood for your sins and it is my blood that gets rid of the sin in your hearts,’ he said to them. ‘But the likeness of my blood is this juice.’ And he went on to say: ‘When you drink it, remember my death, and do this until I come back.’
And this is something we have not been doing that Dupade said to do. When the little bird said: ‘Eat when you get back, but not until they have finished whipping you,’ they waited until they were whipped before they ate. And Jesus said something similar; he said: ‘If you want to do what I ask you to do, then continue eating the bread until I return,’ this is what he said.
And the little bird said: ‘Drink water after they have whipped you.’ And like this, Jesus said: ‘Drink the likeness of my blood until I return, and then I’ll know that you haven’t forgotten me,’ he said. And this is something we haven’t been doing – eating the bread which is the likeness of Jesus’ body, or drinking the juice of the fruit which is the likeness of his blood.
‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’
Something else we haven’t been doing is what Jesus spoke of when he said: ‘Be pleased to do things for me.’ He went on to say, ‘What you did for my followers, you did it for me,’ he said. And this is something else that we are not yet doing, giving offerings to Dupade here in our village to help other people.
I’ve counted three things that we are not yet doing that Dupade told us to do here in our church where we are in his shadow. And I’m going to tell you something else that Dupade told us to do: ‘Be quiet in Dupade’s house so that my servants can more easily tell my Words to you,’ he said.
Dupade wants to hear his songs from our throats: (1 Corinthians 14:26)
Now there are four things I’ve mentioned that Dupade asks us to do. Because he also said: ‘Sing my songs, sing them for me. I want to hear them from your throats.’ And there is a fifth one we have not been doing.
Certain things were important to the little bird: when they were away from camp they were not to eat or drink water. And only after they were whipped after returning, could they drink water.
And it’s this way with what Dupade asks us to do. And these are not things we lack knowledge of. We know about these things, but we are not yet doing them. Therefore, Dupade could be saying to me as Paul did to Titus: ‘*Davidé, I left you in Tobité so that you would tell your fellow Ayoreos about things in my word that have not been brought to their attention.”
But I don’t know if Dupade is saying these things to me as Paul did to Titus and Timothy, but I feel like he is saying this to me: “I left you in Tobité. I sent you to Tobité to teach the Ayoreos who live there.”
But not only were Paul, Titus and Timothy and me, (Davidé) commissioned by Dupade to teach people. No doubt he has left Josuéde and Jómone in Tobité also to teach you, for these men know Dupade’s Words also. I know that Dupade told the people who lived long ago what his will was for them, and I think he speaks his will to us also, just as Paul told Titus what Dupade’s will was for him when he said: “Titus! I’m leaving you there on that island in the big waters. I want you to teach the people there from Dupade’s Words and tell them the things I did not have time to teach them when I was there.”
I have not yet taught you about some of the hard things:
But I think I have taught you many things from Dupade’sWords, except the things that are hard and that I don’t fully understand yet. I haven’t taught you about them. But the day will come that I will teach you these things; that is, if Dupade gives me understanding, and if Jesus has not yet returned, and if I haven’t died yet and been carried away by Dupade. On the other hand, maybe Dupade won’t come for me yet, maybe he won’t give death to my body, then I will teach you the parts of Dupade’s Words that are complex and difficult.
People in the world have many different gods:
It’s said that people in the world that do not believe in Dupade, make temples for their gods, and put their idols in these temples, and when they go into them, they go in quietly. And they remain quiet while they are taught. Their goal is to listen to the teachings, so they can understand some of it.
It’s like this, too, in schools where children are taught. The children are quiet while they are in school. Their goal is for the children to have open ears and to listen well to their teachers and to learn the lessons.
And that’s what my teaching was about when I told you that Dupade doesn’t like lots of noise and confusion in his house. That’s because Dupade wants us to listen quietly to his Words. And then he can see that his Words are important to us and that we love him when we are quiet in his house.
Ecarai’s closing words:
It’s very beautiful when Dupade’s believers honor Sunday as the day to study Dupade’s Words. And it’s the believers who should stay in camp to listen to Dupade’s Words. On the other hand, for those who do not yet believe in Dupade, the meetings are uninteresting. That’s why they go to hunt honey. Or they go to work on their gardens. Or they go visiting.
These things I’ve taught might sound like I’m scolding you, but I think for Dupade’s true believers it’s been a good message. It’s like when a father takes his young son aside and counsels him, his son listens to his father’s words. Maybe you can think of me as a father who teaches you about Dupade’s Words and you will look forward to hearing my messages on Sundays. And when the message is over, we can know that Dupade is pleased with us, and we can feel free to work on our gardens or do other things. That’s all.
Key
* Asojna – The bird the Ayorés worshiped was a type of owl/hawk
* Davidé – Father of David, the name Ecarai took when his son was born
Dupade – God
Jaripe – Onomatopoeic sound of fire burning something
Fly over – Ignore, not pay attention to
Ecarai – Tobité, Bolivia – 1970
Transcribed by: Faith Wyma.
Translated to English by: Maxine Morarie.