Numbers 21:1-35  The Fiery Serpent on a Pole

[Study Aired September 25, 2023]

Num 21:1  And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. 
Num 21:2  And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 
Num 21:3  And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.
Num 21:4  And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 
Num 21:5  And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 
Num 21:6  And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 
Num 21:7  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 
Num 21:8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 
Num 21:10  And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth. 
Num 21:11  And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising. 
Num 21:12  From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared. 
Num 21:13  From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 
Num 21:14  Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, 
Num 21:15  And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab. 
Num 21:16  And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. 
Num 21:17  Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it: 
Num 21:18  The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah: 
Num 21:19  And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: 
Num 21:20  And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon. 
Num 21:21  And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 
Num 21:22  Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we be past thy borders.
Num 21:23  And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 
Num 21:24  And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.
Num 21:25  And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. 
Num 21:26  For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.
Num 21:27  Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared: 
Num 21:28  For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon. 
Num 21:29  Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites. 
Num 21:30  We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba. 
Num 21:31  Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 
Num 21:32  And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there. 
Num 21:33  And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei. 
Num 21:34  And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. 
Num 21:35  So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land. 

Introduction

This chapter is about the defeats and victories the Israelites experienced when they encountered in the wilderness, king Arad of Canaan, king Sihon of the Amorites and king Og of Bashan on their way to the promised land. It also chronicles the various stages of the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness as they get closer to the border of Canaan and the fiery serpents sent by the Lord among the people of Israel when they spoke against the Lord for the hardships they were going through in the wilderness.  

As we stated in the previous study, from chapter 20 to the end of the Book of Numbers talks about the history of the fortieth year (which was the last year) of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. Spiritually, it shows us the circumstances leading to our exit from Babylon to possess our bodies (land). As we can see from the word of the Lord, no matter the differences in our circumstances and challenges, all the Lord’s elect go through the same experience.

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

Today’s study shows us some of the battles we encountered as the Lord started preparing us to leave Babylon and the provision the Lord has made to ensure that we become victorious in our walk with Christ in this wilderness of life.

Being Held Prisoners by the Canaanites

Num 21:1  And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
Num 21:2  And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 
Num 21:3  And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.

King Arad, the Canaanite fighting the Israelites and taking some of them prisoners, signifies our being overcome and held captive by our flesh. As we are aware, our walk with the Lord while we were in Babylon was characterized by our flesh dominating us. Although we desired to walk in the righteousness of Christ, we found ourselves being overcome by our flesh. This is what characterized our walk in Babylon or the churches of this world:

Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 
Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

In our desperation, we cried to the Lord to deliver us from our own flesh, or the old man within us, just as the Israelites in verse 3 vowed a vow before the Lord that if He delivers the Canaanites into their hands, they will utterly destroy them. Looking back, we can see that the Lord heard our prayer of desperation as our gradual victory over our flesh is a testament that through us the Lord would completely destroy our old man or flesh, which in this case is represented by the Canaanites.

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:

The Fiery Serpent on a Pole

Num 21:4  And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 
Num 21:5  And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 
Num 21:6  And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 
Num 21:7  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 
Num 21:8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 

As indicated in the previous study, the Edomites did not allow the Israelites to pass through their land, which was the quickest way to the promised land. This means that they have to go around the land of the Edomites as they journeyed toward the land of Canaan. It was very frustrating for the Israelites to go through such a long route, especially when they did not have enough water and food in the wilderness. This is the experience of every elect. The Edomites represent our flesh, and since we did not have what it takes to overcome the flesh when we left the world (Egypt), we have to go round in circles in Babylon where there is lack of the truth of the word of the Lord (lack of water and food). We ended up complaining about our circumstances just like the Israelites did. When we complained, we were basically telling the Lord that He is not in charge of our situation. That is why the Bible enjoins us to resist complaining or grumbling.

Php 2:14  Do all things without grumbling or disputing, (ESV)

1Co 10:9  We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 
1Co 10:10  nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 
1Co 10:11  Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. (ESV)

Php 4:11  Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 
Php 4:12  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 
Php 4:13  I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (ESV)

In response to our complaint, the Lord sent fiery serpents, which signify the devil, to bruise our heels, and therefore we became spiritually worse off or dead. That was the situation of our lives in Babylon – we were spiritually dead. 

Gen 3:13  Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Gen 3:14  The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 
Gen 3:15  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The Israelites being bitten by the fiery serpents is actually the Lord causing the devil to bruise our heels in this life (destroying our walk with Christ) as the Lord told the serpent to do in the verses above. However, that is not the end of the story. The Lord also told the serpent that we shall bruise his head. The bruising of the serpent’s head means that the Lord will provide a solution for us to overcome the devil’s power making us alive in Him or bringing salvation to us first, and later the whole world, by instructing Moses to create a bronze serpent on a rod, whose mere contemplation is sufficient to cure anyone bitten by the fiery serpent. That which cured us of the curse was shaped into the likeness of that which wounded us. The image of the serpent on the pole thus foretells Christ’s crucifixion, which brings redemption to humanity and causes us to triumph over the mortal serpent.

Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 
Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Joh 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33  This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Gal 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

It is insightful to note that in verse 7, Moses prayed for the people when they recognized they had sinned against the Lord. This prayer can be compared to our Lord Jesus’ prayer when He was on the cross and asked the father to forgive the sins of all those who crucified Him. Stephen also prayed the same kind of prayer. We, as the Lord’s elect, must show mercy to people when the Lord gives us the opportunity to show mercy. In the Lake of Fire age, we shall show mercy to all humanity as a result of the mercy we have received from the Lord.

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.

The Journey to the Land of Canaan

Num 21:10  And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth. 
Num 21:11  And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising. 
Num 21:12  From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared. 
Num 21:13  From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 
Num 21:14  Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, 
Num 21:15  And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab. 
Num 21:16  And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. 
Num 21:17  Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it: 
Num 21:18  The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah: 
Num 21:19  And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: 
Num 21:20  And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon. 

After the serpent experience, the first place the people of Israel moved to was Oboth which means ‘waterskin.’ The name of the place therefore means ‘a receptacle used to hold water.’ As we draw closer to our exit from Babylon, the Lord causes us to become receptive to the truth of the word of the Lord. The next place the people of Israel moved to was Ijeabarim which means ‘ruins.’ It is as the Lord begins to open our eyes and ears that we come to see the ruins of the church system (Babylon) of which we are part. From Ijeabarim, they went to Zared which means to ‘be exuberant in growth.’ The little knowledge of the truth we have received causes us to become exuberant in our quest to know the Lord and His words more.

The next stop in the wilderness for the people of Israel was Arnon, which means a ‘brawling stream.’ The truth of the word of the Lord we have received wrestles against the idols of our hearts (false doctrines). After Arnon, the people of Israel journeyed to Beer which means a well. This means that the Lord continues to open our eyes to the truth of His words, but the truth we receive is very limited since the water here is a well and not a flowing stream. As we began to thirst for more of the word of the Lord, we, therefore, like the Israelites sing a song that the well would spring up more water. Being guided by the Lord, we, as princes and nobles of the Lord, begin to dig the well for more water, that is seek for more truth of the word of the Lord. 

Pro 25:2  It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

From Beer, the people of Israel came to Mattanah which means ‘a gift.’ It is at this point we begin to see that the opening of our eyes to see and our ears to hear is not by ourselves. It is all a gift from the Lord. 

1 Pe 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

Eph 2:9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 

From Mattanah, the Israelites traveled to Nahaliel, which means ‘valley of God.’ A valley in the scriptures can signify the Lord’s judgment as shown in the following verses:

Joe 3:12  Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

Joe 3:14  Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

The truth we are learning from the word of the Lord will result in us being judged by the Lord. The purpose of the Lord’s judgment on our old man is to cause us to learn righteousness. 

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:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
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.

From Nahaliel, the people of Israel journeyed to Bamoth, which means ‘heights of Baal.’ It is as we are being enlightened and judged through the fire of the word of the Lord that we come to understand the heights of the failure of Babylon or the churches of this world. From Bamoth, the people of Israel moved to the top of mount Pisgah which overlooks Jeshimon. Pisgah means ‘division’, and Jeshimon means ‘desolation’ or ‘waste.’ This means that we come to clearly see the divisions in the churches of this world or Babylon and also come to see the end of Babylon, which shall be a desolation or a state of complete destruction at the right time designated by the Lord 

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 
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 18:11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

The Conquest of Sihon, King of the Amorites

Num 21:21  And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 
Num 21:22  Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we be past thy borders.
Num 21:23  And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 
Num 21:24  And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. 
Num 21:25  And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. 

When we were in Babylon, we did not clearly see the enmity between our flesh and the new man the Lord is creating within us which is after the spirit. We think we can be at peace with our old man, who is represented here by Sihon, king of the Amorites. We want our old man or our flesh to assist us to serve the Lord just as the people of Israel wanted Sihon to aid them in their journey toward the land of Canaan by letting them pass through his land. However, our Lord wants us to know that we are at war with our old man.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

In verse 23-25, Sihon the king of the Amorites came to Jahaz and engaged the Israelites in a battle and was defeated. The name Jahaz means to be ‘trodden down.’ The fact that Sihon moved to Jahaz means the Lord has taken away his defenses to be trodden down by the Israelites. As a result of the defeat of Sihon, the Israelites dwelt in the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and all their villages. At this point in our walk with the Lord, while He is preparing us to leave Babylon, the truth that we have received together with our fiery trials as a result of His word destroys part of our flesh (Sihon) and therefore, we start to possess our bodies (take over the cities of the Amorites) for the Lord as we learn righteousness.

1Th 4:4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 

Num 21:26  For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon. 
Num 21:27  Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared: 
Num 21:28  For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon. 
Num 21:29  Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites. 
Num 21:30  We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba. 

Heshbon means ‘stronghold.’ As the Lord is preparing us to possess our land, certain habits in our lives that we are not able to overcome which have become strongholds (Heshbon) in our lives are dealt with by the Lord. What we need to understand is that possessing our bodies is a process which takes a lifetime. There are therefore many Heshbons in our lives, but by the grace of God, all the strongholds or habits that are difficult for us to disengage will be dealt with gradually by the Lord for us to possess our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Isa 23:11  He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.
Isa 25:12  And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

Num 21:31  Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 
Num 21:32  And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
Num 21:33  And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.
Num 21:34  And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.
Num 21:35  So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.

As indicated, as we begin to understand the truth of the word of the Lord and our fiery trials begin, the strength of our flesh or our old man begins to be destroyed as the Lord comes with His brightness to consume the old man.  

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:

The defeat of the Amorites at Jaazer and that of Og, king of Bashan, are all symbols of our flesh or the old man that the Lord destroys on our behalf with His coming into our lives. The name Jaazer means ‘helpful.’ This means that Israelites were helped by the Lord in the defeat of the Amorites. The death of our old man or our flesh is a process, and in the early stages of our walk, some aspects of our flesh are dealt with easily, just as the Israelites easily overcame the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.

Psa 124:1  A Song of degrees of David. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say; 
Psa 124:2  If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
Psa 124:3  Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
Psa 124:4  Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
Psa 124:5  Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Psa 124:6  Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Psa 124:7  Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 
Psa 124:8  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

May His Name be Praised forever. Amen!!

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Awesome Hands – part 167

“The Sun stood still”

April 1, 2020

Our study today finds us joining Joshua and Israel in chapter 10 of Joshua. In this chapter, we will find that the Lord does truly hear us when we pray to Him whether He is answering how we’d prefer or in accordance with what the Lord has planned for us.

This should comfort us because the Lord always has the “new man in us” at the forefront of doing what is best for the new man to continually emerge in us. In other words, Jesus will be increasing, and we will decrease, daily, and that means we are more and more like Him as we experience the things the Lord has prepared for us in our lives.

To set the stage for the study today, I am going to read from a section of the previous study starting in Joshua 9:10-13.

Jos 9:10  And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.
Jos 9:11  Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.
Jos 9:12  This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:
Jos 9:13  And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.

Our physical senses are so easily deceived. What we see is not always what is there. You can’t fault the Israelites for seeing with their eyes, and holding in their hands, the moldy bread, spent bottles, and used up shoes and clothes.

The fault is in the conclusions they drew  from what they were SEEING.

Moldy bread does not happen due to a long journey, though that can be one reason. Moldy bread happens from, wait for it……., mold.

If an angel suddenly appeared to you, or you suddenly “heard the voice of God”, what would be your first instinct? Naturally, our instinct would be to instantly worship.  However, our first spiritual instinct, Lord willing, would to be to listen for the voice of the True Shepherd in the voice of the one who suddenly shows themselves or speaks.

Today, we are continuing to see the consequences of the union that Israel made with Gibeon. As it turns out, Gibeon was a “great city” and they were fairly threatening to their neighbors because their soldiers were highly respected.

As a result, the other kings decided they must band together to take on Gibeon and their new found alliance.

Jos 10:1  Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
Jos 10:2  That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.
Jos 10:3  Wherefore Adonizedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,
Jos 10:4  Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.
Jos 10:5  Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.

Given that there was an agreement of peace made between Gibeon and Israel, the other kings then feel threatened due to fear. Fear is a very powerful emotion as it turns out. Fear causes many things to happen in our minds and hearts with most of those things being quite irrational.

When talking about the current coronavirus scare we are going through as a collective world today, I often comment that the fear people have of not having a job, food or shelter will lead many into doing whatever it takes to help themselves and their loved ones survive the current situation.

Getting COVID-19 creates a fear in people that they are going to die when most of the people who get it will have mild cold-like symptoms. That isn’t to say that COVID-19 isn’t deadly for some, because it certainly is, but when you see the numbers, graphs and charts, COVID-19 is being survived by most people.

However, the collapse of societal norms will be what most come to fear and react to.

Bringing this back to the study, these 5 kings fear the union between Gibeon, who they already consider mighty, and Israel who have already proven that they are capable of waging and winning wars.

This fear will ultimately lead to the utter destruction of these 5 kingdoms.

Jos 10:6  And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.
Jos 10:7  So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.
Jos 10:8  And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.
Jos 10:9  Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.

While reading Joshua 10:9, I noticed just how closely it is worded to how Jesus comes upon those whom He is going to visit “in the night”.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Yet, that isn’t the full “picture” of what the visitation of the Lord means for those who it means something to, i.e. the children of the Lord, the children of the light.

1Th 5:1  But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

Is it possible that we can apply this knowledge to any situation we encounter today including the current unrest we see the world over with COVID-19?

1Th 5:2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Notice that “they” is being contrasted with “ye” or “you”. “They” are being compared with the children of light.

1Th 5:4  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

It is always interesting to ponder why certain things are said next to other things that are said in scripture. Notice that those that sleep are being compared with the same group who are also drunken.

Well, we can become drunk on wine. In this case, because we are talking about the day of the Lord and His visitation in the night, we can see the linkage between the day of the Lord and the wrath of the wine of God.

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

In the study titled, “Confidence in the Lord”, we talked about the will of God being directly connected to thinking and speaking as Christ does when He knows that He must go on to be crucified. We too must always have the same mindset of  “thy will be done”. This is what allows us to continue the process described in 1 Timothy 5:8-11.

1Th 5:8  But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
1Th 5:11  Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

We are going to need to have the protection of the Lord in order to get through this war in our heavens that we are in. Faith, hope, and love are mentioned together here for good reason. All of these attributes, our pieces of armor as described, are what protect us from the wiles of the devil and everything else that is going on around us.

The Lord fights for us, so who can be against us? He clothes us with all of the armor that we need. Under that armor, He clothes us with His righteousness, therefore who can stand against the Lord?

The day we are reading about is like no other before or after it. Spiritually, this day of the Lord being visited upon His enemies is the start of the destruction of the old man in those who are visited.

Jos 10:10  And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
Jos 10:11  And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
Jos 10:12  Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
Jos 10:13  And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
Jos 10:14  And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
Jos 10:15  And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.

The Lord fighting for Israel has never changed. It fought for physical Israel, and He continues to fight for spiritual Israel … those Jews are Jews inwardly.

Jos 10:16  But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah.
Jos 10:17  And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah.
Jos 10:18  And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them:
Jos 10:19  And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand.
Jos 10:20  And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities.
Jos 10:21  And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.
Jos 10:22  Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.
Jos 10:23  And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
Jos 10:24  And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.
Jos 10:25  And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.
Jos 10:26  And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.
Jos 10:27  And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
Jos 10:28  And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.

After reading all of these verses, it is easy to conclude that the nations and kings whom the Lord sends us to, for slaughter, are indeed slaughtered. However, as with all things we are considering in scripture, we should be looking to the inside if the cup, toward the heavenly places, and taking the wrath of the Lord to those places within us.

When we read about these southern Canaanite kings, we should be seeing these kings within ourselves. How do we recognize a king or a giant “within the land”?

Well, I am not the best person to consult to figure this out for you. The Lord is the best person to consult because He will reveal to us what it is that needs to be adjusted. It is all up to Him whether or not a giant or a king is slain (they represent the same thing), but we are still in the FIGHT. How do I know this to be true?

Jos 10:25  And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.

The Lord will do the killing THROUGH you to those enemies He has sent you to fight. This is no different than “work out your OWN salvation with fear and trembling”.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

Are we not talking about salvation? Does this not sound like the same thing with only the timeline and characters being different? You versus Joshua and your enemies versus the southern Canaanite kings?

Let me remind you:

Jos 10:9  Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.

1Th 5:6  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Joshua came “unto them suddenly at night” tells us that this event is much more than Joshua killing these kings in war. This is about how the salvation process works in the children of the day, the children of the light.

It is the trial of our faith that is precious to the Lord. The “faith part” He gives out freely to those whom He gives it to, but it is the TRIAL and the OVERCOMING which helps that Faith be ALIVE.

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold thatperisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Jas 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Jas 2:21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Jas 2:22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
Jas 2:23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Jas 2:24  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Jas 2:25  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
Jas 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Here is this moment in time where the Faith of Israel, in type, was accompanied by works. Now, I do not read the following verses to bore you . I read them to help solidify just how “on your side” the Lord is. However, He is on our side for the benefit of bringing good from evil in our lives.

Jos 10:29  Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:
Jos 10:30  And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.
Jos 10:31  And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it:
Jos 10:32  And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
Jos 10:33  Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.
Jos 10:34  And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it:
Jos 10:35  And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
Jos 10:36  And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it:
Jos 10:37  And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
Jos 10:38  And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it:
Jos 10:39  And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.
Jos 10:40  So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.
Jos 10:41  And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon.
Jos 10:42  And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.
Jos 10:43  And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promises toward us. He will fight for us, but it will be THROUGH us. We are a part of the process according to what He has willed for us.

Our battles are MENTAL and SPIRITUAL. Our fights are in the heavens. We must always be diligent in consulting with the Word of God when we need to gain more Faith or strength so that we can continue to fight the good fight.

The Sun of righteousness still fights for us today. This is obviously something that happened physically for Joshua (the sun standing still along with the moon), but it is something that happens even today spiritually in type because we are the children of the Light and the Lord fights for us to overcome the world in us.

PART I (Aim High) Psa 105:1-8
PART II (Get the big picture) Psa 105:9-15
PART III (Keep your eyes moving) Psa 105:16-22
PART IV (Always have an out) Psa 105:23-37
PART V (Make sure people see you) Psa 105:38-45

PART II (Get the big picture)

Psa 105:9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
Psa 105:10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
Psa 105:11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
Psa 105:12 When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.
Psa 105:13 When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;
Psa 105:14 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;
Psa 105:15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

Last week in the first part of our study entitled “O give thanks unto the LORD”, we gave thought to the incredible prize toward which we are pressing (Php 3:14) and how the sacrifice of praise on our lips is a fruit which plays such an important role in reminding us that it is the Lord’s works within us, including that fruit of praise on our lips, which help us mature within the body of Christ (Heb 13:15). God’s people are learning to acknowledge Him through that praise, and that He is the one working all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11), both to will and to do within us (Php 2:13) as He restores us through our daily battles in this life and leads us in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.

2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

We can aim as high as we want and set as lofty a goal as we want in our own heart, but at the end of the day the great lesson for God’s people, which will be witnessed to all the world in time, is that the works that have been ordained for his children are works that were predetermined from the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4, 2Ti 1:9). Those works started and were predetermined with the very things that God caused us to commit unto him and were established by God to witness that He is the one who gives the increase (Jas 4:15, 1Co 3:6), and that “except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” (Psa 127:1).

Psa 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Psa 37:6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.

We all must labour a complete seven years for Rachel only to find out that we were labouring for Leah, who represents our own works (Gen 29:18-30), and “if God permit” we will be blessed to be dragged to Christ (Joh 6:44) and come to learn of the grace and faith process by which we are saved through Him (Eph 2:8). God’s elect are those who are first blessed to acknowledge Him as the one doing those works within the unprofitable servants which we are (Luk 17:10). Jacob was unknowingly not working seven years for Rachel, but for Leah and was given Rachel after he “fulfilled her [Leah’s] week”. This allegory was written to remind us that one day the world must come to acknowledge the unprofitableness of our own service in the earth, which was by our own might and power and unable to acknowledge the Lord Who was working all things. We naturally reject Christ’s work even while we claim that we know Him because of the miracles and casting out of demons which we are convinced prove that relationship is legitimate at that time.

Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Joh 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

Mat 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

Isa 4:1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

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.

It will take more than acknowledging the work of faith that He alone has been authoring in our earlier labours for Rachel which only produced Leah (Act 17:28). Rather, it will be through the affliction and trials which try our faith as we continue in that faith, that will mature us in Him (Joh 8:32) throughout the rest of our life in Christ so that we can be saved (Mat 24:13). That saving process is symbolized by the complete seven years service which Jacob gives Laban for Rachel, and it is those symbolic labours that bring us unto perfection on the third day which represents the first resurrection that God willing we will go unto through patient continuance in well doing.

Luk 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

All of the miracles which Christ did in the earth, the healing of eyes and ears, were also symbolic labours just as Jacob’s labours which he thought were for Rachel. Those labours [prior to being married to Rachel] pointed to the time when the “greater works than these shall he do” of the seven years when Jacob laboured for Laban and was married to Rachel which typifies the time that we now have a relationship with Christ in earnest and our labouring to enter into the kingdom of God, and are able through the power of the holy spirit to bring spiritual healing to each other of our spiritual blindness and dullness of spiritual understanding (Heb 12:2, 2Co 1:22).

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 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Joh 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth [seven years labouring only to receive Leah], but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed [seven years labouring for Laban while married to Rachel].

The scripture says that Jacob “fulfilled her [Leah’s] week” prior to receiving Rachel, and this represents the love and care we have toward those who are beloved for the gospel sake. In that sense, Leah is not the one on whom our hearts are set, as it says Jacob (Rachel) have I loved but Esau (Leah) have I hated, but Leah is “as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes”, and we “love thy neighbour as thyself”, but our focus is primarily on Christ.

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.

Mar 12:30 And 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.

Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

It is only through having our eyes and ears opened that anyone of us can “get the big picture” (Mat 13:11, Luk 10:24), and it is of the utmost importance that we continue to help each other maintain that vision of God’s plan and purpose (Jud 1:20, 1Th 5:11) so that our hearts and minds don’t become discouraged, hardened or perish (Pro 29:18) because of the wickedness which we are told God will cause to increase at the end of this age (Luk 21:26, 2Ti 3:13). It is through the church and through the discipleship which is being formed in His body where God’s love is shed abroad (Rom 5:5) that we witness to each other, to the world within and without, how a many-membered body is transformed and not conformed to this world as we become a healthier one stay of bread and water.

Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

1Co 10:17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world [with Christ in us we are that “bread of life” toward each other].

This second part of our five-part study will hopefully give us a greater sense of how we can “get the big picture” and maintain that vision which God is giving us as we come together often “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Heb 10:25).

Psa 105:9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
Psa 105:10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

In these initial verses of our study, we will consider how God’s “oath unto Isaac”, which was “confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law” and unto “Israel for an everlasting covenant”, will help us obtain the bigger picture of God’s plan, remembering that these oaths are symbolic of the “exceeding great and precious promises” (2Pe 1:4) which God has given unto us, the Israel of God (Gal 6:16) who have been promised that the Lord will “put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them”.

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Heb 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

As it says in verse eight, “He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.” God has given us eyes to see “the big picture” through the promises or covenants which He made of old that point to the new covenant better promises. Those old covenant promises are all type and shadow promises that God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to typify for us today His faithfulness “to a thousand generations”.

Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

Abraham gave his tithe (his tenth) as did Isaac (his tenth) and Jacob (his tenth), representing their whole lives a living sacrifice unto God. God gave us Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for our sakes (2Co 4:15) to remind us that He was faithful back then to His promises, just as He will be faithful to us today and to all those who will one day be representing those endless grains of sand on the shore which Abraham (a type of Christ) was going to inherit. As we mentioned last week, the thousand generations also represents the process of judgment (three 10’s) through which all men will go in order to inherit eternal life (10X10X10=1000 generations).

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.

All lives ever lived represent some type and shadow relationship that with the mind of Christ we can understand to be for our sakes as we compare spirit with spirit using the physical. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — their lives will ultimately be understood by themselves for the spiritual significance which they portrayed while they were physically alive.

1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Understanding “the breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of how God looks over the landscape of history through all the fleshly instances talked about in His word is going to help us maintain the vision that we need to “get the big picture” even as we see the world around us being confused and deceived by all these old covenant promises and stories because they are also the parables that Christ inspired and assured us would do just that.

Eph 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Mat 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Psa 105:11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
Psa 105:12 When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.

These old covenant promises again are a type and shadow revelation of the promise that God will save a few at first.

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The “lot of your inheritance” as God’s elect is typified by “the land of Canaan^H3667“, and that land of Canaan is where “few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it” will reside at first as God’s kind of first fruits.

Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

As the word ‘Canaan’ shows us, those who are found in that new land will be a people who have been humbled under the mighty hand of God (1Pe 5:6) with hearts which have been caused to be made humble and contrite (Isa 66:2) as we were received as sons and daughters (Heb 12:6) who have been given a new heart which can receive the cup that God tells us we will drink and have been drinking ‘is, was and will be’ (Php 4:13, Mat 20:23).

H3667
ken-ah’-an
From H3665; humiliated; Kenaan, a son of Ham; also the country inhabited by him: – Canaan, merchant, traffick.

We are “strangers in it” while we are in that land until we are circumcised in heart, and that is a process that takes an entire life of overcoming and enduring unto the end to accomplish. That part of us which is decreasing is the stranger who is being pushed out of the land as Christ increases within it throughout our life, we pray.

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

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

1Co 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

What are some of those “all things” which we can do through Christ which strengthens us, and is this not the most essential point for us to be able to “get the big picture”?

1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
1Co 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
1Co 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
1Co 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

Psa 105:13 When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;
Psa 105:14 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;
Psa 105:15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

These above three verses are a great witness to God’s people to “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”. We go “from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people” and learn of His faithfulness to show us we are more than conquerors through Christ who causes us to rule over the land as He gives us victory little by little.

Luk 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Exo 23:30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

God will be faithful “who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able” to be tried beyond the measure that we can endure “but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

So there is great hope in these verses which tell us that God is going to deal with the man of sin within us (2Th 2:8). He will not allow that man of sin within us to “do them wrong” but will destroy him with the brightness of His coming. That destruction won’t happen over night, but little by little as we read. So we must remember that those kings that he reproves and tells “touch not my anointed” are first and foremost to be understood as being within us and are being conquered by our hope of glory within, Jesus Christ who is slaying those giants that are going to be bread for us (Col 1:27, Num 14:9). We must not therefore despise this process of conquering our old man within us which is maturing us in the Lord and within the body of Christ.

Right after being given a promise of being able to endure through whatever temptation God causes in our life, and that he will make a way to escape and bear with the temptation, we are told to “flee from idolatry” and then reminded that our communion in the next verse is found in the suffering through which we endure together as “the body of Christ” or the body and blood of Christ is our communion as it is put. The way the holy spirit arranged these thoughts should tell us that one of the major idols of our hearts that God is telling us to flee from is the one that thinks it strange concerning the fiery trial that is going to try our faith, or the chastening or scourging that every son goes through who is being received of God.

1Co 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
1Co 10:15 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.
1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

If we are armed with the mind of Christ, we will be able to endure correction from time to time, however the Lord brings that about in our lives, and as unpleasant as it may seem at the time we can through Christ come to accept this as a critical part of keeping us humble and enabling the body of Christ to continue to “get the big picture” and remain healthy spiritually through this bread of affliction that will yield “the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby”.

1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

If we despise His chastening we will be laying the ground work for a root of bitterness to take hold, and thereby many could be defiled. So it is critical that we ask God to soften our hearts and pray that we can heed the admonitions in His word which tell us to rest in Him and not “turn aside unto their crooked ways” that are all potentially within each of us. God knows it takes time to heal from correction just like my physical father knew I needed to be alone to meditate and think on my own bad behaviour after I was corrected by him. Should we not give our heavenly Father the same and greater reverence for loving us so much as His sons he is receiving today?

1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Heb 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Psa 125:3 For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
Psa 125:4 Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.
Psa 125:5 As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.

Heb 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Everything God does is good and is being done unto His children so that we can have vision and “get the big picture”. When we see that big picture, it produces a peace that passes all understanding and allows us to breath more easily spiritually (Psa 18:19, Psa 143:5).

Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

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.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the third part of our five-part study as we consider how the Lord works with us in this age to keep us busy and about our Father’s business like Christ was (Luk 2:49) and not distracted by Babylon out of which we are commanded to come or go back into the world which we are not to love (Rev 18:4, 1Jn 2:15-16). We will be looking at the following verses in the sub-titled study called “Keep your eyes moving”:

Psa 105:16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
Psa 105:17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
Psa 105:18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
Psa 105:19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
Psa 105:20 The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
Psa 105:21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:
Psa 105:22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.

(Key verses: Gen 24:1-10)

The faith of Christ is a foundational truth of the doctrine of Christ, but faith also abides now and is, in the end, an essential part of the mature fruit of the spirit if we are to please God (Heb 11:6):

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

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

Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and [keep] the faith of Jesus.

The work of Christ in us is compared to a plant, a building and a human body, among others, in the scriptures. There is something that is a common denominator in all of these:

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.
1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

This foundation (Christ) is the common denominator for growth or increase (Heb 6:3).  A foundation is to a building as roots are to a plant – it is the basis of growth and maturing, and without a sound basis, proper growth cannot take place. Growth also is essential to maturing, even as Christ is both the foundation and the finisher of all aspects of His doctrine, including faith (1Co 3:11). This growth is also compared to a race or a battle – not against others who compare themselves with others, but more within ourselves – the old man Adam in us versus the new man or the last Adam – Christ – in us (2Co 10:12; Eph 4:22-24):

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When faith stays at its foundation level, it is called stagnation (being idle) or spiritual immaturity. That type of faith cannot see beyond the physical application of the Word of God. It is indeed with boldness, which God supplies, that anyone will be empowered to go beyond the veil of the flesh and to enter into the higher heavens of understanding truth:

Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.

The apostle Peter describes this growth and maturing in faith and all that should be added to faith, as follows:

2Pe 1:5 (MKJV) But also in this very thing, bringing in all diligence, filling out your faith with virtue, and with virtue, knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 and with knowledge self-control, and with self-control, patience, and with patience, godliness,
2Pe 1:7 and with godliness, brotherly kindness, and with brotherly kindness, love.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things are in you and abound [Greek: pleonazō = grow / increase], they make you to be neither idle nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the life of Abraham, this growth in his faith toward God is given to us as this type of becoming mature through the works which come through the faith of Christ in us (Rom 4:3; Rom 4:12; Rom 4:16; Gal 3:14; Heb 11:8-10; Heb 11:17; Jas 2:21). In Genesis chapter 24 we find another important stage in Abraham’s life in relation to his growth in faith. This is the longest chapter in the book of Genesis, which will be divided in four segments for the purpose of this discussion:

• Verses 1 to 10: Abraham gives specific instructions to his servant about a wife for Isaac;
• Verses 11 to 28: the servant of Abraham went to find this wife and meet Rebekah;
• Verses 29 to 61: the servant of Abraham meets the family of Rebekah;
• Verses 62 to 68: Isaac meets Rebekah and takes her as his wife.

We will only deal today with the first section (verses 1 to 10) where Abraham, as a loving father to Isaac, commissioned his servant to find a wife for Isaac. This also links to our heavenly Father who sends His servants, throughout the history of the church, to bring the bride to Christ and invite and prepare that bride for the big wedding feast (Mat 22:1-3; Rev 19:7; Rev 20:4-6).

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Eph 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

The focus is mainly on this servant in this section. Abraham is said to be of a high age when this servant was given these instructions:

Gen 24:1 And Abraham was old [Hebrew: “zâqên” = aged / an elder in wisdom], and well stricken [Hebrew: “bô” = advancing] in age [Hebrew: “yôm”]: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

The concept of age is repeated in that one verse which helps us to see that this is not merely talking of physical age only, but more to Abraham’s maturity in terms of his growth in his relationship to God being blessed “in all things”. Abraham started to act like God because that is the sign of maturity (Rom 12:2; 1Jn 4:17). Another reference to age is also found in the next verse which also links to this concept of maturity:

Gen 24:2 And Abraham said unto his eldest [Hebrew: “zâqên” = an elder in wisdom] servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
Gen 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

This servant is not mentioned by name although some speculate that this could be Eliezer of Damascus which was mentioned in Genesis 15 (Gen 15:1-2). The point of this servant is to show us that he was a mature servant in the household of Abraham, and God only commissions His mature servants to do certain tasks (Luk 22:32; Acts 1Co 12:28-31; 1Co 13:11-13; Eph 4:11-12; Tit 1:5; Tit 2:3-5; 1Pe 5:1; Heb 5:14). Mature servants listen to all of their master’s instructions and diligently do them. In our time of service to God in His household of faith, we are maturing in the spirit, and God’s spirit also enables us to recognize the true bride of Christ which is His true church. God’s spirit also empowers us to serve the church of Christ in whatever capacity is needed. All of these combine within this symbol of a servant in this story in Genesis 24 as this servant also had to make a vow to Abraham:

Gen 24:2…put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
Gen 24:3  And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth…

This is the first time the symbol of a thigh appears in scripture. This manner of making a vow also appears when Joseph had to swear to Jacob about the specifics of the place of his burial (Gen 47:29). The thigh relates to power as the thigh is the most powerful part of the body to bring action forth (Rom 1:20; Gen 32:25; Eze 24:4). The thigh also contains the strongest, longest and heaviest bone in the body, called the femur. It is interesting to note that the thigh is also the place where a sword was attached in the scriptures, also relating to the aspects of might, glory and majesty in power (Son 3:8):

Psa 45:3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.

Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

When we put all the meanings of this symbol of a thigh together it becomes clear that Abraham is giving this servant the legal right (power of attorney in a sense) to find this wife for Isaac. This relates to us as God’s servants who are given this faith of Christ through His powerful Word to unite us to His spiritual bride and to be confident in our work within His church and in the world, even under the worst oppression and tribulations (Rom 10:17; 2Co 10:2; Eph 3:11-13; Eph 6:17; Heb 3:6):

Act 28:30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house [while in captivity in Rome], and received all that came in unto him,
Act 28:31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

It is this powerful Word who is sent by the Father and given to His servants to draw the bride to Christ (Joh 6:65):

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

All God’s true servants use only the Word of God to draw people to Christ because they know the mighty spiritual power in those words through their own experience (Rom 5:1-6). They keep within the safe parameters of what is written and stay far away from the wisdom of man which only puffs up according to human pride and lusts (Joh 2:16):

1Co 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

Abraham wants this servant to make this vow to him and to be diligent in following his specific instructions of getting a wife for Isaac. The first instruction concerns our perspective of the bride of Christ:

…that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.

All the inhabitants of Canaan are representing our uncircumcised flesh, and those who are in the promised land but have never yet endured the trials, tribulations and rejection needed to crush the old man in us (Gen 9:25; Jos 3:10; Jos 5:1-2; Jos 17:18; Zep 2:5). Canaan is the symbol of our first birth and time of enjoying the flesh, which is the land of spiritual immaturity of milk and honey (Heb 5:12-13):

Eze 16:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

Exo 3:17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

Abraham’s second instruction to his servant is also significant:

Gen 24:4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

Abraham came from Ur in the land of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia and here we see a very important pattern being set (Acts 7:2). This land of the Chaldees is spiritually also very significant in our path to spiritual growth and also to those with whom we associate spiritually (Php 3:17; 2Jn 1:9-11):

Psa 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

We must be careful to mark whether those with whom we spiritually connect were taken “out of” the land of birth by God:

Gen 15:7 And he [God] said unto him [Abraham], I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

The land of the Chaldees is also known in the scriptures as part of the region of Babylon (Isa 48:14; Dan 2:1-2; Dan 5:30; Dan 3:8-12):

Isa 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isa 47:1 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

The wives of Abraham, Isaac, and also later Jacob, were all from the land of Babylon where Abraham heard the voice of God for the first time. This spiritually links to the time we heard the call of God on our lives and when we found our first love for Christ in His foundational principles of His doctrine – our first spiritual wound (Heb 6:1-2; Rev 13:3a). This also links to the time after physical Israel applied the blood on the doorpost in the land of slavery and sin (symbolized by Egypt) and after they were “baptized” in the Red Sea. This is also the time when the first spiritual wound is healed, and we are amazed with the physical healings and miracles God performs (Rev 13:3b-17). This relates to the “fathers” of physical Israel who experienced all these things and yet could not enter the promised land:

1Co 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
1Co 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

It is to this land of the Chaldees where the elder servant of Abraham was sent to look for a bride for Isaac. It is only the “few” who have been enabled by God to come out of the “many” in spiritual Babylon who are given the will to come to Christ to be His true bride. The servant of Abraham highlights another important aspect with his question to Abraham:

Gen 24:5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

Like this servant of Abraham we also at a certain stage will be more focused on our abilities and qualifications to bring the bride to Christ, and we cannot see clearly that God works all things if we obey Him in doing what He told us to do (Eph 1:11; Php 2:12-13). We always need to be reminded that it is a work of God from start to finish and that He will build His church, and nothing and no one can stop Him to fulfill that to the minutest detail. In our growth in the faith of Christ, we will receive the revelation of the Father that He is the One who rules and controls everything. He binds or loosens first in heaven and then that is applied on earth – this is the true chain of command:

Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 (CLV) I will be giving you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatsoever you should be binding on the earth shall be those things having been bound in the heavens, and whatsoever you should be loosing on the earth, shall be those having been loosed in the heavens.”

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Abraham’s third instruction to his servant links to this position of Christ as revealed by the Father and seen in Abraham’s words concerning Isaac as a type of Christ:

Gen 24:6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

Nothing is initiated on the earth, and nothing on the earth can limit, change or derail God’s work in any way. As the rain comes from heaven and waters the earth to bring forth all things, so is God’s will the only free will ruling supremely over all of His creation (Isa 55:8-11). This is the line of authority as God will also send His angel ahead of this servant to prepare the hearts of those who must receive His truth as indicated by Abraham also (Psa 10:17; Psa 139:16; Pro 16:1; Mat 13:11-17;Eph 1:11; Rev 21:2):

Gen 24:6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
Gen 24:7 The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

Abraham wanted the wife of Isaac not to respond according to sight, even as the bride of Christ will only respond to faith and live by faith to endure until the end (Joh 20:29; Rom 1:17; Rom 8:24; 2Co 5:7; Heb 10:38; Heb 11:1). Although we all start off by serving Christ after the flesh while we are in spiritual Babylon, we mature to worship Him in spirit and truth and regard Him no more in physical terms (2Co 5:16). We must fulfill that physical part of our walk in faith first before we are given the humility to see that we are indeed nothing of ourselves as we are called to “come out of her”, even as the wife of Isaac was to take a long journey from the land of the Chaldees to be with Isaac (Mat 4:17; 1Co 10:11-12; 1Pe 5:5-6):

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come [this verb “exerchomai” is in the Greek Aorist tense meaning it is an ongoing process] out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

There is no pressure on this servant of Abraham as the choice of a wife for Isaac is not his, and Abraham also supplied him with everything:

Gen 24:8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.
Gen 24:9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.
Gen 24:10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

God supplies all His strength and His ability even in our task to be the bride of Christ and to supply for those we must bring into this body of believers in this age (Php 4:13). Jesus said all spiritual authority was given to Him by the Father, and this spiritual authority is given to His servants to fulfill the job He has given them to do:

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Joh 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Joh 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

Next week, God willing, we will continue with the other segments of this beautiful work of faith in our lives, as also described in Genesis 24.

————-

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

The Parable of the Prodigal Son
Come Out of Her My People
Coming Out of Babylon
Revelation 18:1-4
Revelation 19:6-10

Study Aired May 29, 2014

We have seen in our last discussion that the three main family lines of all physical nations on earth today came forth from the three sons of Noah as they all form part of one family or generation in the first man Adam (Gen 9:1; Act 17:26). The three sons of Noah and their offspring were given diverse attributes which sadly lead to much raging about vain things which actually all unite them to “take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed” (Psa 2:1-2; 1Co 15:45-50; Gal 5:17; Joh 3:6; 1Co 6:17; Eph 2:18; Eph 4:4). The flesh is of one mind which is a type of the one mind of the spirit of God, but the two minds are in total opposition to each other (Rom 1:20; Joh 3:6; Gal 5:17; Amo 3:3; 2Co 6:14). The flesh and all its nations supply the all-important resistance and persecution to the spiritual elect of God. Like the physical nation of Israel in type, all God’s spiritual elect must first be delivered from their immature journeys in the wilderness (of murmurings and contentions against God) to finally face spiritual warfare in the promised land (Exo 13:17-18; Deu 8:2-3):

Jdg 3:1 Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
Jdg 3:2 Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof.

As physical Israel could not enter the promised land through the “eleven days” route, so it is with God’s elect who soon find out that the Babylonian doctrine of spiritual completion in the flesh or “fullness now” through a ten-second sinner’s prayer is indeed a false teaching (Deu 1:2-3; Rom 15:4; 1Co 10:11). The theme of opposition or resistance is foundational to our understanding of why God exposes us to enemies and those who oppose the truth (Act 13:45; Tit 1:9; 1Jn 2:18). Only through opposition and strong resistance can we be approved and be overcomers in Him (Luk 11:21-22; Rom 12:21; 1Co 11:19; Rev 21:7). We need to know why things are dragging along when there seems to be such an easy and quick solution from our immature natural perspective. As we have seen in our previous theme of productivity and fruitfulness, Noah was an example in all of this to his three sons, even in the building of the ark over a period of one hundred twenty years and even after the flood:

Gen 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.

Even in our productivity we become overzealous and intoxicated with self-importance, and in our own immature prideful estimations of our times and seasons we unknowingly also uncover our own nakedness (1Co 4:5-6; Ecc 3:1; Rom 14:1):

Gen 9:21 And he [Noah] drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

Although Noah was private “within his own tent”, the enemy, in the form of his own son Ham, invaded that privacy and did not even keep what he saw to himself:

Gen 9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

As the phrase “uncover nakedness” is always referring to something of a sexual nature in the Scriptures, some are of the opinion that a wrongful sexual act occurred which involved Ham. Others add that the reason why Canaan’s name, Ham’s youngest son, is mentioned in this same sentence here is also connected to this sexual incident. There is also an explanation out there that the birth of Canaan was a result of Ham sleeping with his own mother which is also what “uncovering” the nakedness of one’s father implies in Scripture (Lev 20:11).

But Noah’s cursing of Ham’s youngest son seems to suggest that Canaan was already born at the time of this incident. It is also important to note that Ham did not “uncover” his father’s nakedness, but just “saw the nakedness of his father”. Ham deliberately looked (gazed) at the “uncovered” nakedness of his father. In his immaturity Ham then did not keep quiet about what he saw, but told it to his two brothers. He did not regard the vulnerable situation his father’s drunkenness brought about in the proper light and with a loving spirit and attitude. Fleshly drunkenness and nakedness are both symbols of sin and shame (Isa 20:2-4; Rev 16:15; Eph 5:18):

Exo 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

Isa 47:3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

But “fools [like Ham] make a mock at sin” and think when one points to other’s evil and sin, their own nakedness and shame is somehow covered and not visible (Eze 16:29; Rev 4:8; 2Sa 12:7):

Pro 14:9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

Ham indeed had a different spirit than that of his other two brothers who rather showed love in their actions in covering their father’s nakedness:

Gen 9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

Their actions proved their love for their father who erred from the narrow way (the truth) in getting drunk and naked:

Jas 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

It seems as though Noah was quite unaware of the consequences of drinking too much wine as his nakedness was exposed in the process which is quite a digression from how the scriptures initially describe Noah as a man who was very much aware and careful of his walk:

Gen 6:9b ….Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Love indeed covers a multitude of sins, and it will inspire a person to go in private to the one who caused an offence. That is to lay the garment on our shoulders and walk backwards as to take spiritual leadership to forgive a past offence and not bind heavy burdens on other’s shoulders (Mat 18:15; Mat 23:4).

1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
1Co 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
1Pe 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Ham’s behavior deeply offended Noah as it indicated that a sinful, proud and unloving spirit was present in Ham. Noah did not curse Ham as Ham was already blessed by God – the curse came on Ham’s youngest son, Canaan, for a specific reason (Gen 9:1):

Gen 9:24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
Gen 9:25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Many unscriptural speculations have been made as to why Canaan was cursed, but we cannot even think “above that which is written” as that only puffs us up in our own opinions (1Co 4:6). The Scripture reveals that Canaan was indeed the youngest of Ham’s four children which points to his immature position in the family (Gen 10:6). Immaturity was the correlation and reflection of Ham’s behavior toward his drunken father. Canaan represents our uncircumcised (religious) flesh within our time of spiritual immaturity when we think we are already matured and saved, having gifts that inflates our selfish ambitions (1Co 1:6-7; 1Co 3:1-3; Gal 4:1-4; Heb 5:13). Spiritual immaturity is the cause of much opposition to the word of truth because of the strong delusion God has sent on it (2Th 2:11). One of the oppositions it causes is spiritual deafness and blindness and the unskilled handling of the truth:

Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

Spiritual immaturity causes envying, strife and divisions in fellowships because it focuses on “foolish questions… [fleshly or carnal] genealogies and contentions” (Tit 3:9-11). It always concentrates on so-called contradictions (divisions and subtractions) in Scripture as it cannot make spiritual additions and multiplications (1Co 13:2; 2Pe 1:20):

1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

The immature babe in Christ (inside and outside) will always be a nagging menace until the day we physically die and will always want to bring “doubtful disputations” and be “measuring themselves by themselves” (Rom 14:1; 2Co 10:12). Noah was indeed uttering a prophecy that Canaan and his descendants will be that needful opposition to the physical nation of Israel. Knowing the end from the beginning, God inspired Noah to speak those words as God’s counsel shall also stand in the opposition which the generations of Canaan will provide (Isa 46:10). Canaan’s curse was in relation to the blessings on the witness of his two brothers which is very important to note:

Gen 9:26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Gen 9:27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Gen 9:28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
Gen 9:29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

Canaan had eleven sons, and he became the patriarch of the very people who were the thorns in the flesh of the Israelites and he was of the seed of Abraham, who was of the generational line of Shem, Ham’s brother whom he was to serve in every sense (Gen 10:15-18; Gen 11:10-27). This only occurs at the time determined by God when the iniquity of the Amorites (also a general name for all the Canaanites typifying our own high-minded carnal mind) will be “full” or in the “fourth generation”. This specific time of judgment first comes on the spiritual elect of God when the deep and deceptive heart of carnality is revealed to us (1Pe 4:17; Isa 26:8; Rom 2:4; Jer 17:9; 2Th 2:2-3; Rev 13:18; Ecc 3:18):

Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
Gen 15:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
Gen 15:20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
Gen 15:21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again [to Canaan]: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

When the physical Israel as a nation first entered the promised land, there were seven Canaanite nations mentioned who were in the land already and were “greater and mightier” than they:

Deu 7:1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
Deu 7:2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them.

Although the flesh is always spiritually immature, yet it is a complete or mature beast which develops much earlier before the spiritual seed of Christ in us. Without the armor of Christ, we stand no chance against the wiles of this mature beastly opposition (Eph 6:11; Rev 13:1-2). These physically mature nations (“greater and mightier than thou”) were well known for their evil “works” in idolatry, incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality – all these are in our own flesh (Psa 106:34-39; Gal 5:19-21; Mat 4:4). Canaan’s curse was to be servants also in the sense that they were ordained by God to show Israel their own evil hearts to humble them (Deu 8:2). Those evils we see outside us reflect our own evil and show us that the inward spiritual battles are indeed for our good as only through these battles and tribulations shall anyone enter the kingdom of God (Exo 34:11-16; Lev 18:24-25; 1Pe 4:12):

Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

God commanded physical Israel to “utterly destroy” the inhabitants in that land and not to get involved in their habits and customs:

Deu 20:16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
Deu 20:17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:
Deu 20:18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

There were also instances where God wanted these Canaanite nations and cities to make peace treaties with Israel to become their servants (1Sa 7:14):

Deu 20:10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
Deu 20:11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

Conquered nations were the strangers that were also allowed to become one with the nation of Israel under one law for all and loved as a brother (Deu 10:17-19):

Lev 19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Lev 24:22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.

These instructions from God do not contradict each other, but they all add up to give us a picture of the whole process we all will be involved in to understand the role of these “Canaanites” in our own lives. The Hebrew word for Canaan (kena‛an) is also translated as merchants or traders (Isa 23:11, Zep 1:11; Eze 17:4).

Hos 12:7 He is a merchant [Hebrew: “kena‛an”], the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.

It also points out how to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves as we engage each day with these nations within us “unto this day” (Mat 10:16; Jos 15:63; Jos 16:10; Jos 23:9; Jdg 1:21). The continued existence of the Canaanites even after several years of battles and wars are written to show us that our spiritual opposition will always be there to stimulate spiritual growth. We spiritually never “arrive” in the flesh (Gal 3:3). All the nations of evil in us will be driven out little by little as they will be destroyed progressively (Pro 24:16; Luk 21:19; Rev 14:9-12):

Deu 7:22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
Deu 7:23 But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.

2Pe 3:15a And account [esteem] the longsuffering of [from] our Lord is salvation.

The curse and servitude to the Canaanites were never motivated by their ethnicity or skin pigmentation as some want to believe, but rather by their spiritual importance as they would shape the strength and growth of the nation of physical Israel. Some see these curses and actions against the Canaanites as an excuse or motivation for ethnic cleansing or genocide, which is quite disturbing for those in the flesh who read these violent passages in the Scriptures with carnal perspectives in mind. Many wars and evil massacres in the history of mankind were fought under this banner. Xenophobic actions all form part in some way of these fears which some promote for personal or patriotic agendas, and even in our days these things are prevalent. The reason for this destruction of these Canaanite nations is given as a type of God’s judgment against evil not against the particular nation as such, but the very evil in our own hearts:

Deu 9:5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The military model used in the Scriptures was never supposed to justify wars and the murdering of other humans, but more as an example of our internal spiritual battles:

Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.

Jesus indeed will save all nations as this passage also alludes to the truth that God is no respecter of persons or particular nations, but uses them only as types of us (Act 10:34-35; Rom 14:11; Php 2:10-11):

Mat 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
Mat 15:23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
Mat 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
Mat 15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
Mat 15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
Mat 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

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

Uncovering The Nakedness Of Your Near Of Kin

Spiritual Drunkenness

http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/who-is-our-brother.php

Waging Spiritual Warfare

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