Bow – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty Mon, 19 Jan 2026 01:56:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cropped-headerlogo-32x32.png Bow – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com 32 32 Worship – Part 1, What is Worship? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/worship-part-1-what-is-worship/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=worship-part-1-what-is-worship Sat, 16 Sep 2023 05:26:42 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=28337 Audio Download

Worship – Part 1, What Is Worship?

Introduction

God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

[Study Aired September 16,  2023]

In the late 1950s, as a youngster of about four to five, I increasingly became aware of God. I never liked ‘going to church’ on Sunday mornings in our neighbor’s Holden station wagon (Australian version of a Chevrolet) driven by a chain-smoking woman; her high heels kicked off and stockinged foot on the ‘go pedal’ flat to the boards as she cackled and talked non-stop. The car jiggled and danced sideways on the dusty corrugated gravel road like a middle-aged Shakira performing “Hips Don’t Lie” (conjectural). Well, the twitchy backside of that old car didn’t lie with the stench of cigarette smoke, lean-fuel exhaust and dust. It always made me feel ill ~ a wonderful prelude for a dreary Presbyterian church service. 

My dad had been getting the Plain Truth and broadcasts from the Radio Church of God at about the same time. I clearly heard the seductive broadcasts at 11 p.m. from my bed. Unaware to me, this predatory ‘woman’ (church) on the airwaves was the Lord’s way of arousing my spirit at such a tender age. Her etched ‘abuse’ was captivating and dreadfully alarming for several years until, at age 13, I was fully taken by her. I was unwittingly seduced.

Ecc 7:26  And I find more bitter than death the woman [Babylonian church], whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

For the interim at the Presbyterian church, with the congregation, heads cocked this way and that, looking suitably ‘holy’ and pretending to look entranced, the minister would raise his chin, look at the back wall, and theatrically say, “Let us worship.” I feared not knowing God, yet I hated this form of ‘worship’ (the only one I knew) with a passion! I couldn’t wait for the same rally car-driving woman to frantically pump the bellows of the old manual wind-driven organ with the other stockinged foot, signalling I could go home. What a wasted last day of a precious weekend before being tortured at school!

Thankfully, the Lord gave me a way of escape from worshiping her and me (1Co 10:13).

What is Worship?

The term “worship” existed in God, who became the Father before the fowls of the air as a shadow of angelic beings, including Elohim, were created. God’s creation of our Lord Christ made Him a Son, and what the Son sees His Father do, He amplifies to glorify (worship) the Father. The Son subsequently created the heavens and the Earth to worship the Father in what They had agreed. Lord willing, we will see that worship is all-encompassing, as God is intrinsically in every detail of whatever existed in spirit before and after the physical creation. He is the epitome of perfection and purity Himself without any outside influence. He is omnipresent in His seeming unfathomable worship of purity that he is.

God the Father is the ultimate ‘word.’ The creation of His Son, Christ epitomised the Word – God’s purity – expressed as “worship.”

When the Lord swore His guarantee to save the world through Abraham, He effectively worshiped the purity intrinsic to God by His actions.

Heb 6:13  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Heb 6:14  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
Heb 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he [Christ, Abraham and mankind] obtained the promise.

The Lord swearing by himself is the same manner of God being “I am” in which all things are Is, Was and Will Be. He is the personification of worshiping himself by the purity of being him – “I AM” – the omnipresence of him without a beginning.

Exo 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

In the purity of “I AM”, our Lord did all that the Father had told him by the vow He, as God, alone could carry out. He thus worshiped the Godhead and, most notably, the Father.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word [Elohim/Christ/Word], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

“In the beginning” of what? Creation, of course, since God, who became the Father, incomprehensibly pre-existed in ‘God-purity’ without a beginning.

Joh 1:2  The same [The Word/Christ] was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3  All things were made by him [Christ]; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was [slowly became] the light of men.
Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

The rest of the world not chosen by God to be the Elect comprehended not since they were and still remain in darkness.

Col 1:12  Giving thanks [worship] unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 
Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness [of the abussos, the deep], and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 
Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 
Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in Earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities [spirit angelic beings], or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he [existed as the first of creation] is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us [the Father and Elohim, the “Word”; two, not three] make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the Earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth. 
Gen 1:27  So God created [began the slow and detailed process of spiritually creating mankind; man wasn’t created in God’s perfect image of the heavenly] man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Man, in being created in God’s image, begins with man’s highly malleable mind for deception in preparation for truth, the age-lasting act of creating him in God’s perfect image.

Gen 1:20  And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [the birds who shadow Christ and His heavenly angels] that may fly above the Earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Upon God creating the Son, the Son became the creator extension of His creator Father, for which all things past and present are created by Him, for which the heavenly host shouted for joy.

Job was chided by the Lord for his self-righteousness and appropriated ‘holiness’ above God’s! Our Lord said to Job,

Job 38:4  Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Job 38:5  Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 
Job 38:6  Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 
Job 38:7  When the morning stars [all present angelic host and now man] sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 

Although Job didn’t have a sustained level of the holy spirit to endure a changed heart, he was partly re-created as a representation, a shadow of us being spiritually recreated in our Lord God’s image. Upon Job seeing how loathsome his righteousness was, he worshiped God when he says,

Job 42:1  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 42:2  I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. 
Job 42:3  Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Job 42:4  Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 
Job 42:5  I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 
Job 42:6  Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

There are many expressions for the term “worship” that all with varying strengths of intensity mean worship. The Lord’s many verbalisations of His love for us evoke worship of Him without directly stating the action. Every aspect of Mark 12:30, including all the verses above, expresses worship of God without using the term “worship.” Some of those terms seen in the preceding verses are “giving thanks”, being delivered from the powers of darkness, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart”, to name a very few evocations of “worship.”

As previously expressed, worship has many nuances that all express the act of worshiping. The first verbalisation of “worship” in scripture is in Abraham’s disquieted trust in the Lord through his profound commitment through obedience to sacrificing Isaac.

Gen 22:5  And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship [H7812], and come again to you. 

Gen 22:10  And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 
Gen 22:11  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 
Gen 22:12  And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

By not withholding his only son even from a brutal sacrifice, Abraham expressed the epitome of having no other gods before God, thus implicitly affirming his worship of God!

Let’s now study the word “worship”, and its tense expressions worshiped and worshiping. 

All of the above expressions directly relate to bowing down before the Lord. The below expressions of worship, worshipeth, and worshiping likewise involve bowing before God. 

“Worship” profoundly means expressing our deepest honour and respect for God with every nuance of our mind and body in spirit and in truth by obedience to his commandments, intimately declared by bowing before him, particularly in spirit.

Every aspect of the physical creation points to the spiritual reality of God the Father and Christ, the Godhead. Sara wonderfully demonstrated spiritually bowing to her husband, Abraham, by calling him Lord. She characterised the Bride’s reverence (worship) for Christ, her husband.

1Pe 3:4  But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
1Pe 3:5  For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
1Pe 3:6  Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. 

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

The very first commandment is,

Mar 12:29  And Jesus answered him [one of the scribes], The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mar 12:30  And [being intrinsic with hearing] thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 
Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

There you go! Intrinsically, those verses embody worship and have the same meaning as the first listed commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exo 20:3). By those definitions, loving a thing equates to worshiping that entity. Since we are to love our spouse, we effectively worship him or her. However, we do not put them or any other created thing in heaven or Earth above God; if we do, we break the commandments of God.

Exo 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 
Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 
Exo 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love [H157] me, and [How? By keeping] keep my commandments.

Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Loving God is keeping his commandments, which embodies every aspect of worshipping Him.

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 
1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

When we lawfully or unlawfully love a thing or person more than God, we have created another god more significant than the God who created us.

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 
2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
2Ti 3:4  Traitors [to God], heady, highminded [above the word of God], lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;<

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will [Love of God above all things by keeping the commandments] of God abideth for ever.

The following verses graphically express Jesus’ love for our Father through keeping all of the Father’s word. That act is worship in action.

Luk 4:3  And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
Luk 4:4  And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Luk 4:5  And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 
Luk 4:6  And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Luk 4:7  If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
Luk 4:8  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

While growing up in those previously mentioned Babylonian Christian churches, I only knew the worship of God meant a hollowness I could never properly identify. The Worldwide Church of God appealed to me because it seemed to answer all the prophesied fearful events of the Bible with a credible correlation of the holy days. No church other than the Seventh Day Adventists and one or two others ever taught the meaning of the Lord’s festivals and holy days; not that the WCG understood it spiritually one little bit!

Lord willing, we will begin the fascinating study of how the nuances of the above verses, and substantially the rest of the Bible, relate to worship.

By the Lord’s dragging of the Body of Christ and me, we have moved from the figurative Whore of Babylon driving a smelly Chevrolet further into the abussos (the deep) to our Lord’s chariot of fire into His heavens. Elijah’s transfiguration and departure is its representation.

2Ki 2:11  And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah [The Elect of God] went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

We have laid the foundation for what it means to worship. Next week, Lord willing, and by the conveyance of His chariot, His word of fire, we will study detailed worship and how not to worship Him.

]]> Zec 10:1-12  “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1Co 3:6) https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/zec-101-12-i-have-planted-apollos-watered-but-god-gave-the-increase-1co-36/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=zec-101-12-i-have-planted-apollos-watered-but-god-gave-the-increase-1co-36 Thu, 03 Aug 2023 18:56:24 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=28045 Audio Download

Zec 10:1-12  “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1Co 3:6)

[Study Aired August 3, 2023]

Zec 10:1  Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. 
Zec 10:2  For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. 
Zec 10:3  Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. 
Zec 10:4  Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. 
Zec 10:5  And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. 
Zec 10:6  And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them. 
Zec 10:7  And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. 
Zec 10:8  I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. 
Zec 10:9  And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. 
Zec 10:10  I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. 
Zec 10:11  And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. 
Zec 10:12  And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD. 

In our last study of Zechariah, we talked about “the burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus” and saw how the word burdenH4853 represents the effect God’s word will have on the hearts and minds of those who are learning of God’s judgments in their earth (Isa 26:9-10, Jer 22:29).

These verses (Isa 26:9-10, Jer 22:29) show us there is a process of judgment upon mankind, that has a ‘beginning of sorrows’, just as we read of in Matthew 24:8, and an ‘ending of sorrows’ that will happen for most people in the lake of fire when every tear will be wiped away (Rev 21:4). It is only those in this dispensation of grace who come to see the man of perdition on the throne of our own hearts, typified by the abomination of desolation [“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)“], who will spend the rest of their earthly existence fleeing “into the mountains” which represent the strength of Christ to whom we look in each other as the body of Christ (Psa 121:1-2, 1Co 11:1, Psa 119:114).

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 
Isa 26:10  Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. 
Jer 22:30  Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. 

Psa 119:114  Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. 

Hearing the word of God, and even being judged by God, does not preclude that that person or nation will change their ways, and it certainly does not mean they have become a new creation through Christ (2Co 5:17). It is the mystery of iniquity that is hidden from the world and already at work spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-9 that prevents or withholds this spiritual change from happening.

2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

We all at first naturally confuse the victory God gives us over physical sins of the flesh via miraculous physical healings in our life and equate it as being Christ’s righteousness being revealed in the new creation (Mat 7:22). In reality, it is a shadow of the righteousness of Christ and at the same time strong delusion for those who don’t see it as such. Christ’s miracles never changed the heart of anyone, and were miracles that demonstrated a shadow of the greater works that the body of Christ would be given to do with God’s spirit within us, even greater works than what Christ did seeing these new works were going to bring about spiritual healing (Joh 14:12, Rom 8:9)

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? 

Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

It is God’s elect who will administer His judgments throughout the earth when “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Chapter nine reveals the powerful way in which Babylon will fall in one symbolic hour (Rev 18:10, Rev 18:17-19) via the rod of iron God will use to humble the nations through the elect (Rev 11:15, Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5, Rev 19:15). 

Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 
Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

That humbling of the nations does not bring about conversion but will leave an undeniable witness of how God can overthrow the weak and beggarly elements under which we all initially held in bondage. Only by the grace of God we do not go back to them as typified by Israel wanting to go back to the bondage of the pleasures of sin for a season in Egypt even after the Lord overthrew their enemies, who typify their bondage and slavery to sin (Heb 11:25, Exo 15:1-16). The loosing or binding of Satan, in other words, is all a work of the Lord to show us how we cannot overcome unless the son of God sets us free (Rev 20:7, Joh 8:36). 

The ability to judge the nations is given to those who have suffered and been judged in this age (1Pe 4:12, 1Pe 4:17), and the hope-filled message at the end of chapter nine reveals the reward and blessing that comes upon those who are blessed to endure until the end (Zec 9:14-17, Mat 24:13)

Zec 9:14  And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. 
Zec 9:15  The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
Zec 9:16  And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 
Zec 9:17  For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

The latter rain is what we will be looking at in this tenth chapter of Zechariah, which represents the word of God, the “corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids” that with which the elect will fill the world, saturating the unconverted masses with the truth of the true gospel of Christ. We will be leaving an example for the ages to come that all the planting and watering in the world, even with Christ and His Christ on this earth, does not bring about any spiritual increase, which is always given by God at the exact appointed time that it was purposed to be so. The elect takes on that role which Christ had when He was in His flesh, bringing forth the word of truth, performing miracles, but not converting anyone (1Co 3:6-9, 1Jn 4:17).

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 
1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1Co 3:8  Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
1Co 3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

Zec 10:1  Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
Zec 10:2  For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.

The true latter rain God brings through His great cloud of witness to the world during the thousand-year reign of the saints spoken of in the first verse of our study (Jas 5:7-8, Heb 12:1), is contrasted with the “diviners” of Babylon who have spoken vanity (Mar 7:7) and told “false dreams” in the second verse (Jer 23:32), whose comfort is in vain (2Pe 2:17-19, Jud 1:16) leaving the flocks to go “their way as a flock” being troubled because there was no stay of bread or water (Isa 3:1) but only a negative empty cloud of witness, from those who were no shepherds at all but false apostles (Jud 1:12, 2Co 11:13-15). 

Jer 23:32  Behold, I am against them that prophesy lying dreams, saith Jehovah, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boasting: yet I sent them not, nor commanded them; neither do they profit this people at all, saith Jehovah.

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8  Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Jud 1:12  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 

Now a new thing is happening. Babylon has fallen, and the latter rain is being given through the elect via “the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.” The field (Mat 13:38) is the world, and what the world produces via the word of God starts off as grass [God’s word received in immature ears] that will feed the beasts of the earth which men are in God’s eyes (Ecc 3:18). 

God uses Elijah as a type of the elect to show us how it is through our fervent prayers God will “give them the showers of rain” in due season (Jas 5:16-20). Elijah prayed twice, the first time asking that it not rain for three and a half years, the same length of time as the two witnesses’ ministry, who represent the body of Christ. These witness to the world but don’t convert the masses who can’t yet receive the true gospel message and be washed by it. Our ministry in Christ is primarily for the body of Christ today and is not for converting the masses, although we are to do good to all men, especially the household of faith who are being sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the word in this age. During the thousand-year reign of the saints, God’s children are now known and seen and heard, and even looked to as saviors (Oba 1:21, Rev 3:9).  Again this is all just another witness of how that witness will not bring about any spiritual increase until God grants it in the lake of fire.

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

The second time Elijah prayed (“And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit”) typifies the time when the world will begin to bring forth spiritual fruit. The planting and watering come from the body of Christ [our fervent prayers], but the increase comes from the Father, or it does not, all according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11).

The word of God is not a joyful burden to the world, but as we saw in chapter nine of Zechariah, God’s word in the unconverted heart is “the burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus”, also described as “the burden of Jehovah” in Jeremiah 23:33-34. If we see God’s word as a burden, then we must not have Christ in us bearing that burden, and with such a heart we bring a curse upon ourselves by not being given to recognize that the word is not a burden but rather “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom 1:16, Rev 19:1).

Jer 23:33  And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of Jehovah? then shalt thou say unto them, What burden! I will cast you off, saith Jehovah. 
Jer 23:34  And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of Jehovah, I will even punish that man and his house. 

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 

Rev 19:1  After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: 

Zec 10:3  Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.
Zec 10:4  Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. 
Zec 10:5  And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.

God will use the elect who are typified by Judah, who is likened to a “goodly horse in the battle” as the means by which His wrath will be shown to the nations. “Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats.” The only reason the elect can accomplish this is because we have been judged and made ready to be kings and priest because of the day of our judgment or visitation we have gone endured, “for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah” (1Pe 4:17, 1Pe 4:12, 2Ti 2:12, Jer 5:14).

Out of the church, typified by Judah, comes forth the zeal of the Lord described in these terms, “Out of him came forth the cornerH6438, out of him the nailH3489, out of him the battleH4421 bow,H7198 out of him everyH3605 oppressorH5065 together.H3162”

The Corner

The church will have every angle covered with Christ as the chief cornerstone of their lives, and all our accusers will be made silent in Christ (Eph 2:20, Rom 8:1-2, 1Ti 1:9).

The Nail

The word “nail”H3489 is the same word that describes the “pins“H3489 which are used in the construction of the temple (Num 3:37, Num 4:32, Deu 23:13). When the temple of God is fastened together properly, each joint supplying what is needed in love, the body or temple is strong (Eph 4:16). The nail or the pin represents the word of God that must destroy the man of sin within us and protect the body of Christ, figuratively killing everything that breathes (Jdg 4:21).

Num 3:37  And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pinsH3489, and their cords [Ecc 4:12, Joh 2:15-17, Heb 12:6].

Num 4:32  And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pinsH3489, and their cords [Ecc 4:12], with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

Deu 23:13  And thou shalt have a paddleH3489 upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

Jdg 4:21  Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nailH3489 of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

The Battle Bow

The battle bow, as we saw with our last study, is the instrument God uses to execute His judgments in the earth (Zec 9:13). We are stretched [bowH7198] of the Lord to do a battle, feeling like we are really involved in the fight, and we are involved as we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, acknowledging that it is the Lord working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure, which is to win the battle (Php 2:12-13, 1Sa 17:47).

Zec 9:13  When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. 

1Sa 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

EveryH3605 OppressorH5065 TogetherH3162

This phrase “every oppressor together” is another way of saying the entire united body of Christ that is likened unto Gideon’s army will oppress the enemy together, overcoming through the strength that this unity brings, as a threefold cord. That process of judgment represented by the ‘three’ in a “threefold cord” cleanses the temple as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior (Rom 12:5, 2Pe 3:18).

Verse five then goes on to describe what this united front in the Lord can accomplish, “And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.” Notice it is they and them who are doing the battle together, and because the Lord is with them, the enemy they come up against will be confounded, “and the riders on horses shall be confounded.” So verse three talks about the positive “goodly horses” that will come up in battle against the negative “riders on horses” of verse five who shall be confounded.

Zec 10:6  And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.

In this verse God declares that all the world will be saved. The house of Judah which is strengthened represents the elect who will be used to save the house of Joseph, symbolism that is shown in this verse where Joseph is represented as Judah [the elect] who is talking to “the house of Joseph” which can represent the world (Gen 45:5). 

Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 

Joseph brought them again to place them in a place where they could grow and mature, having mercy upon them, “for I have mercy upon them.” It would take time, but eventually the conscience of the brothers of Joseph (the world) will be washed, which typifies how God is greater than our hearts (1Jn 3:20), our sin which does so easily beset us (Heb 12:1, 1Jn 2:1). Joseph was used by Pharaoh, who is a type of God the Father, in the same way the elect will be used to show mercy to the world, wiping away all the tears of the world and extending great mercy to them as it had already been extended to God’s elect first. “For I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them” (Rom 11:27-32)

Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 
Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Zec 10:7  And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. 

Being the son of Joseph and the one who was blessed by Jacob (Gen 48:19), Ephraim represents the elect who have been blessed to live by the faith of Christ [Joseph], which is why it says “Ephraim shall be like a mighty man” (Php 4:13). Our hearts rejoice “as through wine” as the word of God quickens us (Joh 6:63) and “their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD” represents the rest of the world that will come to know these wonderful works God has performed to the sons of man. They will rejoice as they come to understand that our being saved first, as a kind of first fruits, will ultimately result in their being saved in the great white throne judgment (Oba 1:21).

Zec 10:8  I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. 
Zec 10:9  And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. 

Speaking now of Ephraim’s children who represent the inheritance of the saints,  (Gen 22:17-18, Gal 3:16) the following verses discuss the captivity all humanity must go into before they come out of it, “I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: [2Sa 14:14, Oba 1:21] and they shall increase as they have increased [now they shall spiritually increase as our children (Gal 4:27)]. And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.”

Gen 22:17  That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Gen 22:18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

It was in the “far countries” of Babylon into which we first go that we are gathered out of by the grace of God “and they shall live with their children, and turn again.” This is where we remember the Lord, symbolized by this moment with the prodigal son in Luke 15:17.

Luk 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

Zec 10:10  I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. 

Again, we see the process of judgment that must happen in order to be saved in this next verse: “I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.” Both the elect and the rest of the world will go through this process, each man in his own order.

In this verse we learn how the world goes into “the land of Egypt” and are gathered “out of Assyria“, both symbols of Babylon out of which God’s people are called first. Then we are brought into “the land of GileadH1568 and LebanonH3844” and are told God will not be “found for them.” These places, Gilead and Lebanon, represent our yet self-righteous carnal stage in our walk when we are “East of the Jordan” and not yet understanding that we must be baptized into His death (Rom 6:3) dying daily, as the temple of God (1Co 3:16). We may be heirs of the inheritance, but we are not ready to rule at this stage, and only if God permits will that be the case (Gal 4:1-2, Heb 6:3). 

Zec 10:11  And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. 
Zec 10:12  And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.

In order for us to go onto perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32), we must experience all these things inwardly: “And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.“

How we will accomplish this transformation of no longer being conformed to this world (Rom 12:2) but to the mind of Christ is then revealed to be by the strength of the Lord, “I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.”  

It takes the ‘Apollos and Paul’ in us, meaning a witness of Christ working in us as we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, to then be given the increase that comes from God, as He wills these things and does these things in the lives of the peculiar and zealous body of Christ (1Co 3:6-7, Tit 2:14, 1Pe 2:9).

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 
1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

1Pe 2:9   But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Zec 10:12  And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.

]]> Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 66 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/foundational-themes-in-genesis-study-66/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=foundational-themes-in-genesis-study-66 Thu, 09 Oct 2014 16:16:19 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=8537 Foundational themes in Genesis – Study 66

(Key verses: Gen 21:14-34)

We are discussing the foundational theme of faith as we are learning from Abraham as God’s Old Testament type of the route the faith of Christ will take us on. The faith of Christ opens up His refreshing waters through His Word as Christ (and His Word) is the true well of living water (Joh 7:37-39):

Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her [the woman at the well of Jacob], Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14 but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life.
Joh 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come all the way hither to draw.

In the beginning God made clear distinctions between two dimensions which are seen throughout the scriptures, by using various metaphors, for our edification concerning the way in which He works with mankind (Gen 1:1; Gen 1:4; Gen 1:16; Mat 9:16-17; Mat 10:34; Joh 6:63; 1Co 15:45; 2Co 3:6; Heb 9:13-14). One of these metaphors is the clear separation God established between the waters above the firmament (which is a symbol of His spirit life in His Word) and the waters below the firmament (relating to the physical life and its concepts):

Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Like this woman at the well of Jacob, we are first introduced to the waters of our physical well through the first man Adam, with all his natural desires, before we can receive and appreciate the true spiritual waters in Christ, the last Adam (Joh 6:3; 1Co 15:45-49). In this discussion we also see this dichotomy of these two Adams as it also played out through Abraham and his two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. The theme of wells is used in Genesis 21 in relation to the gift of the faith of Christ and how these physical metaphors make the spiritual application of faith understandable in our own lives (Rom 1:20; 1Co 10:11). Here is the first well we read of in this passage in Genesis 21:

The well of water for Hagar and Ishmael

Gen 21:14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water [this bottle is actually a skin bag that can contain water], and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
Gen 21:15 And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
Gen 21:16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot. For she said, Let me not look upon the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
Gen 21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad. And the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not. For God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Gen 21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand. For I will make him a great nation.
Gen 21:19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
Gen 21:20 And God was with the lad, and he grew. And he dwelt in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.
Gen 21:21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

Abraham is not only a spiritual type relating to our walk in the faith of Christ, but also in the way he obeyed God and His commandments diligently. Abraham obeyed God despite his own deep-seated fleshly attachments, even in letting Hagar and Ishmael go and trusting that God would provide for them. Through the faith of Christ, we learn that God is the Faithful One who knows what He is doing, as He is most excellent in all His ways (Deu 32:4; Psa 145:17; Isa 28:29). So many times we worry what will happen to those whom God takes away from us as if our worrying can achieve something good which God cannot do. How silly our religious flesh is, and how convincing the deceitful beast is when we confess with our unbridled tongue that we believe God, but our hearts and actions testify to the opposite:

Jas 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

Ecc 5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
Ecc 5:4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

Ishmael was already older than fourteen years at this stage when Abraham had to let him and his mother, Hagar, go from his household as commanded by God through Sarah (Gen 21:9-12). They were given bread and water by Abraham and he surely provided enough for them to last for some time.

These supplies from Abraham all point to what the fleshly provisions are all about. The flesh was never created by God to last forever or to fulfill our spiritual needs – it was a temporary shelter made marred and corruptible as from the hand of the Potter – the way God designed this from the beginning (Gen 2:7; Gen 3:19; Jer 18:4; Rom 8:20):

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Our first body of dust is given as a temporary tent in which we must wander and sojourn in the wilderness of our earthy lives until this earthly water is spent, as it is indeed placed also in a temporary skin bag (Joh 3:5-6). The skin indeed has a shine, like Moses’ skin shone for a short period after he was given the law on Mount Sinai (Exo 34:28-30; 2Co 3:13). All that fleshly glory is veiled for the elect who knows that glory is short lived and will be abolished (Eph 2:15; 2Ti 1:10). Within this time in our wilderness we are given to tend the things of the flesh:

Rom 8:5a For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh….

Our Hagar and Ishmael stage is a very important aspect in the growth of our faith, as we first need to know the depths and delusions within the time of our own spiritual bondage and ignorance (Ecc 3:1-11). The revelation of Jesus Christ includes the unveiling of the old Adam – “the man of sin” created by God for His purposes (2Th 2:1-12; Rev 1:1; Rev 1:8; Rev 1:11). We can recognise our own Hagar and Ishmael if we can see them in our own Arabia and Jerusalem “which now is”:

Gal 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise [the holy spirit of promise – Eph 1:13].
Gal 4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

Hagar and Ishmael represent our time in the wilderness of Arabia, which is our fleshly convictions and understanding of the things of God. This Mount Sinai in our Arabia is our carnal elevations of pride when we are convinced that we are spiritually mature enough to worship the Father in spirit and truth. This is what “Jerusalem which now is” in us achieves as appointed by God, when we say we can see and are not even aware of our blindness and immaturity:

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

When we believe we can see, we are made blind to not even grasp that we are in lustful bondage of selfishness and self-elevation. This is when we are married to our fifth fleshly husband like the woman at the well of Jacob:

Joh 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Joh 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
Joh 4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Joh 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

The number five relates to “grace through faith”, and in this case it reveals the negative aspect of faith (‘dead faith’) when we drink the waters of flesh and think they can satisfy us. Our fifth husband represents our intimacy with this ‘dead faith’ when we speak foolishly in a multitude of idle words about the worship of God without the works to prove it in our lives (Ecc 5:3; Mat 12:36-37; 1Ti 5:13; Jas 2:17). This also relates to physical Israel, who also wandered in the wilderness for forty years and was given manna and water, which they believed was the true bread and water from heaven. The flesh cannot stand the true bread and the true drink which gives spirit life because they want to preserve and save their flesh and maintain their carnal concepts:

Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh [His spiritual bread] of the Son of man, and drink his blood [His spiritual water], ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

Even their law, which physical Israel received in the wilderness, was after carnal commandments and could not bring spiritual righteousness and justification before God:

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Ishmael is indeed a son of Abraham, just as the fleshly Adam was a son of God, but as Ishmael was not born of the promise, so is the first Adam, not the true spiritual son of God (Luk 3:38; 1Co 15:45). If we claim sonship, then our words and actions will testify to which we associate – the fleshly offspring or the offspring of the spirit of God:

Joh 8:39 They [the Jews who believed in Jesus “after the flesh”] answered and said unto him [Jesus], Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

The Word of God indeed has an outward application, but for many this physical application is the focus as they also believe in a fleshly resurrection (which some even call spiritual flesh). The outward is just a parable designed by God to also bring spiritual blindness in the multitude to the mysteries of the inward and spiritual kingdom of God (Luk 17:21):

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them [the multitude] in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Hagar’s eyes have been miraculously opened to see what she could not see before, but she could only see the well of water for the fleshly needs for her and her offspring. This well which Hagar saw is indeed a symbol of Jesus Christ, but this Christ is “after the flesh” and not after the spirit (2Co 5:16). She could indeed see, but it was still just about physical things. This well of water which was revealed to her was still under the control of the darkness and its “lesser light” by which the flesh must live (Gen 1:16). It all is contained in our first heaven which is our initial way of understanding things when our “deep” is ruled by the darkness or the night and is devoid of spiritual insight:

Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

When we are given to “rise up out” of these waters and we can walk on the dry land which appears also out of these waters, we are like an elevated mighty beast still filled with pride and lusts. This is our second heaven (Ecc 3:18; Gen 1:9-13; 1Jn 2:16):

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

As Hagar was from Egypt, it made sense that she “took [Ishmael] a wife out of the land of Egypt” as Egypt always refers to the flesh and its carnal convictions and solutions:

“And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.”

In this section in Genesis 21 verses 14 to 21, we also read about the distance of a bowshot and an archer relating to Ishmael in these verses:

Gen 21:16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot…

Gen 21:20 And God was with the lad, and he grew. And he dwelt in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.

Bows and arrows refer to the thoughts of our hearts and words expressed which are used in the scripture for both good and evil purposes (Gen 27:3; Gen 49:22-26; 1Sa 31:3; Psa 18:14; Psa 64:3; Jer 9:8). The references to bows and arrows in this story of Hagar and Ismael connect the negative application, as the aim of the wicked is always to shoot at the upright in heart while this wicked man of sin reviles and opposes the true bow and arrows of the doctrine of Christ:

Psa 11:2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

Psa 37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

It is only the shield of the faith of Christ that can protect the righteous and upright in heart from the arrows of the enemy, and this is why we are taught by God to only use His bow and His arrows – the mind and words of Christ – in all spiritual warfare (Lam 3:12-13):

Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

2Sa 1:18 (Also he [David] bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)

The second well which appears in this passage is the true well of living water in which the world has no interest:

The well of water for which Abraham reproved Abimelech

Previously we met this king of the Philistines in chapter 20 of Genesis when Abraham denied that Sarah was his wife, and this Abimelech took Sarah into his household, but never slept with her. Abraham was rebuked and corrected by Abimelech for doing that and returned Sarah to Abraham. In chapter 21 Abraham met Abimelech again at a well of water over which there was some dispute:

Gen 21:22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
Gen 21:23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
Gen 21:24 And Abraham said, I will swear.
Gen 21:25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.
Gen 21:26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
Gen 21:27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
Gen 21:28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
Gen 21:29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
Gen 21:30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
Gen 21:31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba [“well of the sevenfold oath”]; because there they sware both of them.
Gen 21:32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

The Philistines are used as a symbol of our religious flesh which is not at all interested in the undefiled truth of God’s Word. Here are the words of Abimelech to God which confirms this self-righteous perspective of our flesh:

Gen 20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
Gen 20:5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.

Abimelech represents our carnal ruler of a “righteous nation”, even our own uncircumcised self-righteous Babylonian flesh which has limited communication with God. Abimelech, with his own integrity and his self-righteous innocence, has no interest in this well of water which represents the living waters of the Christ “after the spirit” (Joh 4:10-11; Joh 7:38; 2Co 5:16). The spiritual harlot (Babylon) which is “Jerusalem which is now” is only interested in how they can use the Word of God for elevating their own profile and receive physical blessings (Gal 4:25).

Eze 16:15 But thou [Jerusalem] didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
Eze 16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them.

This true spiritual well of living water is an “odor of death” to those who are peddling the word of God:

2Co 2:15  for we are a fragrance of Christ to God, in those who are being saved and in those who are perishing:
2Co 2:16 to these, indeed, an odor of death for death, yet to those an odor of life for life. And for this who is competent?
2Co 2:17 For we are not as the majority, who are peddling the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God in Christ, are we speaking. (CLV)

Abimelech wanted Abraham to avoid him and his family and his nation which points to how spiritual Babylon rejects those who carry the true testimony of Jesus Christ, even banning God’s elect to their own island of Patmos – the place of dying to this world (Mat 10:39; 1Co 15:31; Gal 2:20; Rev 1:1-2; Rev 1:9; Rev 12:17). This war in our own heavens is seen in the presence of Abimelech’s army chief captain, Phichol, which indicates the hostility of all in Babylon towards those who please God by the faith of Christ in them (Heb 11:6). The Hebrew name “Phichol” means the mouth or voice of all – all our enemies and accusers in the flesh. The flesh is under the control of the dragon, Satan, as appointed by God and this enemy, and all his armies focus on the child of God with whom he makes war in the heavens (2Co 11:1-4; Rev 12:3-6; Rev 12:17). Abraham’s gesture of separating the seven ewe lambs as a gift to Abimelech confirms the truth that faith is only complete in the application or doing of God’s commandments. This also relates to the digging of the well by Abraham which produced the good water as we work out our own salvation by doing God’s commandments as He places and works His Word within our hearts (Php 2:12-13). This is what the works of the faith of Christ produce through us, and only by these works is the Father glorified:

Gal 5:22 But the fruit [the works] of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Abraham is showing us how we are to keep our eyes on the prize of the high calling (the third heaven) which is Christ and His mind and doctrine. This is when we totally rely on the name of the Lord and believe in His sovereignty over all the kingdoms of this world:

Gen 21:33 And Abraham planted a grove [a type of tree] in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
Gen 21:34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.

Abraham found that the joy of the Lord is doing God’s commandments – digging the well and planting the grove, among other works. It is from this well of God that the pure river of life flows and where the tree of life is planted on each side of that river of water, which is in the midst of the paradise of God (Rev 2:7; Rev 22:14):

Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

————

Detailed studies relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:

Building Spiritual Wealth
The Fruit of the Spirit
Why Are the Multitudes Not Given to Understand?
Christ is Preached Even in Babylon

]]>