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Awesome Hands – part 66

“The remnant”

October 15, 2014

In our previous study covering Exodus 18, we covered the judges being setup of Israel. We covered what and who they represent scripturally, so now we are going to cover why this important event happened when it did.

We know that the timing of this event is important because the Lord has seen fit to place a time frame in the Word to tell us when this happens to us, spiritually speaking.

“In the third month”

Exo 19:1  In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
Exo 19:2  For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
Exo 19:3  And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

As was covered in the previous study, we are now at the “mountain of God”, the mount of Sinai. We’ve had judges set to judge, and now God wants to tell the house of Jacob something.

Exo 19:4  Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
Exo 19:5  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exo 19:6  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

We just read that the Lord, in the third month, called for Moses from the mountain. The message the Lord has is that the children of Israel need to:

1. Remember what the Lord did to the Egyptians
2. Bared the Israelites on “eagles wings”
3. Brought them to Him

As a result of telling this to the house of Jacob, the Lord goes on to tell them to “obey His voice and keep His covenant”. If they keep the covenant they will be a:

1. A peculiar people above all people
2. A kingdom of priests
3. A holy nation

Do you think it is important to “name it and claim it”? In other words, do you think it is important to recognize our calling in the Lord and call it as it is?

How did the Lord bring “them”, the Israelites to Him? It was on eagle’s wings. Why is that important?

Rev 12:12  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Rev 12:13  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev 12:15  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

I realize there is much symbolism in the verses above, so I am going to give brief descriptions of them so that we can see what being “bared on eagles wings” by the Lord is all about.

So, we have a lot of symbols which I am going to list now. I am following a similar pattern which was used by Mike a long time ago when he wrote an email response to a question which pertained to these verses.

I am not going to list the same exact things, but I will use the same method to lay these spiritual symbols out in a visually easy to understand way.

In the verses above we see:

1. Heavens and those dwelling there
2. Inhabiters of the earth and sea
3. Devil with great wrath
4. Dragon persecuting the woman
5. Woman bringing forth the man child
6. Woman with two great eagle wings
7. Time, times and half a time
8. Water as a flood
9. Earth opening up her mouth to swallow the flood
10. War made with the “remnant of her seed” who keep the commandments of God and have the Spirit of Prophesy, the testimony of Jesus

I think you will agree that there is a lot of spiritual symbolism being spoken here. Do not be dismayed because all of these symbols will actually work to prove to us (those given to “see” and “hear”), without doubt, that we are talking about a particular event.

Remember, we are going to relate this to the story we see unfolding in Exodus 19 when Moses is called to tell the Israelites the “words of the Lord” of which they are to obey. This is RIGHT AFTER judges have been set to judge Israel.

We see opposite factions being described with these symbols so we need to identify the different parties involved so that we can determine who it is that rides on eagle wings.

We see those that dwell in the heavens versus those that inhabit the earth and sea. We see devil with great wrath and the dragon persecuting the woman. The devil and the dragon are on and the same as defined in chapter 12 earlier.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

So the woman is persecuted but that woman is also bringing forth the “man”. “Child” is not in the text.

So, it is at the time that the woman is being persecuted with the great wrath of the dragon that the Lord gives her eagle wings to do what? She is given these wings to flee into the wilderness.

“Bare you on eagles wings”

If we connect Exodus 19:4 with Revelation, then we will start to see a pattern in WHO it is we are describing.

Exo 19:4  Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.

The Lord sends Satan to do all the work that the devil needs to accomplish. In the case of the Israelites, the Pharaoh persecuted them with his wrath due to what the Lord has put on his heart and mind. He believed if he didn’t get the Israelites under control they would become greater than Egypt and take over.

We then know the Israelites fled into the wilderness where we now see them being given the commandments of the Lord.

This is a simple question, but what is the PURPOSE of the commandments of God? What do those commandments accomplish?

Those commandments are used to sift those who will obey them from those who will not. Those commandments are used to make a comparison between those who love God and those who DO NOT.

The real kicker is that we do not get to define love. We do not get to say “we love God”, God is my Lord, OUTSIDE OF keeping His commandments.

2Jn 1:6  And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

1Jn 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
1Jn 3:9  Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1Jn 3:10  IN THIS the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
1Jn 3:11  For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

How is it that we know we are DOING the righteousness of God and LOVING our brother? We are not permitted, YEA we are NOT COMMANDED, to define these terms on our own. These terms like righteousness and love are defined for us.

1Jn 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe ON THE NAME of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

Gal 5:14  For  ALL THE LAW is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Is it not becoming clear? We cannot say we love God or our neighbor by our own definitions.

We are to BELIEVE ON THE NAME of His Son Jesus Christ. The name of Jesus Christ is not an English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Latin, Greek or Hebrew name we speak with our physical tongue.

The name of Jesus Christ is THE WORK the Son of God came to do. He brought doctrine and He said to DO IT.

2Jn 1:6  And this is love, that we  WALK AFTER his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should WALK IN IT.

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that WORK INIQUITY.
Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

So again I ask a simple question, but what is the PURPOSE of the commandments of God? What do those commandments accomplish?

The commandments accomplish separating the goats from the sheep. They accomplish who will REMAIN on/in the earth, being seed of their father the devil or seed of the Father in Heaven, the remnant.

The woman can easily be seen as the “house of Jacob,” the Israelites, in this story. It is OUT OF the house of Jacob that a remnant is chosen.

Rev 12:15  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

It was water that was used to baptize those who walked through the Red Sea. It is water that baptized those crossing the river Jordan.

It was water that was used to SEPARATE the “seed of God” from the “seed of the serpent” as was seen with the great flood that Noah and his family experienced.

It is the earth which helps the woman, but after the earth helps the woman the dragon focuses his attention on remnant of the seed.

The dragon has no use for the woman any longer once the remnant of her seed comes forth and keeps the commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus.

Those that are called, which this “woman” represents, are those that GO BACK to their carnal ways, GO BACK to the “earth, earth, earth” where Satan walks “to and fro” seeking whom he may devour.

The “remnant of the seed” represents those who are chosen to keep the commandments of God.

All of this has been stated to set the foundation for the rest of Exodus 19.

Exo 19:5  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exo 19:6  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

For a time, the Lord calls us out of Egypt and Babylon. He bares us all on eagles wings to be brought into the wilderness.

It is easy to say “come out of her my people” and have no clue what that means in scripture. When you evaluate what we are being called “out of” or from, it is to be called into the wilderness to move forward with KEEPING the commandments of God.

As we have seen in scriptures listed, Love is not something we can define outside of scripture. Anyone that is sins is of the seed of the devil, and sin is in us all.

Since we are told to believe on the name of the Son Jesus we can confidently conclude that whatsoever is not of Faith is sin.

So then, the end conclusion is that Faith accompanies DOING the WORK and WILL of God. Without the “WORKING OUT” and walking out of “keeping His commandments”, your FAITH is DEAD.

Jas 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Jas 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Where this leads us is to desiring to know what is it we are to obey. In the story of Exodus 19, this is the very next step the Lord brings us to.

Moses called for the elders of the people and laid before their faces the words of the Lord which has been commanded Moses. Then as a reply, the people answer and said they would do them all.

Exo 19:7  And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
Exo 19:8  And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

Here then starts the judgment of the Lord on the “words out of their own mouths”.

Exo 19:9  And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
Exo 19:10  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
Exo 19:11  And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

Does this not yell out symbolism to the reader and hearer of these words?

The Lord is going to come in a thick cloud to speak to the people so that Moses will be believed forever. The word used here as thick conveys the idea of a dark cloud versus a white or light cloud. A thick cloud brings judgment.

The Lord instructs Moses to tell the people to prepare themselves for the “third day” when He comes.

Did you notice the Lord says He will sanctify the people today and tomorrow and that they are to WASH their clothes?

We are all washed in the blood of the Lamb if we are His but that DOES NOT mean there is not the “keeping of His commandments” to live out.

Being called is not enough. Being chosen is not enough. Being called, chosen and full of Faith is what those who rule with Jesus are all about.

As was pointed out earlier, Faith is accompanied with WORKS.

“Why call me Lord, Lord and do NOT the things which I say”.

In the next study, we are going to finish chapter 19 of Exodus and build upon the premise that those the Lord is going to count as the faithful seed are those who listen diligently unto the words of the Lord and DO THEM.

Deu 28:1  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
Deu 28:2  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.