Exo 3:1–22 I Will Turn Aside and See This Great Sight

[Study Aired March 21, 2022]

Exo 3:1  Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 
Exo 3:2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 
Exo 3:3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 
Exo 3:4  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 
Exo 3:5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 
Exo 3:6  Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 
Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 
Exo 3:8  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 
Exo 3:9  Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 
Exo 3:10  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 
Exo 3:11  And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 
Exo 3:12  And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 
Exo 3:13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 
Exo 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 
Exo 3:15  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. 
Exo 3:16  Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 
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. 
Exo 3:18  And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 
Exo 3:19  And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. 
Exo 3:20  And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. 
Exo 3:21  And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: 
Exo 3:22  But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

This chapter deals with the coming of the Lord to Moses. In other words, Moses’ encounter with Christ. Up to this time in Moses’ life, he knew he had been called by the Lord and was doing the work of the Lord by his own strength. He had not encountered Jesus yet. Moses’ scenario is just like us. We left Egypt and came to the wilderness thinking we were serving the Lord by helping the flock, when in fact, we’ve ended up in Babylon (the church in the wilderness) and were becoming worse off. If we are called and chosen, then our Lord would come to us with the brightness of His coming to start the process of destroying the beast within.

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:

As we are aware, what Moses went through is typical of us as elect. The disciples also had the same encounter. The time that Jesus called them to become His disciples was the time they left Egypt or the world. However, when Jesus was physically with them, they thought they were serving the Lord, when in fact, they were unconverted. It was later after Christ was resurrected that they had an encounter with Christ. This is what Peter had to say about his experience on the day of Pentecost:

Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 
Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

It is after our sun had been turned to darkness and the moon to blood that Christ comes to us. His coming is the time when, if we call on the name of the Lord, we are saved. Let’s now look at Moses’ encounter when Christ came to him as follows:

Exo 3:1  Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 

Here, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, represents the Lord whose flock Moses was taking care of. As we know, the land of Midian where Moses fled after leaving Egypt, was part of the desert. A key characteristic of a desert is the scarcity of water, which makes it impossible for plants to grow. The fact that Moses was keeping the flock in the desert, therefore, suggests that Moses, together with the flock, symbolizes Babylon where there is lack of the word of the Lord. So, after leaving Egypt, we automatically end up in Babylon.

1Sa 3:1  And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

Moses, being a symbol of the elect, had been called and chosen before the foundations of the world. Being called and chosen, it is a matter of time before the Lord comes with His brightness, which is His words, to destroy that which holds us from offering our lives as living sacrifice to the Lord. In the fullness of time, Moses led the flock to the backside^H310 of the desert. The word “backside” has frequently been used in King James to mean “after” or “behind”. However, it is also used in other ways such as “to turn away from” in Numbers 14:43.

Num 14:43  For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from^H310 the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you.

Thus, Moses leading the flock to the backside of the desert can mean Moses ‘turning away from’ the desert. It is when Moses turned away from the desert situation of the lack of the word of Christ that he came to the mountain of God or had an encounter with the Lord who comes with His words to brighten our path. In other words, it is when we begin to turn away from Babylon, representing the desert and its doctrines, that Christ comes to us!! This mountain of God, which is called Horeb, is the same as the New Jerusalem or the church of the first born. So, we turn away from the desert (Babylon) to enter Jerusalem which is above. This mountain of God is also spiritually the same as Mount Zion.

Isa 10:12  Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

It is interesting that Horeb, the mountain of God, means “desolate”. The word of the Lord describes the elect as desolate. This is all to confirm that the mountain of God here represents the assembly of the Lord’s elect.

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

Exo 3:2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 
Exo 3:3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 

The Lord coming to us, His elect, is through judgment or the fire of the word of the Lord. The bush here represents the elect as follows:

Deu 33:16  And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

Thus, the statement that the Lord appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush is to let us know that this coming of Christ to the elect is all within us. In the fullness of time, the Lord will appear for the whole world to see. However, in this dispensation, the Lord’s coming is within us just as the kingdom of the Lord is within us.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 
Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

What Moses saw caught his attention. Indeed, the Lord knows what will catch our attention. He saw the bush burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. The question is, “What does this mean?” As indicated, the bush represents the elect and the bush burning is to let us know of the judgment of the elect. In spite of what the elect go through by way of judgment, we rather become stronger and are not consumed by our fiery trials. This is exemplified by what happened to the Israelites while in Egypt. Even as their burden became heavier, they became stronger and more fruitful.

Exo 1:12  But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

This is what Paul had to say about the bush burning but not being consumed:

2Co 6:4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 
2Co 6:5  In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 
2Co 6:6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 
2Co 6:7  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 
2Co 6:8  By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; 
2Co 6:9  As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 
2Co 6:10  As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s experience here on earth caps it all. He was like a bush burning but was not consumed.

Heb 5:5  So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 
Heb 5:6  As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 
Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 
Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 
Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 

Now the question is, “What did Jesus, together with the people of God, see that kept them going in spite of the trouble they went through?” This is the very question on the mind of Moses that caused him to turn aside to see this great sight – why the bush is burning and yet not being consumed. The answer is very simple. It is because they have all seen the reward!! This is what Paul had to say about our High Priest Jesus:

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.

Jesus saw the reward, and it served as a driving force to go against all the odds in this life to please God!! The reward is what is motivating all of us and preparing us to go through the fire knowing that we shall not be consumed!! Moses, like us, also wanted to know why the bush burns and yet was not consumed. However, many have seen the bush burning and not being consumed but were/are not enthused about it and therefore do not turn aside to see this great sight!! We, the elect, are the ones who, like Moses, are turning aside to see this great sight!! I remember Mike being questioned by someone about why he is so concerned with the first resurrection. This simply means that the fellow has not turned aside to see the reward!!

Exo 3:4  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Exo 3:5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

It is when we turn aside to understand the word of the Lord regarding how all the elect before us went through all kinds of tribulations, but they were not consumed, that Christ comes to us with His brightness. That is when we hear a voice within us calling us by our name. Let’s now pay attention to the name Moses. It means to ‘draw out’. As we are aware, Moses also represents the law. It is when the law has run its full course that it draws out of us what we really are in the flesh.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The fact that Moses was told not to draw near because the place where he was standing was holy ground is to make Moses aware that his way of life was not pleasing to the Lord. This means that the law has drawn out of Moses his unworthiness before the Lord and that Moses is required to change his way of walking before the Lord, which is signified by the Lord telling Moses to put off his shoes from his feet. The Lord also told Abraham after several years that the Lord appeared to him that he should walk before the Lord and be blameless. This implies that Abraham’s life at that time was not pleasing to the Lord.

Gen 17:1  And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 

Exo 3:6  Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 

In this encounter with Moses, the Lord introduced Himself as the God of Moses’ fathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This introduction is to let Moses know that he is dealing with a God who is able to raise him up from his spiritually dead state.

Luk 20:37  Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 
Luk 20:38  For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 

Moses hiding his face signifies that he became aware of his sins which separates us from the Lord.

Isa 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

It is when the Lord comes to us with the brightness of His words that we become aware of our iniquities, and we come to see clearly the man of sin sitting in our temple claiming that he is God. This is what happened to Isaiah when the Lord came to Him.

Isa 6:1  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Isa 6:5  And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” 

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 

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:

Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 
Exo 3:8  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 
Exo 3:9  Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 

The Lord’s coming to us is the result of us groaning under the burden of sin because of our taskmaster, the old man or the flesh. If we are called and chosen, then he will hear our cry in this life and come to us with His deliverance. As stated here in verse 8, the deliverance of the Lord at the hands of the Egyptian is to bring them out of Egypt to possess a good land. The land here is our bodies, and the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Hittites the Amorites and the Jebusites are all different aspects of the beast or the old man within which are dealt with at various phases of our lives. Thus, our salvation is a process which lasts a lifetime. It is not something that we attain at the beginning of our walk as our brothers and sisters in Babylon made us believe during our sojourn there. It is rather at the end of the road that salvation becomes ours.

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

1Co 9:24  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 
1Co 9:25  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 
1Co 9:26  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 
1Co 9:27  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 

Exo 3:10  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 
Exo 3:11  And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Exo 3:12  And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 

When we come to realize our unworthiness in the Lord’s presence, we do not think that the Lord can ever use us. This was what happened to Moses. The same thing happened to both Isaiah and Jeremiah when the Lord called them. These three present a witness to us that indeed the Lord is a God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That is, the Lord is able to raise us up from our dead situation to use us for His cause.

Isa 6:5  And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” 
Isa 6:6  Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 
Isa 6:7  And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 
Isa 6:8  And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Isa 6:9  And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

Jer 1:4  Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 
Jer 1:5  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 
Jer 1:6  Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 
Jer 1:7  But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.

The reason why the Lord is able to use us in spite of our shortfalls is that it is the Lord that does the work. It does not depend on us. We are only vessels through which the Lord does the work. This is what verse 12 seems to suggest as the Lord told Moses that He would be with him. In Jeremiah’s encounter with the Lord, he was also told that the Lord would be with Him. The Lord being with us is the same as Him doing the work!!

Jer 1:8  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.” 

Php 2:13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 

1Co 12:6  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 

In verse 12, Moses was told that as a sign of the Lord sending Him, when the Lord delivers them from Egypt, they shall serve the Lord in mountain Horeb. As indicated earlier, the mountain here represents the New Jerusalem. We are only able to serve the Lord acceptably when we are in the company of the saints.

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: 
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 
Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 
Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Exo 3:13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 
Exo 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 
Exo 3:15  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

When Moses requested to know the name of the Lord, he was told that ”I AM THAT I AM”.  ‘I AM’ implies self-sufficiency, self-existence and immediate presence. What this means is that the Lord’s existence and actions are not dependent on anybody or anything. In other words, the Lord’s plans are not contingent upon any circumstance or anyone else.  He is sufficient in Himself to accomplish whatever He decides to do. It is another way of saying that with God, all things are possible. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself, to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish.

As we have shown earlier, telling Moses that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is to show Moses that He is able to raise the dead to do whatever He wills to do!!

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. 
Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. 

Rev 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. 

Luk 20:37  Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 
Luk 20:38  For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 

Exo 3:16  Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 
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. 

All these verses are to assure us that when we pray to the Lord according to His will, He hears us and will surely answer in His time. Right before the nation of Israel came to existence, the Lord had prophesied to Abraham that the Israelites will be in a foreign land for four hundred years before they are delivered. Thus, Israel’s request to be liberated from their taskmasters was right in the center of the Lord’s will!! However, the Lord has set times and seasons for the execution of His will in everybody’s life, and it is only when these set times are fulfilled that we receive answers to our request.

Ecc 3:1  To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 

Ecc 3:11  He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 

1Jn 3:21  Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 
1Jn 3:22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

In verse 17, we are told that the land they are going to inherit after leaving Egypt is a land flowing with milk and honey. Let’s try to understand what milk and honey stands for. Milk in the scriptures represents the basics of the Lord’s word as shown below:

Isa 28:9  Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 

1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 

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. 

1Pe 2:2  As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 

Honey can also mean the milk of the word of Christ. It only helps us to distinguish between good and evil.

Isa 7:15  Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 

On the other hand, honey essentially deals with how we hear the word of the Lord. When the word of the Lord comes to us, it tastes so sweet, but after we start to apply it to our lives, that is when it becomes bitter.

Eze 3:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. 

Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 

So, the Lord delivering the Israelites from Egypt and taking them to the land flowing with milk and honey is to let us know that when we come out of the world, we are to start with the milk of the word of the Lord and must be zealous for the word of the Lord just as human beings search for honey which taste so good in the mouth. However, in reality, in our zeal to know the word of the Lord, we all end up in the church in the wilderness (Babylon) imbibing false doctrines which block us from the milk of the word and the honey taste of the word of the Lord.

Exo 3:18  And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 

Our exit from Egypt is to be accompanied by a three-day journey into the wilderness where we can offer sacrifice to the Lord. The wilderness here is the world. Our walk with Christ starts after leaving Egypt, and the three-day journey means that all we go through in this life is part of the spiritual maturity process destined for us. This spiritual maturity is accomplished through judgment. It is as we are maturing that we are able to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Exo 3:19  And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. 
Exo 3:20  And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. 

As we have explained in previous sessions, the king of Egypt represents the beast within. Our deliverance from this beast, or the old man within, is not accomplished in one day. It is a process. It takes the mighty hand of the Lord to deliver us from the opposition put up by this beast within to relinquish its throne in our lives. As indicated in verse 20, it takes the mighty hand of the Lord to work wonders on our behalf before we are delivered from the beast’s clutches. This is all to let us know that the death of the beast within is not our work. It is the Lord’s work. All we have to do to work the works of the Lord is to believe that what the Lord has started in us, He is able to complete it!!

Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 
Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 

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: 

Exo 3:21  And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: 
Exo 3:22  But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. 

The Lord does not facilitate our exit from Egypt without Him providing us with His word, which is represented here as gold and silver. However, after leaving Egypt, we turn the gold and the silver into images of men which are false doctrines. This is clearly demonstrated later in the journey in the wilderness at Mount Sinai when the Israelites used all the gold and silver to make a golden image. In the case of the raiment, which signifies the righteousness of Christ, we end up not submitting to Christ’s righteousness but rather establish our own righteousness (wear our own raiment).

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,

Exo 32:1  And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 
Exo 32:2  And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 
Exo 32:3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 
Exo 32:4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 

Rom 10:2  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 
Rom 10:3  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 

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Awesome Hands – part 74

“The judgments” Part E

February 11th, 2015

Last study we covered the implications of seducing a woman, borrowing from your neighbor and not suffering a witch to live. This study, we are going to look at the next few judgments in Exodus 22 to continue to see what spiritual admonitions we can glean from the judgments given to God’s people at the time of their Exodus from Egypt.

“Laying with a beast”

Exo 22:19  Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

This is a fairly obvious statement from or Lord on the result of having sexual relations with a beast. It has the penalty of death associated with it just like murdering someone or being a witch, enchanter or diviner, for example.

These are “high crimes” and abominations to the Lord, but what else can we learn about “laying with a beast”?

Deu 27:21  Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Deuteronomy adds that a person who lieth with a beast is cursed. The spiritual admonition we are to take from this is that we do not have relations with the beast in us all, the old man in us all, expecting that we will not have sin come about from it …. And, “the wages of sin is death”.

Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We want to be producing fruit in our lives knowing that it can only happen when we have the Holy Spirit working within us.

At this point, I am going to take the liberty to address an important topic that may not seem to be addressed a lot, but which is also the spiritual application of what we should be doing in proper biblical relationships with our spouses … and this isn’t going to be “PG” if you have children listening in.

Last week, we covered what sexual relations outside of marriage were, which should then lead to marriage, but with the current verse being discussed, I want to discuss relations within a marriage.

Obviously, sexual relations produce the fruit of children for us, but that is not the only fruit we bear.

1Co 7:1  Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

1Co 7:2  Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

1Co 7:3  Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

1Co 7:4  The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

1Co 7:5  Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

The ISV says it a little clearer and in modern English as:

1Co 7:1  Now about what you asked: “Is it advisable for a man not to marry?”

1Co 7:2  Because sexual immorality is so rampant, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.

1Co 7:3  A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should do the same for her husband.

1Co 7:4  A wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but his wife does.

1Co 7:5  Do not withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so just for a set time, in order to devote yourselves to prayer. Then you should come together again so that Satan does not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

(CEV) 1Co 7:4  A wife belongs to her husband instead of to herself, and a husband belongs to his wife instead of to himself.

We also bear the fruit of having a sound relationship and closeness with one another, neither of which can happen when having relations with “any manner of beast”.

As husband and wife, we have been given one another to represent the physical representation of what is the spiritual Truth of the relationship of Jesus to His church, and God the Father using Jesus to make all of creation.

A lot of times marriages crumble neither at the dinner table nor sitting around on the porch but in the bedroom. I read a similar line of this in an article my wife sent to me and I cannot agree more with that statement.

This is true because you should be the most intimate and close while being completely vulnerable to your spouse. In other words, we have a unique understanding of one another while we are naked, and being naked is a VERY vulnerable position to be in.

However, the most missing ingredient in most bedrooms across the world over is Jesus Christ.

How can Jesus Christ be a missing ingredient in the bedroom? When we see that the Lord has caused us to be in marriage with a person for hopefully the rest of our lives, then we will also see that the Lord has caused this union to meet the needs of the other person involved in the marriage.

I do not need to go into specifics because every marriage is so different, but women want to be loved and men want to be respected and this is what we are commanded to do as spouses to one another.

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

(CEV) Eph 5:21  Honor Christ and put others first.

Eph 5:22  A wife should put her husband first, as she does the Lord.

Eph 5:23  A husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head and the Savior of the church, which is his own body.

Eph 5:24  Wives should always put their husbands first, as the church puts Christ first.

Eph 5:25  A husband should love his wife as much as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it.

As we all know, these are very hard things to do when we have our naturally carnal minded beast to deal with. Men want to speed things up and woman want to slow things down a tad, but we should be looking out for the middle ground and needs of our spouses.

If we keep Jesus Christ at the forefront of our hearts and minds in all things, then this too applies to our relations with our spouses. Put each other first, and I promise you will reap the fruit of that sacrifice for one another.

I spoke about this contrast to show that there is a proper and biblical way to deal with sexual relations compared to given into impure and lustful sexual actions that lead into “lying with a beast”.  Doing so gives into our own beast and all beasts will pay the penalty of death, returning to the dust from which they came.

“Sacrificing unto gods”

Exo 22:20  He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

Today, we do not make sacrifices to our Lord or to other Gods in the physical as Christians. Yet, we do make plenty of spiritual sacrifices unto gods and hopefully only to our Lord.

Don’t you know that you are gods?

Joh 10:34  Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

Joh 10:35  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

That of course comes from:

Psa 82:6  I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

Psa 82:7  But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

Psa 82:8  Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

Isa 42:17  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

Isa 42:18  Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

Isa 42:19  Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?

Anything that we think or do should be to the glory of God the Father and NOT to our own glory. Like was mentioned with spouses just now, when we look out for the benefits of others, we will be focused on them and not on ourselves.

Likewise, when we are doing all that we do as a “sacrifice” to God, then we will be doing what we are commanded to do and that really just involves us loving God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind.

Notice that Isaiah says that “they” trust in graven images and say to molten images “ye are gods”. If you just think of the “they” as being you, then you will know what it means that the Lord answers us according to the idols of our own hearts.

Most Christians today do not think this is talking about them because they haven’t made physical graven images with their hands nor molten.

But I say unto you, that you have taken the Word of God and put your hands to it to make it an image of your own god, yourself. I say to you that you have taken God’s word, His Fire, and created images that represent what you want the Word of God to say versus what it actually says.

As an example, how many read and heard what I said above about the wives body not being her own and the husbands body not being his own, and then thought, “yeah right”?

Maybe, you didn’t think that specifically, but then you read or heard “do not defraud one another,” and the husbands thought, “woo hoo I got her now, this is gonna be fun on my time table, play time every day of the week,” and the wives thought, “woo hoo, I am gonna be praying and fasting a whole lot more, new reason and excuse to add to the menu”.

Is that really what we just read, or is it easy to mold that to say what we WANTit to say instead of also noticing what bridges the gap and brings both parties together, “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time” or said in the CEV version, “Do not withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so just for a set time”

As anyone in marriage knows, the daily ins and outs of living with another human can often times cause us to not want or desire to “AGREE to do so”, and that is why involving Jesus Christ is so important to that process of coming to agreement.

Jesus Christ is after all the Word of God, and we must look toward scriptures to know how to handle situations like these.

Again, I say as an example:

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Eph 5:21  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

(CEV) Eph 5:21  Honor Christ and put others first.

This chapter of Ephesians starts off by saying:

Eph 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

(CEV) Eph 5:1  Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children.

Eph 5:2  Let love be your guide. Christ loved us and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.

As it concerns sacrificing to other gods instead of to the Lord Himself, if we are putting others first like our spouses, then we are NOT doing things for ourselves primarily.

Do these things, and the Lord will bless you. Go against them, and God will utterly destroy that old man that is in you… which at the end of the day is a good thing.

Exo 22:20  He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

I hope this has been a blessing to you on how to listen diligently to the Word of God found in Exodus 22:19-20, and how to apply those spiritual types and shadows to your lives today.

Audio Links

Video Links

Awesome Hands – part 58

“The Lord of the north”
June 11, 2014

As we start this study today, we have been gathered together by the work of the Lord in our lives for whatever purposes He has gathered us together.

When we think about that, we can compare those thoughts to what it might have been like for the Israelites as the Lord worked it in their lives to be where we find them in Exodus 14, the focus of this study.

Where we find the Israelites is firmly in the palm of the hands of our mighty Lord.  The Hebrew word “yad” is mentioned six different times in this chapter alone in verses Exodus 14:8, 14:16, 14:21, 14:26, 14:27 and 14:30.

What we can know from this simple observation is that the Lord wants to show us the power that He possesses to control the reins and the bridle of our mouths i.e. our hearts.

Mat 15:11  Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

Psa 32:9  Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

Psa 39:1  To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.

Isa 30:27  Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

Isa 30:28  And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

Jas 3:2  For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

Indeed, the Lord is causing all things to work after the counsel of His own will and we can glean a little bit more about His will as we examine what He causes the Israelites to experience and do in Exodus 14 and throughout the scripture.
“Pihahiroth”

Exo 14:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 14:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.
Exo 14:3  For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
Exo 14:4  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

There are many revealing things contained within these four verses but I am only going to be able to cover them briefly due to time constraints. I encourage you to study these things to see if they be so as you are able to find time.

First, we are told that the Lord tells Moses to speak to the children of Israel to encamp at the third and final location before finally crossing the Red Sea.

At the end of chapter 13 we are told the 1^st and second locations together.

Exo 13:20  And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

Succoth is interesting because this is the first stop the Israelites made when the left Egypt. This is also where Jacob made booths for his cattle and built a house for himself.

Gen 33:17  And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

Yes, isn’t it interesting that the first place we find refuge as Israelites is where Jacob first builds his house after he had “seen the face of Esau as though he had seen the face of God”.

Gen 33:10  And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

Jacob then journeys on to buy a piece of a field and erects an altar to God. The Israelites encamp in Etham which means “with them: their plowshare”.

The likeness in what Jacob and his sons do in Shalem in Gen 33/34 and the Israelites now finding themselves in the same place is that their second stopping point in Etham is that they are given God’s commandments while being in relative peace.

“Shalem” means “complete, safe, peaceful, perfect, whole, full, at peace”. Of course the sons of Jacob slew a whole town there due to Dinah being defiled, but God leads them from there to journey on to Bethel all the while protecting them. Jacob his house bury their false idols under an oak and they make their journey.

Gen 35:3  And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

Now, in Etham God leads His people day and night through the wilderness to their third place of rest in Pihahiroth.

Exo 14:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

I covered those points to bring us to where we now can see that God has undoubtedly led the Israelites to where we find them.

Where we find them is in the land of judgment, and for us today, this is a type of where our old man is brought directly to the judgment seat of God.

I named this study “The Lord of the north” but our God is the One True God, and among other things,  He is a God of judgment and biblically speaking, judgment comes from the north.

Where does judgment begin? It begins at house of God. What does Bethel mean? It means “house of God”, which is this third stop for Jacob and his house that we are comparing today.

In this type and shadow of where we find the Israelites, they are now “over against Baalzephon” in Pihahiroth.

Baalzephon means “the master or Lord of the north” and is actually another name given to Zeus by the Greek Hellenes, but this is where we find the Israelites? So, what can we glean from this?

Just look at what the Lord has caused in that He is going to bring final judgment on the King of Egypt i.e. our old man.

He brings the Israelites “over against the Lord of the north” and He does so as to:

Exo 14:3  For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

Pharaoh will think that Israel has been brought to the base of this mountain and on the shore of the sea to be destroyed by him. The Truth however for the “god” on the throne of God (a type and shadow) is that the Pharaoh is being brought to “the Lord of the north” to be destroyed!

Exo 14:4  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured (H3513) upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

After all that has happened with the plagues and the death of the first born to cap it off, the Lord is once again going to harden the Pharaoh’s heart to follow after the tribes of Israel.

I find it quite revealing that Jacob was pursued by his twin brother Esau in what looked like a certain peril to Jacob and his entire house with him. Now, fast forward many hundreds of years and you find the tribes of Israel facing the SAME situation of being pursued to their apparent destruction.

Thankfully, the Lord doesn’t change. He is Faithful.

These stories were played out to show us, the Jews which are one inwardly, that no matter the amount of time that passes, no matter the circumstances, the Lord has proven to us that He will deliver us.

In fact, the Lord BRINGS us to place of deliverance to DELIVER US. He literally causes us to be where we NEED to call out to Him in our distresses so that He “will be honoured upon Pharaoh”. So what does that mean?

H3513

kâbad  /  kâbêd

BDB Definition:

1) to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honourable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honoured

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to be heavy

1a2) to be heavy, be insensible, be dull

1a3) to be honoured

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to be made heavy, be honoured, enjoy honour, be made abundant

1b2) to get oneself glory or honour, gain glory

1c) (Piel)

1c1) to make heavy, make dull, make insensible

1c2) to make honourable, honour, glorify

1d) (Pual) to be made honourable, be honoured

1e) (Hiphil)

1e1) to make heavy

1e2) to make heavy, make dull, make unresponsive

1e3) to cause to be honoured

1f) (Hithpael)

1f1) to make oneself heavy, make oneself dense, make oneself numerous

1f2) to honour oneself

Part of Speech: verb

A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

Look at the times it is used other places:

H3513

kâbad  /  kâbêd

Total KJV Occurrences: 115

honour, 23

Exo_14:17-18 (2), Exo_20:12, Num_22:17, Num_22:37, Num_24:11, Deu_5:16, Jdg_9:9, Jdg_13:17, 1Sa_15:30 (3), 2Sa_6:22, 2Sa_10:3, 1Ch_19:3, Job_14:21, Pro_3:9, Pro_4:8, Isa_29:13, Isa_43:20, Isa_58:13, Dan_11:38 (2)

heavy, 16

1Sa_4:18, 1Sa_5:6, 1Sa_5:11, 2Sa_14:26, 1Ki_12:10, 1Ki_12:14, 2Ch_10:10, 2Ch_10:14, Neh_5:18, Job_33:7, Psa_38:4 (2), Isa_6:10, Isa_24:20, Isa_59:1, Lam_3:7

honourable, 13

Gen_34:19, Num_22:15, 1Sa_9:6, 1Sa_22:14, 2Sa_23:19, 2Sa_23:23, 1Ch_4:9, 1Ch_11:21, 1Ch_11:25, Isa_23:9, Isa_43:4, Isa_58:13, Nah_3:10

glorify, 7

Psa_22:23, Psa_50:15, Psa_86:9, Psa_86:12, Isa_24:15, Isa_25:3, Jer_30:19

glorified, 6

Lev_10:3, Isa_26:15, Isa_66:5, Eze_28:22, Eze_39:13, Hag_1:8

glorious, 5

Deu_28:58, 2Sa_6:20, Psa_87:3, Isa_49:5, Isa_60:13

hardened, 5

Exo_8:15, Exo_8:32, Exo_9:34, Exo_10:1, 1Sa_6:6

honoured, 5

Exo_14:4, Pro_27:18 (2), Isa_43:23, Lam_1:8

honoureth, 4

Psa_15:4, Pro_12:9, Pro_14:31, Mal_1:6

heavier, 3

Job_6:3, Pro_27:2-3 (2)

promote, 3

Num_22:17, Num_22:37, Num_24:11

sore, 3

Jdg_20:34, 1Ch_10:3 (2)

chargeable, 2

2Sa_13:25, Neh_5:15

many, 2

Nah_3:15 (3)

abounding, 1

Pro_8:24

afflict, 1

Isa_9:1

boast, 1

2Ch_25:19

bring, 1

Pro_4:8

dim, 1

Gen_48:10

get, 1

Exo_14:17

glorifieth, 1

Psa_50:23

glory, 1

2Ki_14:10

grievous, 1

Gen_18:20

grievously, 1

Isa_9:1

harden, 1

1Sa_6:6

heavily, 1

Isa_47:6 (2)

honourest, 1

1Sa_2:29

more, 1

Gen_34:19

nobles, 1

Psa_149:8

prevailed, 1

Jdg_1:35

rich, 1

Gen_13:2

stopped, 1

Zec_7:11

I want to focus in on a few key verses which deal directly with the topic we are discussing today. Those verses are:

hardened, 5

Exo_8:15, Exo_8:32, Exo_9:34, Exo_10:1, 1Sa_6:6

Exo 8:14  And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
Exo 8:15  But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

Exo 8:32  And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

Exo 9:34  And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

Exo 10:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him:

The Hebrew word used here as hardened is the same Hebrew word used to “be honoured upon Pharaoh”.

Exo 14:4  And I will harden(H2388) Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured (H3513) upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so
The Hebrew word used as “harden”, which is found in the same verse is a DIFFERENT Hebrew word and means to “fasten upon, to seize, to be strong”.

In other words, the Lord is going to strengthen the Pharaoh’s heart so that the Lord can make known the abundant power He has over all the nations of the  world. This is the honour, the glory and the richness that this process brings out to everyone.

As a perfect example of that, we will finish up this part of the study with the last example found which is listed as “hardened” but many other times as “honoured” or “glorified”.

The verses is 1 Sam 6:6, but I want to read it in context to give as a grasp of what the Lord is working in Exodus 14, and by extension, in us to this very day.

1Sa 5:9  And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
1Sa 5:10  Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
1Sa 5:11  So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
1Sa 5:12  And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Continuing in chapter 6:

1Sa 6:1  And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
1Sa 6:2  And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
1Sa 6:3  And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
1Sa 6:4  Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
1Sa 6:5  Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
1Sa 6:6  Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
1Sa 6:7  Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
1Sa 6:8  And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
1Sa 6:9  And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.

And the confirmation verse that proves this was a work of the Lord:

1Sa 6:12  And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.

The point of this story is to bring about the end result of the people of God turning or “preparing” their hearts towards God. That is accomplished ONLY BECAUSE the Lord put them in the situations that they were in which required supernatural intervention.

1Sa 7:3  And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

Indeed, the Lord is going to need a sacrifice to bring about freedom as a result. In the case of this story in Samuel, the Philistines were going to be healed of the emerods by providing a sacrifice.

There is also the number 5 mentioned, twice which witnesses to the grave of God but ALSO to the fact that this whole lesson is about the “completeness of the flesh” i.e. the work the Lord is working in us all to bring about the ushering in of the new man as the old man is slain.

Jacob stopped in Succoth, then Shalem, then on to Bethel to show us this process. The tribes of Jacob go to Succoth, Etham and then Pihahiroth to show us the Lord doesn’t change and He takes His people through this same process.

What this process concludes with is that the old man pursues us to what appears to be utter destruction only to be the one who is destroyed.

Before that happens though, we have the old man who is given a puffed up and glorified “honorable” heart that what he is doing is what needs to be done. Only problem is, that this link of logic and reasoning leads to his destruction.

What happens as a result is that the new man is brought to live by having a “new heart” in that the Lord provides deliverance as we prepare our hearts unto the Lord.

In the next study, we are going to continue in the 14^th chapter of Exodus and come to the climax of the work the Lord does for us in the “first baptism” of the Red Sea.

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Awesome Hands – part 57

“Remember this day”
June. 4, 2013

In the previous “Awesome hands” studies, we briefly covered a lot of the beginning of the works of the Lord in the lives of those He is working directly with.

We paused the series with the Israelites being brought up out of Egypt by the power of the Lord.

Today, we are going to resume the series with the Israelites being given directions on how to handle their newly found freedom from the slavery and bondage they were subject to under the Pharaoh.

As with all scripture, we are being admonished by what they are going to be told to do, what they live through, and how they react to those scenarios.

We are going to start off this study by looking at how the Lord directly works His “hands” in our lives are we are given freedom by and through Him.

“The Lord’s Law”

Exo 13:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 13:2  Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
Exo 13:3  And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

As we all reflect on what the Lord has done in our lives, there are some very defined points for us to all keep in our memories so that we do not quickly forget what the Lord has brought us through.

There are many things that the Lord uses in our lives to drag us to Himself, so whatever that is for an individual is the very same thing that Lord wants you to “remember this day”.

The Lord is not giving us an admonition to remember days, months times and years with this statement, though the Israelites DID keep certain holy days and Sabbaths according to “as sayeth the law”.

However, when we take the “sum of the Word” we know that Jesus didn’t “break the Sabbath,” which was to be remembered by the Israelites continually, just to “keep days” with other “important” days to remember.

When we look at the spiritual meaning of what we are studying today, the Lord is actually giving us a LIFE LONG perspective of what He commands us to do and remember.

For me, the death of my brother at a young age was the catalyst that started the dragging process of me to the Lord. For you, that experience is most certainly a different circumstance.

However, the Lord wants us to “remember this event” (or many events if that is the case) so that we can keep Him at the focus of our hearts and minds.

Being human and carnally minded, we are naturally NOT going to remember the bondage we have been freed from and we are going to slip back into our old man ways.

Remembrance is just once part of this puzzle, but there is more for us to not only remember and think about but to also ACT upon.

Exo 13:4  This day came ye out in the month Abib.
Exo 13:5  And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.
Exo 13:6  Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.
Exo 13:7  Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
Exo 13:8  And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.
Exo 13:9  And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.
Exo 13:10  Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.

“…..no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters….”

The crux of these commandments of the Lord are that we are to KEEP the commandments of the Lord, but those commandments are actually specific in nature and we are not left to just make them up or wonder what they are.

They are all contained in scripture, in the Word of God, and by having the sum of the Word and multiple witnesses, we are able to determine what those commandments are.

When we keep this type of remembrance and focus, it is actually a FEAST to the Lord. It is noteworthy to recognize that a “feast” is interchangeable with “sacrifice.”

To keep the commandments of the Lord is a “sacrifice” to the Lord. The “sacrifice” in this case is to eat unleavened bread for seven days and on the seventh day to have a feast or a “sacrifice” to the Lord.

Here is the word used for feast in verse 6:

H2282

chag  châg

khag, khawg

A festival, or a victim therefor: – (solemn) feast (day), sacrifice, solemnity.

H2282

chag  /  châg

Total KJV Occurrences: 65

feast, 53

Exo_10:9, Exo_12:14, Exo_13:6, Exo_23:15-16 (3), Exo_32:5, Exo_34:18, Exo_34:22 (2), Exo_34:25, Lev_23:6, Lev_23:34, Lev_23:39, Lev_23:41, Num_28:17, Num_29:12, Deu_16:10, Deu_16:13-14 (2), Deu_16:16 (3), Deu_31:10, Jdg_21:19, 1Ki_8:2, 1Ki_8:65, 1Ki_12:32-33 (3), 2Ch_5:3, 2Ch_7:8-9 (2), 2Ch_30:13 (4), 2Ch_30:21, 2Ch_35:17, Ezr_3:4, Ezr_6:22, Neh_8:14, Neh_8:18, Psa_81:3, Eze_45:21, Eze_45:23, Eze_45:25, Hos_2:11, Hos_9:5, Amo_5:21, Zec_14:16, Zec_14:18-19 (2)

feasts, 5

Eze_45:17, Eze_46:11, Amo_8:10, Nah_1:15, Mal_2:3

solemn, 3

Psa_81:3 (2), Nah_1:15, Mal_2:3

sacrifice, 2

Exo_23:18, Psa_118:27

sacrifices, 1

Isa_29:1

solemnity, 1

Isa_30:29

I am going to read the few times this Hebrew word “chag” is used to show that “sacrifice” is indeed interchangeable with “feast”.

Exo 23:18  Thou shalt notH3808 offerH2076 the bloodH1818 of my sacrificeH2077 (meaning slaughter / the flesh of an animal) withH5921 leavened bread;H2557 neitherH3808 shall the fatH2459 of my sacrificeH2282 remainH3885 untilH5704 the morning.H1242

Exo 23:18  Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

Psa 118:26  Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Isa 29:1  Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

Of course, there are many more times when feast is used but as you read through some of those examples you can easily see where sacrifice would make since when used in English.

I am focusing on this a bit to point out what the Lord is telling Israel is His Law, the Lord’s law. His law requires that we remember that His “sovereign hand” and Will is what has caused us to be in whatever position we are in.

Not only are we instructed with this ordinances but we are to tell our sons this as well and teach them the way of the Lord.

“Show thy son in that day”

Exo 13:8  And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.
Exo 13:9  And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

I have a good example of how this is applied in our lives today and how we are to think upon the word of the Lord as He imparts His heavenly wisdom on our hands, heads and mouth/heart.

Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

Luk 6:45  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

When I think back on my childhood, I have good and bad memories, as we all do. What I realized one day about parenthood is that parents and children are actually LIVING OUT memories.

What I mean by that is when I remember how I was raised and think about the different things my parents did or didn’t do for me, said or didn’t say to me, I bet they didn’t realize that even though I was a child, the memories I would have has an adult would be the things they and I were LIVING OUT as they happened.

In a practical sense, what I do RIGHT NOW with my children will be what the remember later as MEMORIES. So, I am LIVING OUT what will later become memories.

Now, I want you to think for a moment about the concept that you are NOW LIVING out what will later be a memory.

I happen to have physical children as many people do. However, I also have those who I would consider to be spiritual children in the Lord.

What I teach my children in word is very important but what I teach them in DEED can often times have a much more lasting effect. Whether or not I “keep the commandments” of the Lord that I teach them, will have a HUGE impact on the witness of Christ in me … or not.

In fact, anyone who speaks the Word of God to a new babe in Christ is actually being used to parent that person in the Word as a “mother” or at times a “father” in the Word (my mother, brother sister Matt 12:50, Mark 3:35)., and this parenting is very important on how it is lived out.

Paul also shares with us that He considered the Corinthians to be his offspring, and Timothy to be his beloved of sons.

1Co 4:11  Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
1Co 4:12  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
1Co 4:13  Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
1Co 4:14  I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
1Co 4:15  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
1Co 4:16  Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
1Co 4:17  For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.

“In Christ Jesus,” that is to say, “in the Word of God,” I have begotten you, says Paul.

What we are being instructed in the Lord, and admonished though Exodus chapter 13 is that we are to “keep the commandments” of the Lord which is HIS MARK, HIS NAME, and we are to teach this to OUR CHILDREN. That applies to our physical children as well as our spiritual children.

Exodus 13 sounds very familiar to most of us I assume because the phrase found in verse 9 sounds a whole lot like the “mark of the beast” we find in Revelation.

Exo 13:9  And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

Exo 13:16  And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.

Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

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:

Sounds scary, doesn’t it? After all, this is what we are told in most of the orthodox Christian churches all around world. The mark of the beast will usher in the end of the world we are told.

In truth, this is EXACTLY what we are being told to NOT partake of in Exodus 13 as we are FREED from the BONDAGE of the Egyptians and of which we are told to “remember and teach our sons about”.

We are to have NO LEAVEN mixed with the BREAD, the Word of God. We are not to so much as have it in our house. We are warned to TAKE HEED and BEWARE of the LEAVEN of the Pharisees and their doctrine of demons!

Mat 16:11  How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

We are given a new name, the old earth and old heavens are passed away and there will be a new heaven and a new earth when we are given the mind of Christ.

Isa 65:16  That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
Isa 65:17  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isa 65:18  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

Isa 66:22  For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
Isa 66:23  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

The “white stone” we are given is Jesus Christ and we have HIS NAME written on our foreheads. The name which was once written there, naming us the BEAST, is now replaced with Jesus the Christ!

There isn’t much that is talked about in orthodox Christianity about the Mark of God given to those who are His, but it is found in the same book as the “dreaded” mark of the beast.

Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

Of course, everything I have said is being stated to “he that has an ear let him hear”. The words I am relating and speaking are SPIRIT and LIFE just as I repeat what Christ Jesus said about these things.

1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
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.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man 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.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Remember back to what the Israelites had been freed from. They were freed from the bondage of Egypt of which they called out in their distresses to the Lord and He delivered them with his mighty and “awesome hand”.

When He called them up and out of Egypt, He have them instructions on what to do so that they were not inflicted with what the Egyptians and the Pharaohs houses would undergo.

They were instructed to put the blood on the doorpost that the death angel might fly over and not harm their firstborn, and they were FAITHFUL in obeying their “first love”.

Here in Exodus, we are all being instructed on how to serve the Lord faithfully and not allow the LEAVEN of the Pharisees and Sadducees to corrupt the whole lump.

The Mark of God is to “keep this service”, “keep this ordinace” and “keep His commandments”.

We, like the Israelites, are being instructed on how to possess the land of which we have just been FREELY given to us.

Deu 6:1  Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might DO THEM IN THE LAND whither ye go to possess it:
Deu 6:2  That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

Deu 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deu 6:8  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

Deu 11:16  Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
Deu 11:17  And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
Deu 11:18  Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
Deu 11:19  And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

We are being taught how to NOT serve other gods, not to worship other gods, and that is very important when you consider what Jesus told us all “don’t you know that YOU ARE GODS?”

When we do this (serve God and not other gods i.e ourselves), and we hearken diligently to the Word of God, we too will be led of the Lord as He directs our paths.

There will be war in our heavens, but the Lord will guide us to where we need to go in order to prosper into mature sons of God.

Exo 13:17  And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
Exo 13:18  But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 13:19  And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
Exo 13:20  And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
Exo 13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Exo 13:22  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

The Lord knows there is a tremendous victory and miracle coming for us in the baptism of the Red Sea, but He also knows that we are NOT GOING to remember His first miracles with us and that we are going to doubt His power.

In the next study, we are going to continue to see what lessons the Lord has prepared for us as we “walk in the shoes” of the doubting Israelites. As we will see, we are all alike in how the old man affects us daily, but we do have hope because we have the Lord fighting the giants and beasts within on our behalf.