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Awesome Hands - part 137 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – part 137

Ye murmured in your tents”

July 1, 2018

Today’s study finds us starting the book of Deuteronomy. As it has been with all of the awesome hands series, we will be look at each time the word hand or hands is mentioned within the book.

For this study, our first mention of the word hand comes as we read how the Israelites are told to search out the land and to go in and possess the land.

Deu 1:20  And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us.
Deu 1:21  Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
Deu 1:22  And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.
Deu 1:23  And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:
Deu 1:24  And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.
Deu 1:25  And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.

It is easy to read this story and immediately imagine that the Israelite spies were spying on a land, saw the land was “good” and then reporting back to Moses what was found. This did happen this way, but there is a lot more than meets the eye on what we are being told spiritually.

Christians today are promised a land, but we too REFUSE to possess it. We certainly know in this body of believers, that the Lord is workings ALL THINGS, but why is it that we too murmur against the Lord when He tells us to possess the land that He has set before us?

For myself, I see myself on the page when He tells me to “fear not, NEITHER BE DISCOURAGED”.

I find it interesting that the Lord sends His spies to the valley of Eshcol, or the valley of “cluster” (H812).

H812
'eshkôl
BDB Definition:
Eshcol = “cluster”
1) an area of Hebron, the valley of Eshcol
2) an Amorite, the brother of Mamre, dwelling in Hebron
Part of Speech: noun proper locative, masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: the same as H811

This Hebrew word is the same as H810 according to the BDB.

H811
'eshkôl
BDB Definition:
1) cluster
1a) of grapes
1b) of flowers (metaphor of lover)
Part of Speech: noun masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: probably prolonged from H810
Same Word by TWOT Number: 178

When you follow the word path all the way to it’s conclusion, we see that the BDB says that H811 is “probably prolonged from H810”.

H810

'eshek
eh'-shek
From an unused root (probably meaning to bunch together); a testicle (as a lump): - stone.
Total KJV occurrences: 1

H810
'eshek
Total KJV Occurrences: 1
stones, 1
Lev_21:20

When we look at the only time this root of “Eshcol” is used, we find a very interesting set of verses.

I did a study awhile back, http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/awesome-hands-part-120-brokenhanded/, which covered these verses due to having the word “brokenhanded” contained in them, but the concept of “broken stones” is just as applicable.

Lev 21:16  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 21:17  Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
Lev 21:18  For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
Lev 21:19  Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
Lev 21:20  Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
Lev 21:21  No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.
Lev 21:22  He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
Lev 21:23  Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

In the above mentioned study I write, “At first glance, the verses we are going to cover today do appear to be very cold-hearted of the Lord. After all, who needs mercy more than those who have afflictions of which they themselves have NOT caused to happen to themselves?”

What an “earth shattering” concept! I then write about these verses, “Simply put, and expressed by the Lord, no one with a blemish is permitted to approach the altar of the Lord! Anyone with a blemish is not even allowed to go in unto the vail because they have a blemish.

I wonder who, among all human beings, do not have a blemish? Of course, there are some folks out there that may be great physical specimens from among humanity but even they have physical blemishes.

However, I think anyone in the body of Christ will be quick to realize that this has much more to do with spiritual blemishes than those who have natural oddities or “blemishes”.

In truth, the only ones that can have the Lord truly bring forth life in them are those who KNOW who they are.”

Getting back to the verses for today, why would it be significant that the Lord causes Moses to tell the spies to search out the land, and they land they search out is the “valley of Eshcol”?

Notice what the spies bring back as “proof” of the land.

Deu 1:25  And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.

As I alluded to in my previous study on the root of this word Eskcol, the “land” and the “fruit” of the land, has much more to do with spiritual types than it does with the physical land they were in search of.

The Lord promised a land flowing with milk and honey to the Israelites, and this is a land which has many good fruits. However, the land itself is very deceiving because the land is occupied and POSSESSED!

Deu 1:26  Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God:
Deu 1:27  And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
Deu 1:28  Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.
Deu 1:29  Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
Deu 1:30  The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
Deu 1:31  And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.
Deu 1:32  Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,
Deu 1:33  Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.
Deu 1:34  And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,
Deu 1:35  Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,

There is such a wealth of spiritual riches contained within these verses if only we could take ahold of it and hold onto it for spiritual life!

Listen to the spirit within the Israelites and hear it echo within your own hearts and minds. “You murmured in your tents and said Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.”

How unbelieving can we be? Well, this isn’t just the Israelites, but this is you and I at our appointed time.

The rebellion against the commandment of the Lord is that thy DID NOT BELIEVE the Lord their God!

The Lord has guided us and directed us all the days of our lives, yet we rebel. He has searched out a place in His kingdom for us to pitch our tents, IN FIRE BY NIGHT, to show us the WAY WE SHOULD GO, but we rebel.

Why do we do such a thing? Well, it is because we are carnal, and we are of mankind. We are corrupted, but that is NOT the end of the story.

It is while we were in this corrupted state, while in BONDAGE, that the Lord came into Egypt to FREE US, and all He asks of us is to REMEMBER this. He didn’t free us to then LEAVE US TO DEATH! He freed us to lead us to LIFE, to lead us the way to the promised land of LIFE in His kingdom.

Notice, the spies take fruit OUT of the land and say the land is “good land”. What if, we can apply what we have learned from Jesus Christ in the New Testament and discover that it is what we take INTO the land that matters and not what we take OUT of it.

Spiritually speaking, the rebellion of the Israelites and their judgment for rebellion is shown to us in the type and shadow of being denied entry.

However, their FRUIT or SEED was NOT denied!

Deu 1:36  Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.
Deu 1:37  Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.
Deu 1:38  But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
Deu 1:39  Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

See, it is not what ENTERS a man that defiles him, but it is what is already there from WITHIN that defiles him.

When talking about the land, we are talking about US.

Mar 7:14  And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
Mar 7:15  There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
Mar 7:16  If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

The “fruit” that is already in us, before the Lord goes before us to show us the WAY to the promised land, and to lay it out before us to take ahold of, is CORRUPT fruit of the flesh and carnal mind.

It is “of man”.

However, the fruit that we want to produce comes only by way of the Lord GIVING it to us.

You might be saying to yourself that the Lord GAVE the promised land to the Israelites, but the truth is that the Lord gives the land to the FAITHFUL. He gives it to those who BELIEVE. Those that believe are GIVEN their BELIEF.

Deu 1:32  Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,

Deu 1:36  Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that HE HATH TRODDEN UPON, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.

The land that is given to us is the land that is PLACED under our feet with OUR BELIEF that the Lord will DELVIER the LAND to us.

So, again what land are we talking about? It is a land full of giants and “evil” fruit because “by their fruits you shall know them.

Listen to how Timothy describes this.

2Ti 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
2Ti 1:6  Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up THE GIFT OF GOD, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
2Ti 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2Ti 1:8  Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, NOT ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
2Ti 1:10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

It is for the purpose and grace of God that He has freed us form Egypt and He wants us to remember that it is HIS WORKS that have laid out the way before us of which we are to go into the promised land and possess it.

HAVE FAITH.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Remember that land Caleb had trodden upon? How does one “trod” any land without WALKING on it?

It is through FAITH that we do anything, and it is a gift of God.

Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The fruit unto holiness we have now is that which has been gifted to us.

How then does this manifest itself in our lives practically?

Well, how does the Lord think about things? After all, His ways and thoughts are above our ways and thoughts.

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Again, I ask how do we LIVE BY FAITH and how does that manifest itself in our lives practically?

We live AS IF a THING is ALREADY accomplished!

Isa 55:10  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

The Lord has PROMISED us OUR LAND, the LAND He has MOLDED for YOUR TAKING!

He has prepared it for the day of your arrival to it, but your arrival to it is with the FRUIT OF HIM IN YOU!

Rom 4:12  And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

Rom 4:16  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Rom 4:18  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Rom 4:19  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

Whenever we have any thing we are dealing with in our lives, we should walk by Faith. Walking by Faith is an ACTION. It is an act of doing that which we BELIEVE is TRUE.

We do those things were are not as though they were!

What do I mean by that? I could give many examples, but I will give an easy one.

When the housing bubble happened in the USA in 2008, my wife and I came into hard times like a lot of people did. We eventually were brought to the point that we could not keep our first home.

We had only been there a few years, but the set of events we found ourselves in with me being laid off, and us spending all of our savings on the purchase of our home, had us struggling to the state of losing everything.

Well, we continued to believe that the Lord had us there for a reason, and He would deliver us a way out. How this practically worked is multifaceted, but one way in which this played out practically is how we continued to build our credit back up.

It wasn’t back to where it needed to be, but we LIVED as if it were. We continued to work hard, paid our bills on time, saved money, and day by day, month by month and year by year we did what was required to get us back to where we wanted to be.

Eventually, we were able to purchase our current home and reap the benefits of those day by days and week by weeks.

We lived in FAITH that the Lord would provide for us as He saw fit.

We also knew and believed that the Lord works all things after the counsel of His own will, and it just happens that the Lord blessed us in this way. We lived our lives as if we had already arrived at our goals, so that when they did happen, we were already COMFORTABLE with it being a reality.

No matter what issues we have, we as children of God must LIVE as if the Lord has already done the thing He has promised will happen.

In the context of the study today, we must realize that the Lord promises us the promised land, but that is only half the battle so to speak. We must be willing, by Faith, to go in to possess it.

Whatever demons or giants we face, we must kick out the possessors and go in and possess the land ourselves! Live as if you have ALREADY conquered those things that need conquering in your life.

That does mean we do not need to actually CONQUER the giants, but BELIEVE they are conquered before the war has ever begun.

Count the cost and know the Lord has given you the funds to achieve victory.

If all else fails, and you find you are still lacking faith, PRAY for MORE and we will pray with you!

Cleanse that “dumb spirit” as if it were already removed!

Mar 9:17  And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
Mar 9:18  And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
Mar 9:19  He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
Mar 9:20  And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
Mar 9:21  And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
Mar 9:22  And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
Mar 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Notice, the boy was NEVER destroyed, but was PRESERVED so that the Lord could one day, on this day, come and DELIVER HIM.

Mar 9:28  And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Mar 9:29  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Pray, fast and LIVE as if the Lord has already delivered you from the land which you are to possess.

Soon, you will find that the land has been delivered into your hand and is trodden under your feet.