Ezekiel 34:17-31 The Shepherds of Israel – Part II

[Study Aired October 21, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

In today’s study, we shall continue the second part of Ezekiel chapter 34. The first part of this chapter dealt with the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves, instead of the flock of the Lord under their care. As a result, the Lord’s children are scattered, that is, they wander about like lost sheep without a shepherd.

Today’s study focuses on the Lord coming to us to separate us from the flock of cattle and to make us lie in green pastures as He leads us besides the still waters.

Psa 23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
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.
Psa 23:5  Thou preparest table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The Lord also assures us that He is the good shepherd after the order of David who will make a covenant of peace with us. The latter part of the study reveals what this covenant of peace entails.

The Lord will Judge Between Cattle and Cattle

Eze 34:17  And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. 

The flock of the Lord consists of the ninety-nine sheep which have no need of repentance and the one sheep which has gone astray that knows her situation and therefore becomes repentant. We, the Lord’s elect are the one-sheep that went astray. The ninety-nine sheep represent Babylon or the physical churches of this world signified by the Pharisees and scribes that need no repentance.

Luk 15:3  And he spake this parable unto them (Pharisees and scribes), saying,
Luk 15:4  What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luk 15:5  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luk 15:6  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
Luk 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

The word “judge” by implication, means to vindicate or punish according to Strong’s Dictionary. Judging between cattle and cattle and between the rams and the he-goats in verse 1 therefore means justifying the righteous and condemning the wicked as indicated in the following verses:

Deu 25:1  If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.

Deu 1:16  And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

The Lord is the one who is vindicating us, His elect, even though we went astray at a certain stage of our walk with Him. This vindication is at the expense of our brothers and sisters in Babylon who think they are righteous and need no repentance.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Eze 34:18  Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? 

This verse is another way of saying that after we have received the gold and silver which signify the truth of His words, when we started walking with the Lord, we turn around and use His gold and silver to make images of men. The images of men means the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. In other words, the good pasture that we have eaten in verse 18 represents the truth of the Lord’s words and trampling our feet on the pastures means having human imprint on the truth of His words which means churning up false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. That is what characterized our walk in the churches of this world.

Again, drinking from the deep water in verse 18 refers to taking in clean water which symbolizes the truth of the word of the Lord, and muddying the water with our feet means turning the truth of the Lord’s words into false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. As a result, we have sacrificed the Lord’s sons and daughters or His elect to be devoured by the enemy. In the sight of the Lord, this is a grievous offence.

Eze 16:13  Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14  And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 16:15  But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
Eze 16:16  And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
Eze 16:18  And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
Eze 16:19  My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 16:20  Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter?

Eze 34:19  And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. 
Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 

As we have indicated, the trodden food and water with our feet refers to the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition which was what we ate and drank during our sojourn in the churches of this world. As a result, we became food for the beasts of the field. That is to say that we became dominated by our flesh or our old man who is powered by the devil. Since we have been chosen by God before the foundation of this world, the Lord comes to us in the fulness of time to vindicate us through His judgement of our old man. This is what it means to judge between the fat cattle and the lean cattle, indicated in verse 20. The lean cattle refers to us, His elect and the fat cattle signifies our brothers and sisters in Babylon who seem to be spiritually rich or fat in this life but are spiritually lean.

Psa 37:20  But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

This reminds me of Joseph’s dream where the lean-fleshed cattle ate up the fat-fleshed cattle. This signifies that as the lean-fleshed cattle of the Lord (the Lord’s elect), we shall dominate, that is rule over our brothers and sisters in Babylon who represent the fat-fleshed cattle, in the fulness of time.

Gen 41:17  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
Gen 41:18  And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
Gen 41:19  And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
Gen 41:20  And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
Gen 41:21 And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

It is insightful to note that in Genesis 41:21, the lean-fleshed cattle were not looking different even after they had eaten up the fat-fleshed cattle. This is to let us know that even though we are called and chosen of the Lord (lean cattle), and therefore we are destined to rule over our brothers and sisters in Babylon (fat cattle), our current situation does not depict our rulership status as we still grapple with the evil experience (judgement) the Lord has given to us in this life.

Ecc 1:13  And I gave my heart to seek and to investigate by wisdom concerning all which is done under the heavens. It is an evil task God has given to the sons of men, to be afflicted by it.

Eze 34:21  Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 
Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

Verse 21 is telling us that the fat cattle push the skinny ones with their sides and shoulders. When we were in Babylon as the Lord’s elect, we were dominated by the fat sheep of Babylon as we were blown by every wind of doctrine propagated by these fat cattle in Babylon. It is instructive to note in verse 21 that the diseased are pushed about with the horns of the fat ones until they scattered abroad. The horns here symbolize the strength the Lord has given to the churches of this world to scatter us as diseased cattle by every wind of doctrine in Babylon.

Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

This strength that the Lord has given to the fat cattle of Babylon through their horns is to ensure that ‘hearing we shall hear and not understand and seeing we shall see and not perceive’. As a result, we become scattered or divided by doctrine. The various denominations and church systems of this world therefore attest to the fact that the flock of the Lord are scattered.

Isa 6:9  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isa 6:11  Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Isa 6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

In our time in Babylon, we were also scattered as the Lord’s elect until the Lord came to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to judge between cattle and cattle as indicated in verse 22. The Lord coming to us is to save us through His judgement and as a result, vindicates us from the other cattle of the Lord ‘who need no repentance’. We were therefore the fat cattle whom the Lord is sending leanness to us through His judgement.

Isa 10:16  Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

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:

Eze 34:23  And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 
Eze 34:24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. 

Our deliverance from the physical churches of this world implies the coming of the Lord’s elect into the church of the firstborn or the assembly of the Lord where we are shepherded by our Lord Jesus Christ, symbolized here in verse 23 as the Lord’s servant David. It is the Lord who comes to us with His words as we are fed by His words through what every joint supplies.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

It is in the church of the firstborn or the elect that the Lord raises ministers of the gospel to perfect us as we come into the unity of the faith such that we no longer are tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The Lord Jesus Christ, symbolized in both verses 23 and 24 by David, is the good shepherd or the prince among us who ensures that we are well fed such that we lack nothing. It is our Lord who makes us to rest in Him, as He feeds us in the green pastures and causes us to drink the still waters.

Psa 23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
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.
Psa 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The Lord’s Covenant of Peace

Eze 34:25  And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 

The Lord’s making with us the covenant of peace implies that what He has said, He will surely bring to completion.  This is the covenant of peace that the Lord has made with us, His elect:

Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Heb 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

It is worth noting that this covenant of peace entails the Lord causing the evil beasts to cease out of our land. In other words, the Lord shall destroy our old man or flesh such that we shall not be dominated by it. This is a process which takes a lifetime and it is accomplished through the judgement of our old man which causes us to learn righteousness.

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.

Psa 119:67  Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.

Psa 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Our walk in this world is like walking through the wilderness. Here in verse 25, the Lord’s covenant of peace is assuring us that we shall dwell safely in the wilderness such that we shall be able to sleep in the woods and not worry about any beast devouring us. Being able to dwell safely in this life means trusting in the Lord with all our hearts and not leaning on our own understanding. That is what makes the Lord our refuge and fortress. We can see that all of this is the work of the Lord. Being able to sleep in the woods means resting in the Lord which implies having the confidence that what He has started in us, He shall bring to completion.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psa 91:3  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Psa 91:5  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Psa 91:6  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Psa 91:7  A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Psa 91:8  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Psa 91:9  Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
Psa 91:10  There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Psa 91:11  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Psa 91:12  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Psa 91:13  Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Psa 91:14  Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Psa 91:15  He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
Psa 91:16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Eze 34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 

Here in this verse, the Lord is assuring us of being a blessing. What does it mean to be a blessing? In the Bible, the first time that the Lord said that someone will be a blessing was the case of Abraham when the Lord visited him to tell him to leave his country and kindred and go to the land of Canaan.

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Later, the Lord appeared to Abraham to assure him of his descendants inheriting the land by making a covenant with him. This implies that being a blessing entails being a possessor of the land of promise. Abraham being a blessing therefore means that it was through his walk of faith that ensured that the people of Israel were able to possess the land of Canaan.

Gen 28:3  And God Almighty bless thee (Jacob), and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
Gen 28:4  And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

As we are aware, the land signifies our bodies which we must possess to qualify us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. The Lord telling us that we shall become a blessing therefore implies that it is as we overcome the flesh and take possession of our bodies that we shall be a blessing to the whole world. Our walk of faith to overcome the flesh and possess our bodies will pave the way for all humanity to be blessed as they also overcome the old man.

In verse 26, we are also told that the places round about the Lord’s hill shall also become a blessing.  The Lord’s hill refers to the assembly of the Lord’s elect which is a blessing to us as we receive from what every joint supplies.

The showers coming down in its season means that we shall receive the truth of the word of the Lord at the appropriate time of the Lord which is the acceptable year of the Lord for our lives.

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Eze 34:27  And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. 

We were those who served themselves of the people of the Lord during our time in the physical churches of this world. It is when we have broken the bands of the yoke of Babylon that we can experience the yielding of the fruit of the tree of the field as well as the increase of the earth. The tree of the field is man’s life as shown in the following verse:

Deu 20:19  When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege:

The tree of the field yielding her fruit therefore means that we shall produce fruit in our due season. That means that we shall produce the fruit of the spirit in our lives at the appointed time of the Lord. The earth refers to us, the Lord’s people. The earth yielding her increase therefore means that we shall bear the fruit of the spirit. Bearing fruit is through the Lord’s judgement of our old man or flesh. It is through this judgement experience that we shall come to know the Lord. This judgement of the Lord takes place in our lives after we leave Babylon.

Eze 34:28  And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. 

When we are privileged to be judged in this life, we no longer become prey to the heathen and the beast of the land. The heathen and the beast of the land are the same and refer to our old man or our flesh. The judgement of the Lord destroys the influence of the flesh or the old man in our lives as we learn righteousness and therefore we are no longer afraid of the flesh. That is when we shall dwell safely in the secret place of the most high as we abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Eze 34:29  And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. 
Eze 34:30  Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. 
Eze 34:31  And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD. 

Here in verse 29, the Lord is saying that He will give us a place that is known for its good crops so that we will no longer experience hunger in the land and bear the shame of the heathen. Bearing the shame of the heathen means living according to the standards of this world. Spiritually, what the Lord is telling us is that He will not only open our eyes and ears to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but also give us the power to live according to His words. That is what will make us not bear the shame of the heathen. Verse 29 is therefore the same as Revelation 9:13-14 where we are given to hear the voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God as we are loosed from the great river Euphrates (false doctrines).

Rev 9:13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

It is as we are loosed from the river Euphrates that we come to see who the Lord is. That is when our understand is deepened to appreciate that we are indeed the spiritual house of Israel, that is, the Lord’s elect, and also the sheep of His pasture!!

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 51

“With Great Judgments”

Dec. 25, 2013

In today’s study, we are going to read the admonitions given to us in the plagues which follow the lice and flies.

We are also going to see that the intensity of the plagues increase as the Pharaoh’s heart is continually hardened. As the Lord tells Moses, the entire reason Moses is here is to deliver the great judgments of the Lord, and the Pharaoh is raised up for this specific purpose.

Exo 6:6  Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:

Exo 7:4  But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

Exo 9:16  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

I am giving this study in regards to the Egyptians and Israel, but when we take the sum of the Word, we can conclude that we are learning the Truth of what is happening within us all as God’s people and also what is happening to others in their own appointed time.

In Truth, we are the Egyptians before we are the Israelites. We live out spiritually what they must go through in this book of Exodus, before we live out the deliverance side of the plagues of which Israel is experiencing.

Judgment is set in motion to set things right and there are two sides of judgment.

One side of judgment comes from the “Deliverer” via His prophets and prophetesses and the other is what befalls whomever judgment is sent to.

2Sa 22:1  And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:

2Sa 22:2  And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

2Sa 22:3  The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.

For Egypt, judgment is upon them but so too is judgment upon Israel and we will see how this judgment is worked in us today, Lord willing.

“Judgment begins at the house of the Lord”

Judgment must begin at the house of God, and obedience is the result.

2Co 5:9  Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

In type, this is what we are reading about here in Exodus. Let us see what admonitions we can glean from the great judgments i.e. plagues (also referred to as miracles as is covered in previous studies), which are being delivered to Egypt and its king.

Exo 9:1  Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Exo 9:2  For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,

Exo 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

Exo 9:4  And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel.

Exo 9:5  And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.

As these plagues have increased in intensity and peril towards Egypt, so has the delivery of them to Egypt.

For example, when Moses first came to the Pharaoh he would say things like, “when shall I intreat for you,” and the Lord would do it according to the word of Moses. Here is an example of what I reference.

Exo 8:9  And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?

Exo 8:10  And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.

Now, as things progress, the Lord is letting us know that He alone is in control and He leaves no doubt of that.

When the Lord first starts working with us, we are much like Saul who is renamed to Paul acts. We recognize it is the Lord doing this great work, but we still think WE have something to “do” for the Lord.

Act 22:6  And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

Act 22:7  And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

And a few verses later…

Act 22:10  And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.

In other words, we are being told that the Lord will make known to us in due time what it is He has appointed for us to do, but it takes time for the Lord to reveal to us and to write upon our hearts that He is the one who will have His appointed work done in us.

“Exo 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD……” and “Exo 9:5  And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.”

There is a progression of how the Lord works these judgments and there is a wonderful reason why.

When we first are presented with the Words of the Lord, such as Moses coming to the Pharaoh and saying, “thus sayeth the Lord let my people go,” we are given room to consider what the Lord says.

At least, we are from our perspective, given the ability to “choose”. However, as these judgments increase the Lord lets us know assuredly that He alone is in control.

The very act of the hardening of the Pharaoh’s heart is proof of that, but the point I am trying to make is that from “our perspective” we are the ones in control and early on in these judgments the Lord causes us to think we can do something about the plagues which have befallen us.

Exo 9:6  And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

Exo 9:7  And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

If you recall, the first “plague of separation” was with the flies. Up until the flies, Israel had experienced the water into blood, the frogs and the lice.

Exo 8:22  And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.

So, when “things take to the sky” (lice and flies fly in the heavens), there is a separation of God’s people in His land. The “land of Goshen” is separated from the rest of Egypt but now the beasts of the land must be dealt with.

This is all a foreshadowing and an admonition for us today of the process the Lord uses for us all.

First, the land must be presented so that we can go to it i.e. “the promised land”, THEN the beasts in the land must be dealt with.

I know it doesn’t directly seem or appear to be parallel in spiritual admonition, but what we are seeing is that once God has separated the land where His people dwell from the land where the enemies of His people dwell, the “power” of the beasts must be dealt with.

The beasts which are going to be killed will be killed by the hand of the Lord. If you look at each of the cattle groups mentioned, these are cattle which produce wealth for those who own them and are very beneficial for their livelihoods.

Exo 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

Notice, with this plague not only is the Egyptians cattle slaughtered but the Israelites cattle are preserved. This makes the Israelites cattle even more important because in this area they are all that remain to be used and gained from. So with the same plague the Egyptians wealth is destroyed and the Israelites wealth making power and livelihood is increased.

“Handfuls of Ashes”

When the Lord does a work, He does a thorough work. When the Lord uses the hands of His servants to accomplish His will, He does a thorough accomplishing, and He does it for all to see these miracles.

Exo 9:8  And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

Exo 9:9  And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.

Exo 9:10  And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.

Exo 9:11  And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.

Exo 9:12  And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.

When the Lord brings His judgments, they cannot be ignored. They are as open wounds which cannot be ignored because they will not go away.

With the increasing intensity of the plagues, the Lord also causes the Pharaoh is realize that this is not going to stop. This is similar to how the Lord works with us as He tries us in our fiery trials in order to bring us to Him.

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:

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

As I have pointed out several times during these plagues, the magicians had enchantments that could also duplicate what the Lord was doing with Moses and Aaron. However, there comes a time when that no longer happens.

The magicians used their abilities to gain or benefit from while Moses and Aaron were simply taking the rod of judgment they had been given and delivering the commandments of the Lord, “let my people go”.

We should all be hearing this message today in our hearts and minds. The Lord is calling to our old man, bringing judgment upon him, to let His people go.

Just like Egypt, we will deny that the wrath of God has come but after process of time it will be undeniable and then it is too late for us to do anything about it. Of course this is all of the Lord, but it is referred to us the sufferings of Christ and we should take joy in knowing the Lord is working this work for us.

Exo 9:8  And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

It is when ashes can be used to cause much suffering that we fully realize that we are dealing with a God who will have His will accomplished.

Exo 9:13  And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Exo 9:14  For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.

Exo 9:15  For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.

Exo 9:16  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that MY NAME may be declared throughout all the earth.

Exo 9:17  As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?

In type and shadow, it is those who dwell in the devouring fire who are used to deliver these boils and all the plagues because we have been crushed to a fine powder in order to be used.

It may seem like a horrible thing to have these plagues happen, or to be the deliverer of such wrath via the rod in your hand, but for the new man it is wonderful. For the old man it is DEATH.

It is a very humbling experience to know we are used in this capacity.

It is will the plague of pestilence that the Lord will write it upon the hearts of those He is working with just who it is they are dealing with.

It may seem odd, but I empathize very much with the Pharaoh. Sure he has enslaved the Israelites. Sure he tormented them in hard labor.

Sure he continues to allow his people to suffer through these various plagues but it all due to the hardening of his heart of which the LORD ALONE has caused to happen.

The Pharaoh is not of himself choosing to do these things. Likewise, Moses and Aaron have been created for the very purpose of DELIVERING these plagues via the rod in their hands.

“For I will at this time… send ALL MY PLAGUES upon thine HEART…..”

Why Lord?

“For thou …. Shalt be CUT OFF from the earth ….”

(LITV)  And for this reason I have made you stand, in order to cause you to see My power, and in order to declare My name in all the land.

Isn’t it sad to see a blind man? Isn’t it sad to imagine that they have never seen the light of day of which we take no second thought for? How must it feel to be Pharaoh?!

Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

We are the light of the world if we believe Christ. As Christ was in this world, so are we.

When we are sent as Moses and Aaron are, there is going to be much tribulation happening. There is going to be much suffering because we are going to see the sun darkened and the moon not giving light.

There is going to be much pestilence witnessing due to the Words we speak to those whom we are sent to and we must be aware of this because it is for THIS CAUSE and THIS TIME that we have been sent.

Exo 9:16  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that MY NAME may be declared throughout all the earth.

Joh 9:1  And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

Joh 9:2  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

Joh 9:3  Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Joh 9:4  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

Joh 9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

While we are in this world, we are working the works of the Lord and be forewarned that it will be a work of miraculous plagues which the Lord will write on the hearts and minds of those He causes you to witness to.

Rejoice in this though because it is due to everyone having their heart hardened that we are sent to them.

When we witness in this way, we are showing the power of the Lord and His name is being declared to those whom He is welcoming into His church NOW while in this age and of which will also be used to judge others later in the lake of fire.

In the next study, we are going to continue to cover the seventh plague of hail. This hail storm will also be used to admonish us all of the work the Lord is accomplishing in all of humanity.

Audio Links

Video Links

Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

Introduction

“Egypt” is the Biblical symbol for the world out of which we first come as we begin our journey toward knowing God and His Son, Jesus Christ. In Christ we are to consider ourselves as dead to the world and alive in the spirit. That is why Christ calls those who put the world ahead of Himself, “the dead”.

Mat 8:21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer [ allow] me first to go and bury my father.
Mat 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

That is also why we read of ourselves as being considered as dead in the streets of that “great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified”.

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

According to the scriptures, if you know God and His Son, you smell like death to the natural- minded man of Babylon.

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

Rev 11:8 is speaking of Babylon the great and equates Babylon the great with “Sodom and Egypt”. So the “diseases… which [ God]… brought upon the Egyptians” is a type and shadow of the diseases which afflict us while we are in Babylon. What were the diseases which afflicted Egypt and exactly how are we to avoid those same afflictions and diseases?

First Plague

Exo 7:20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
Exo 7:21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

The waters of Egypt are the corrupted words of God. Those waters turning to blood tell us what happens when we begin to see how we have been believing the heresies of heretics, and we begin to see how our teachers have been twisting and polluting the words of God. Only then does our old man begin to die from drinking that bloody water.

Second Plague

Exo 8:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exo 8:2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
Exo 8:3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs:
Exo 8:4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
Exo 8:14 And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.

These frogs, and the lice and flies which follow them, are all symbols of the 200 million false doctrines which come against the Truth of God’s Word, blotting out the light of the Sun:

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

How many of these witnesses to the lies and heresies of the adversary are there?

Rev 9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

This is all the result of the doctrine of “tolerance in the nonessentials” versus “diligently listening to the voice of the Lord thy God, [ and] keeping all His statutes”.

Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

“Diligently listen… keep all His statutes”. Does that sound as if there is anything which is ‘nonessential’ about to be said by the Lord they God?
Here is what heretics, heresies and lies do for our spiritual life:

Psa 78:45 He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.

This is speaking of the spirits and words of the false prophets to which we have all fallen victim in our own time.

2Ti 2:17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
2Ti 4:15 Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
2Ti 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
2Ti 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
2Ti 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen
Rev 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Third Plague

Exo 8:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
Exo 8:17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
Exo 8:18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

Fourth Plague

Exo 8:24 And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.

Both these plagues and the innumerable swarms are just to tell us how many heresies of the heretics there are that will always be there to keep us from seeing the light of “the Sun of righteousness” when we believe that there are nonessential statutes that proceed out of the mouth of the Lord our God.

Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Notice the “healing” that is promised both here in Mal 4:2 and in Exo 15:26. Healing comes when we ‘diligently listen to the Lord our God”. It is the Truth of God word which gives us the healing we so need.

Psa 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Fifth Plague

Exo 9:2 For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
Exo 9:3 Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: t here shall be a very grievous murrain [ H1698, deber pestilence, diseases].
Exo 9:4 And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel.
Exo 9:5 And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.
Exo 9:6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
Exo 9:15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence [ H1698 deber – diseases]; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
Exo 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Lev 26:25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence [ H1698 deber – diseases] among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
Num 14:11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
Num 14:12 I will smite them with the pestilence [ H1698 deber – diseases], and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

Livestock in scripture represents our possessions and our wealth, and the wealth of the children of Abraham are riches in gold and silver and cattle which all belong to God and are again the symbols of the wealth we have in Him and His Word.

Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Diseased cattle are just another way of telling us how we have fallen victim to the heresies of heretics and false prophets. Both Lev 26:25 and Num 14:11-12 demonstrate that the diseases of our cattle are our own diseases, and just like the frogs and the flies and the lice, they spiritually devour and destroy us and all we spiritually own, simply because we would rather tolerate the so- called nonessential words that proceed out of the mouth of God, rather than to “diligently listen to the voice of the Lord our God”.

Sixth Plague

Exo 9:8 And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
Exo 9:9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.
Exo 9:10 And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.
Exo 9:11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.

We have seen that Job suffered from boils because of his pride in his own, nonexistent righteousness. But the same pride that restrains our old man from letting loose the throne of God within our hearts, is the same pride that kept Pharaoh from letting Israel leave Egypt, and it was the same pride which kept Job from acknowledging that he was vile of himself and not righteous at all.

Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
Job 33:9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.

So once again it was the words of Job’s mouth, the false doctrine of proud self- righteousness, which was used of God for an occasion to bring “these diseases”, the boils and blains upon him, and it is the lies of spiritually proud Egypt which brings “these diseases” and boils “upon man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt” within us.

Seventh Plague

Exo 9:22 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
Exo 9:23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
Exo 9:24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
Exo 9:25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

What do you suppose this destruction of Egypt and its wealth by hail signifies in spiritual terms? Could it possibly be false doctrines and failing to “diligently listen to the voice of the Lord our God” rather than to tolerate the so- called nonessential words which come forth from the mouth of God? What do the scriptures reveal to be the spiritual function of hail?

Isa 28:17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Judgment is being laid “to the line and… to the plummet” with the righteousness of the Truth of God’s Word. Jerusalem, God’s own people are no exception to those words proceeding out of the mouth of God. The fact is that God’s own house will be the first to be judged:

2Ki 21:13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
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:
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

“The house of Ahab” tolerated the nonessential doctrines of “that woman Jezebel”:

Rev 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

It behooves us all to “diligently listen to the voice of the Lord our God” and to never even consider “tolerating the nonessentials”, as if any of the words which proceed forth out of the mouth of God were “nonessential”. Here is what happens when we allow that woman Jezebel to teach in our midst:

2Ti 2:17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

A ‘canker’ devours us just as do the locusts of the eighth plague or ‘disease’ upon Egypt.

Eighth Plague

Exo 10:3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exo 10:4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:
Exo 10:5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:
Exo 10:6 And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.
Exo 10:7 And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?
Exo 10:14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
Exo 10:15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

Again we are made to know that the diseases God brings upon the Egypt within us are heretics with heresies which are worse than any preceding plague of this kind. It is ordained that we buy into especially egregious doctrines like believing there is no law or that Christ died to sin so we can live in it, before we are given to see that our world is being destroyed by our own stubborn desire to destroy the Christ within us. That is exactly what Pharaoh’s determination to keep Israel in slavery represents.

Exo 1:15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
Exo 1:16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

The very threat of this plague of locusts makes Babylon, which spiritually is Egypt, begin to realize that “Egypt is [ being] destroyed” within us as we contend with, reprove and condemn our own Creator who seems intent on destroying our old man, Egypt within us. We have already seen that it is the lies, falsehoods and heresies we so willingly tolerate, that these locusts symbolize. It is these lies represented by these locusts which block out the light of the Sun of righteousness.

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Ninth Plague

Exo 10:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
Exo 10:22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
Exo 10:23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

It is the lies and heresies that constitute the smoke coming up from the abusos, or “bottomless pit” within us, which blots out the light of the sun and produces the locusts which devour and destroy the old man who is symbolized by Egypt and Egypt’s Pharaoh. Pharaoh is the symbol of that “man of sin, the son of perdition” who is still hanging on to the hope of “withholding” the destruction of our old man and the birth of our new man within.

2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [ withholds] will let [ withhold], until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

The “love of the Truth” is contrasted with failing to “diligently listen to the word of the Lord thy God”. It is the sin in our members that desires to be accepted of this world and fit in with this world. But that ninth plague of darkness brings us to condemn our Creator more than ever before. The darkness of this plague is the same darkness of the fifth of the seven last plagues of Rev 16.

Rev 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

Pharaoh is the type of our proud, rebellious “old… first man Adam”. Pharaoh never repented, and he was destroyed, just like that generation whose carcases fell in the wilderness. Christ made it clear that the birth of our new man comes only through the death and destruction of our old man.

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

And that is exactly what the tenth plague symbolizes within us:

Tenth Plague

Exo 11:4 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
Exo 11:5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
Exo 11:6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
Exo 11:7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians [ our old man] and Israel [ Christ in us].

The coming of this death angel, is the destruction of the man of sin of 2Th 2:8.

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:

This death angel is also the “mighty earthquake… such as was not since men were upon the earth”, ushering in the judgment and destruction of the great harlot with all of her pride, her lies, her heretics and heresies within us all.

Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Remember, it is the hail that “shall sweep away the refuge of lies” that make up the very foundation of that great city, Babylon.

Isa 28:17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

So Babylon, that great city where our Lord was crucified within us all, which is spiritually called Egypt seeks to destroy the people of God by keeping them in the bondage of darkness, which is given to God’s unsuspecting people by evil angels bringing evil spirits which must be tried and found wanting of the truth which is the Word of God.
Here is how King David sums up the Egypt and Babylon experience within us all:

Psa 78:42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
Psa 78:43 How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:
Psa 78:44 And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
Psa 78:45 He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
Psa 78:46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust.
Psa 78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost.
Psa 78:48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
Psa 78:49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
Psa 78:50 He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
Psa 78:51 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:

These words are not addressed to some bad man somewhere else. These words are addressed to you and to me. When we read that “He spared not their soul from death”, we are reading about what God is doing to the old man, the first man Adam within each of us. Christ said so:

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat [ our old man within us all] fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Now let’s review what God has promised us if we obey Him:

Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

If we “diligently listen to the voice of the Lord thy God… and keep His statutes, [ God] will put none of these diseases upon [ us]”. Those are the stipulations for staying spiritually healthy. We cannot serve God as we want and expect Him to just go along with our rebellion. Here is what happens when we do that:

Jer 14:12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence [ H1698 deber – diseases].

Of course, this is the same as saying:
“All things are [ ours]”, and we “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”. What we are told not to do is nothing less than a prophecy of what is in our flesh and what we will do, and what we are told to do is a prophecy of what is not in our flesh and a prophecy of what we will not at first do.
The first commandment mankind was ever given is a perfect example of how “the law of sin in [ our] members” works (Rom 7:21-23).

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

We all know just how “diligently” our original parents “listened to the voice of the Lord… God”. Contrary to the heretics and heresies of Babylon, God Himself had already placed a “law of sin” within the members of our original parents. It was the operation of this law within their members which assured that they would eat of the tree of which they were told not to eat. That law of sin is to this day sustained in us all, by the “one [ and only] lawgiver”.

Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
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?

So none of us will just naturally “diligently listen to the voice of the Lord thy God and… do that which is right in His sight”. “No not one” will at first, just naturally “give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes”. Consequently all of these diseases will at first come upon us.
Here is one of those afflictions and diseases which in type and shadow come upon us when we refuse to “diligently listen to the voice of the Lord [ our] God:

Jos 7:11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
Jos 7:12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
Jos 7:13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

That is the cure for the disease of “the law of sin in our members”, or as it is worded here in Joshua, “in the midst of thee”. “Sanctify the people… you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you”. That is what we must do if we are to maintain a healthy spiritual life individually as well as the corporate health of the “body of Christ” and the corporate family of God. How are we sanctified? Do “tolerance of the nonessential” words of God sanctify us? Absolutely not! That is the accused thing itself. Achin thought there were some things that simply were not essential in the words God had spoken to Israel, but this is the only way God’s people can be sanctified:

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: THY WORD is truth…
Joh 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

It is “through the foolishness of preaching” that we remind each other that the cure for “all of these diseases… the body of this death”, in which “the law of sin and death” has been granted free reign, is accomplished. It is only by “taking away the accused thing from among [ us]. We ‘destroy the accused thing’ by being “sanctified”, and we are “sanctified through the Truth”, and the Truth is “Thy Word”.
So let’s take the time to “Listen diligently to the voice of the Lord… and do that which is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all of His statutes”. That is the only thing which will sanctify us and “destroy the accursed thing from among [ us so we can] stand before our enemies” and “fight the good fight of faith”.

Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

Here now are just a few of the verses of scripture which are the “commandments, and… statutes” which are specifically designed to keep us spiritually healthy both individually and corporately. It is ignoring these verses of scripture which has given us the tens of thousands of harlot daughters of Babylon the great with which the world is plagued to this very day.

Tit 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
Tit 3:11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

How can we know who is and who is not “an heretick”? Here is what we must do if we are to stay spiritually healthy. If we fail to do this, we will be “swallowed up by the earth” (Num 16:32-35), and descend into the darkness of spiritual death itself:

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

We “believe not every spirit, [ but] trying the spirits… because many false prophets have gone out into the world”, tells us that the false doctrines of these false prophets are the spirits which we are to try. And yet it is those who “diligently listen to the voice of the Lord” and who insist on trying “every spirit” and every doctrine to be certain that they are “abiding… in the doctrine of Christ” who are always condemned and accused of being divisive and of being unloving. But when we see what happened to Christ as to all his apostles who were “forsaken of all men” for simply remaining faithful to the word of God, it is clear that the lesson of the scriptures is that it is better to be divided by the Truth than to be united in a lie and in the false doctrines brought to us by the many false prophets who have gone out into the world to deceive.
But is it possible for us to know what is the spirit of Truth and the spirit of error on every doctrine? What is the answer from the scriptures? For those who who have been granted to be able to “try the spirits to see whether they are of God”, here is the answer to that question.

1Jn 4:4 Ye [ who “try the spirits to see whether they are of God”, vs 1] are of God, little children, and have overcome them [ false prophets who refuse to try the spirits of all the false prophets who have “gone out into the world”, vs 1] : because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5 They [ the heretics and false prophets] are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

There it is. That is how “know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error”. That is the only way we can remain spiritually healthy and have “none of these diseases upon [ us] which [ God]… brought upon the Egyptians”.

Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

If we “diligently listen to the voice of the Lord [ our] God, and… do that which” we have been commanded in all these verses, then we will be “diligent” to “Keep [ this another of]… His statutes”:

2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that [“diligently listens to the voice of the Lord” and] abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

If we fail to “try the spirits” and we allow false doctrines coming from our own brothers to come into our fellowship, then we are simply disobeying our Lord’s commandment to “try the spirits whether they are of God”. Here is how Christ Himself tells us we are to handle any and all such trespass against us:

Mat 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault [ including his false doctrine] between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

It is in keeping with this commandment from our Lord that the apostle Paul commands us:

Tit 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

It is so much easier to simply tolerate differences of opinion concerning doctrinal matters. Here is the the verse which would keep us from ever having heresies in our midst if we lived by this verse:

1Co 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

That sounds fairly conclusive. It certainly seems to be saying that in matters which concern every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God we should “all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
But notice now how the adversary has managed to completely neutralize and nullify those life giving healthy and wholesome words of scripture. Here is what the Calvinist rebel Albert Barnes has written in his very popular commentary concerning this incredibly important and powerful verse of scripture:

“That ye all speak the same thing – “That ye hold the same doctrine” – Locke. This exhortation evidently refers to their holding and expressing the same religious sentiments, and is designed to rebuke that kind of contention and strife which is evinced where different opinions are held and expressed. To “speak the same thing” stands opposed to speaking different and conflicting things; or to controversy, and although perfect uniformity of opinion cannot be expected among people on the subject of religion any more than on other subjects, yet on the great and fundamental doctrines of Christianity, Christians may be agreed; on all points in which they differ they may evince a good spirit; and on all subjects they may express their sentiments in the language of the Bible, and thus “speak the same thing.” “

There it is, ” uniformity of opinion cannot be expected among people on the subject of religion any more than on other subjects“.
That is the doctrine which has been accepted by the world and by many who were once a part of our fellowship. That is not exactly “diligently listening to the words of the Lord thy God”. That is much more akin the the accursed thing which will keep us from being able to stand up to the false doctrines of our enemies. That is the reasoning of a carnal mind which wants to serve God in its own way with absolutely no fear of twisting and ignoring a very plain commandment to “all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Mr. Barnes thinks nothing of reading those words and telling us that the holy spirit is simply not incapable of keeping us “all… perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” as concerns “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”.
Here is a verse which comes to mind at this point:

Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe [ those words of God]? shall their unbelief make the faith [ and word] of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Mr. Barnes lies when he says “uniformity of opinion cannot be expected among people on the subject of religion any more than on other subjects”. The Truth is that when Christ lives in those people, they will have His mind. If Christ is in any man, Christ has but one mind, and that is the same mind which we too, must have:

1Co 2:14 But the natural man [ Albert Barnes included] receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Albert Barnes and the entire ecumenical Christian movement will tell you that it is impossible to have the mind of Christ. You choose who the Lord leads you to believe.
We are doing nothing short of being slothful and even disobeying our Lord when we allow unrepentant brothers in our midst, spreading their heresies after having been twice admonished against those heresies which they have brought into our fellowship.

Pro 18:9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

What is the blood of Christ? What does that blood accomplish in our behalf?

1Co 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

All the admonitions we have covered thus far are in the New Testament. If we apply these words “the plague shall not be upon [ us] to destroy [ us]”. If we do not abide by these words, along with Mr. Barnes, we will be destroyed as “the land of Egypt” within us.

Exo 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

The only reason the plague is not upon us to destroy us is that we have already died to this world, and we no longer care what anyone thinks but God himself, and now we can “diligently listen to” this commandment from out Lord:

Rom 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
Rom 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Contrary to what you may hear, Mike Vinson makes no unilateral decisions concerning who is and who is not a heretic in our midst. The words of our Lord, Lord willing, always have and always will be “diligently listened to” and will be followed, and it will be in the mouth of two or three witnesses that every word will be established, and such decisions will be made on after “a multitude of counselors have been consulted.
I will close by quoting the words of our beloved brother, Jim Ross in Australia, which he sent me just this past week:

“I try to remind myself that the closer that I get to our Father in heaven and our Lord Jesus Christ puts me on a priority list for Satan to test my faith. He is not as interested in my loved ones as me or you or our family who seek the things that are above and the mind of Christ. I pray the Lord will direct your steps … for the protection of the flock”.

He then quoted this verse:

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Thank you, Jim, for your sober vigilance, and thank all of you for your sober vigilance in diligently listening to the voice of the Lord our God.