1 Samuel 14:24–52 Saul’s Oath 

[Study Aired April 13, 2026]

The study for today focuses on Saul’s oath which troubled the people of Israel.  It looks at Jonathan’s error through ignorance and Saul’s determination to put him to death, in spite of him being his son. However, the people of Israel rescued him. The study ends with Saul’s battle with the neighboring tribes and an account of his family.

Saul’s Rash Vow

1Sa 14:24  And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. 

As indicated in the previous study, Saul and the men of Israel with him represent the church system of this world or Babylon. According to Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB), the men of Israel being distressed that day means being under a taskmaster, ruler, oppressor or tyrant. This oppressor or tyrant is the devil who empowers our flesh. 

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon [the devil] which gave power unto the beast [Our flesh]: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 

Here in verse 24, we are given the reason why the men of Israel were under distress. It was because they had been commanded not to eat food until the evening when Saul, their king, had avenged his enemies. Not to eat food spiritually means that the men of Israel represent us during our time in the church system of this world or Babylon, where we are not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 

Our brothers and sisters in Babylon’s inability to understand the word of the Lord is because their leadership, represented by Saul, has put a curse on them not to eat any food. That is to say that the leadership of Babylon are not given to know the truth of the Lord’s word, and therefore what they give (the false doctrines) prevents them from knowing the truth. 

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

This curse will continue until the evening, when Saul has avenged his enemies. The evening refers to the lake of fire age of judgment, when our brothers and sisters in Babylon will come to know the truth. That is the time when their flesh or carnal mind (the enemy) is destroyed or avenged.

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.

1Sa 14:25  And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. 
1Sa 14:26  And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. 

These verses are to show us that initially, the church system of this world or Babylon was endowed with the fundamental truth of the Lord’s word, represented here as honey. However, because of false doctrines spewed by their leaders, signified by Saul’s command for the people not to eat, even the basic truths of His word were perverted, such that we could not assess the milk and honey of the Lord’s word in Babylon.

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.  

Isa 9:15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 
Isa 9:16  For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. 

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 16:15  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, 

1Sa 14:27  But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. 
1Sa 14:28  Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. 
1Sa 14:29  Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. 
1Sa 14:30  How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? 

As we have indicated in the previous study, Jonathan represents the Lord’s elect during our time in the church system of this world. The fact that Jonathan did not hear his father’s oath and proceeded to eat of the honey implies that as the Lord’s elect, the Lord in His mercy, caused us to eat of the honey of His word, even while we were in Babylon, which caused our eyes to be enlightened (verse 27). 

In verse 28, one of the people told Jonathan about how his father has cursed anyone who eats any food that day, and therefore caused the people to be faint. This is to let us know that it was in Babylon that we become aware that the leaders in the church system are the cause of our inability to know the truth of His word. 

In verses 29 and 30, Jonathan’s assessment of his father’s error is summed up by his word that his father has troubled the land and that their inability to achieve a greater slaughter of the Philistines was because of the lack of the foundational truth of the Lord’s word. In other words, it is in Babylon that we come to realize that our leaders have failed us and as a result, we cannot worship the Lord acceptably while we continue in Babylon. This is all in preparation for our exit from Babylon at the appointed time. 

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. 
Psa 137:2  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 
Psa 137:3  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 
Psa 137:4  How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? 

1Sa 14:31  And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint. 
1Sa 14:32  And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood. 
1Sa 14:33  Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day. 

The smiting of the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon by the people of Israel in verse 31 is to let us know that while we were in the churches of this world, we were given some victories over our flesh. For example, we were delivered from some of the attributes of the flesh such as fornication, adultery, hatred, wrath, envying, etc.  

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 
Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.   

The people taking sheep, oxen and calves, killing them and eating them with the blood in verse 32, was forbidden by the Lord.  The reason why the Israelites were forbidden under the law of Moses to eat meat with blood is because blood was used as atonement for sin, and therefore, blood was seen as a sacred thing. God wanted to ensure that the blood of the sacrifices was always considered precious.    

Deu 12:15  Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart. 
Deu 12:16  Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water. 

If we willfully continue to sin, then it means that we have treated the blood of Christ as an unholy thing. That is the spiritual meaning of eating meat with blood. Therefore, the people eating meat with blood in it shows us that during our time in Babylon, we continued to sin, even though we were enriched in Him. As a result, we were actually trampling on the blood of Christ.   

Heb 10:26  For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, 
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 
Heb 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 

Verse 33 shows us that the leaders of the church system of this world are aware of the sins of the people of the church system of this world, but their method of addressing sin is wrong, as we shall see Saul’s way of dealing with the sins of the people. 

1Sa 14:34  And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. 
1Sa 14:35  And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD. 
1Sa 14:36  And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God. 

Saul’s dealings with the people that sinned was not in accordance with what the Lord enjoins us to do. We are to rebuke those who sin publicly that others may be afraid. However, he only asked the people to come and slay their oxen and sheep before him so that they do not sin. Spiritually, what Saul is saying  was that the gathering of the church system of this world, automatically causes people to stop sinning.   

1Ti 5:20  Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
1Ti 5:21  I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.  

In verses 35 and 36, Saul built an altar to the Lord, and based on this, he wanted to go after the Philistines and destroy them, but the priest reminded him to draw near to the Lord first. The leaders of the church system of this world, represented by Saul, are only interested in works (building churches) and think that in doing this, their flesh will just die. That is to say that in Babylon, the people think that the works of their hands will save them from their flesh. However, the priest reminding Saul to draw near to the Lord is to show us that what is important is our relationship with Christ as we draw near to Him. It is not about the works of our hands. Jesus warned us about those who think that the works of their hands can guarantee the kingdom of heaven as follows: 

Mat 7:21  Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

1Sa 14:37  And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. 
1Sa 14:38  And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. 
1Sa 14:39  For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. 

Saul not being answered by the Lord in verse 37, shows us our situation when we were in the churches of this world. We did not hear from the Lord. As we shall see in the latter part of the Book of Samuel, Saul enquired of the Lord because of the Philistines, but did not receive an answer from the Lord. 

1Sa 28:5  And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. 
1Sa 28:6  And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. 

In our desperation, we vent our anger on the Lord’s elect signified by Saul vowing to kill Jonathan in verse 39. We, the Lord’s elect, are spiritually dead to our brothers and sisters in Babylon, just like the two witnesses, whose dead bodies were in the streets of Jerusalem or Sodom and Egypt. 

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.  

1Sa 14:40  Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee. 
1Sa 14:41  Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped. 
1Sa 14:42  And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 
1Sa 14:43  Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.
1Sa 14:44  And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
1Sa 14:45  And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. 

As shown in these verses, lots were cast which determined that Jonathan was guilty of eating while Saul had given a command for them not to eat until he has avenged his enemies. In this case, Saul’s command is the command or the word of the Lord. We know that the outcome of a lot is always of the Lord. 

Pro 16:33  The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. (ESV)

As we have shown earlier, Jonathan is a symbol of the Lord’s elect. During our time as the Lord’s elect in Babylon, we were guilty of not knowing the word of the Lord, and therefore we should have been put to death. As shown in verse 45, the people rescued Jonathan from death at the hands of Saul. In the same way, the Lord rescued or showed mercy to us, His elect, from Babylon at the expense of our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world. 

Rom 11:30  For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 
Rom 11:31  so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. 

1Sa 14:46  Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place. 

Saul, who represents the church system of this world, stopped pursuing  the Philistines and went to his own place. That is to show us that when we were in Babylon, we were not engaged in a war with our flesh. It also implies that we did not consider ourselves as being able to win the war with our flesh.

Rev 13:4  And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”  

Saul Fights Israel’s Enemies

1Sa 14:47  So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.
1Sa 14:48  And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them. 

These verses show us our struggle with the flesh during our time in the churches of this world. We had some victories over our flesh in certain areas of our lives, as indicated in verse 48 where Saul and his host smote the Amalekites. However, the flesh, symbolized by all the enemies surrounding Israel (Moab, Ammon, Edom, kings of Zobah, the Philistines and the Amalekites) was still a formidable opposition during our walk in Babylon.

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 
Rom 7:15  For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 
Rom 7:16  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 
Rom 7:17  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 
Rom 7:18  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 
Rom 7:24  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 
Rom 7:25  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (ESV)

1Sa 14:49  Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal: 
1Sa 14:50  And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 
1Sa 14:51  And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 
1Sa 14:52  And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him. 

These verses focuses on Saul’s family and the enmity between Saul and the Philistines. Saul had three sons – Jonathan, which means ‘Jehovah has given’, Ishui – ‘He resembles me’ and Melchishua – ‘My king is salvation.’ What this implies is that to be like Christ, who was given by God as our salvation, we must go through the process of spiritual maturity which is through the Lord’s judgment. The two daughters of Saul – Merab (increase) and Michal (who is like God) show us the two church systems. We have the church system of this world which is given to increase in this age and the other church system which represents the church of the Lord’s elect, which is making us become like Christ.

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.  

It is in the church of the Lord’s elect, represented by Saul’s wife, Ahinoam, which means ‘my brother is delight’, that we come to enjoy the delightfulness of our brothers and sisters through what every joint supplies. 

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 commander of Israel’s army’s name was Abner which means ‘the father of light’ or ‘enlightening.’ It is through the Lord’s enlightenment that we become enrolled in His army. Kish, who is Saul’s father, means a bow. This implies that our Lord is a warrior. 

Exo 15:3  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.  

Verse 52 tells us that there was sore war against the Philistines during all the time of Saul as king of Israel. This is to show us that our fight against our flesh is a lifetime struggle. However, unlike Saul, we, as the Lord’s elect, are assured of victory in the final analysis.

1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 

Amen!

You shall not be as the hypocrites

[Posted September 21, 2014]

In part 1 of this series we focused on who is the “house of  prayer” as found in Matthew 21:13.  In part 2 we focused on who it is that represents the “den of thieves”.

As we have come to learn with these previous studies, it is scripturally true that we all live being both of these “houses”. We are the den of thieves before we are blessed and caused to become the house of prayer.

In today’s study, we are going to dig into the Word and attempt to find out how it is the “house of prayer” prays for the world, and how we “pray without ceasing”.

“They have their reward”

In the previous study, I heavily concentrated on connecting fasting with prayer. However, before fasting is mentioned in Matthew, and even before we are told how to pray, we are told how NOT to pray.

This is an important aspect to prayer seeing as it came directly from Jesus while He walked this earth.

Mat 6:5  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mat 6:8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Then, what is being a hypocrite if being a hypocrite equates to “loving to pray standing in the synagogues” and “in the corners of the streets so that they may be seen of men”?

How is that hypocritical?

G5273
hupokritēs
hoop-ok-ree-tace’
From G5271; an actor under an assumed character (stage player), that is, (figuratively) a dissembler (“hypocrite”): – hypocrite.

G5271
hupokrinomai
hoop-ok-rin’-om-ahee
Middle voice from G5259 and G2919; to decide (speak or act) under a false part, that is, (figuratively) dissemble (pretend): – feign.

The prefix ‘hypo’ means “under”, and a “critic” is a person who judges the merits of something especially in a professional way.

To be an “under” critic simply means to NOT have the ability to “sift or decide.” Here is one of the things Wikipedia says about hypocrisy:

“The word is an amalgam of the Greek prefix hypo-, meaning “under”, and the verb krinein, meaning “to sift or decide”. Thus the original meaning implied a deficiency in the ability to sift or decide. This deficiency, as it pertains to one’s own beliefs and feelings, informs the word’s contemporary meaning.

Being a hypocrite is the practice of doing the same thing you are critical of others doing.

Why would the hypocrites Jesus is telling us NOT to be like be considered hypocrites in the first place? They were criticizing “praying to be seen of men”, and they themselves did not have the integrity and ability to decide they were doing the same themselves.

With all of this in mind, how do we apply this understanding to praying in a closet for the things the Father already knows we need?

How do we apply this understanding to praying on behalf of others in the body of Christ with whom we fellowship, those who “come to us”, and those who are of the world?

If we know the Father knows the things we need before we ask them of Him, why do we need to ASK FOR THEM?

We are instructed in the Word to do so.

Heb 13:18  Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

Mat 6:8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Col 4:1  Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
Col 4:2  Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Col 4:3  Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
Col 4:4  That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

1Ti 2:1  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
1Ti 2:2  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1Pe 4:6  For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
1Pe 4:7  (KJV) But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

1Pe 4:7  (ISV)  Because everything will soon come to an end, be sensible and clear-headed, so you can pray.

1Pe 4:7  (WNT)  But the end of all things is now close at hand: therefore be sober-minded and temperate, so that you may give yourselves to prayer.

1Pe 4:7  (CEV)  Everything will soon come to an end. So be serious and be sensible enough to pray

Since we want to be sensible and clear-minded in prayer so we can ask for things, whatever those “things” may be, how then do we know how to ask properly?

After all, we want a reward which is NOT the same reward as that given to hypocrites.

Listen then to what James was inspired to preach. This is from the ISV translation.

Jas 4:1  Where do those fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your selfish desires that are at war in your bodies, don’t they?
Jas 4:2  You want something but do not get it, so you commit murder. You covet something but cannot obtain it, so you quarrel and fight. You do not get things because you do not ask for them!
Jas 4:3  You ask for something but do not get it because you ask for it for the wrong reason—for your own pleasure.
Jas 4:4  You adulterers! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility with God? So whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God.
Jas 4:5  Or do you think the Scripture means nothing when it says that the Spirit that God caused to live in us jealously yearns for us?

Is God a jealous God? Does the Spirit lust against the flesh and carnal mind?

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

The comparison being made in Galatians is that of the flesh versus the Spirit. The works of the flesh are being compared AGAINST the fruit of the Spirit.

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

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.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

“Pray without ceasing”

How do we ask properly, in the Spirit, for our prayers to be heard and answered by our Father Who is in heaven?

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

We must approach the Lord with a single mind on anything we pray for, and we are told to pray without ceasing.

1Th 5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
1Th 5:15  See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
1Th 5:16  Rejoice evermore.
1Th 5:17  Pray without ceasing.
1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1Th 5:19  Quench not the Spirit.
1Th 5:20  Despise not prophesyings.
1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
1Th 5:22  Abstain from all appearance of evil.
1Th 5:23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you look at the context from which we are told to pray without ceasing, the context will reveal to us that we are to LIVE the things mentioned in the above verses.

We are to CONTINUALLY be in prayer all of our lives, but the way we read it in the King James appears to tell us to “pray without taking a break,” but that is NOT the meaning and is simply not what is being conveyed.

“Warn … comfort … support … be patient … don’t return evil for evil … follow that which is good … rejoice at all times …   be praying to the Lord for what we need simply because He places us in situations to need Him.

However, this doesn’t mean pray “around the clock” as is proven by all the things Jesus did that were NOT direct prayer as we understand prayer.

We don’t need to look any further than “how” the Lord taught His disciples to pray. Their request was to be taught to pray by the Lord, just as John had taught his disciples to pray.

Only, Jesus taught them a much different way to pray than what John the Baptist ever could. We have the Luke version of the “Lord’s prayer”, but right after that we see:

Luk 11:5  And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
Luk 11:6  For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
Luk 11:7  And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
Luk 11:8  I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
Luk 11:9  And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Luk 11:10  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luk 11:11  If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Luk 11:12  Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
Luk 11:13  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

The key to understanding “pray without ceasing” is found in Jesus’ own words in Luke 11:2, Matthew 6:7 and Mark 11:24; “when you pray….”.

Mat 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Mar 11:24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Luk 11:2  And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

When we pray, and this should be a continual LIFE of prayer, we are to pray a certain way.

We are to ask for the Spirit. We are to pray for things which glorify God. All that we do, we do to the glory of God.

So, when we pray for the body of Christ, when we pray for “all men” that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, we do so praying, “According to thy will…thy will be done.”

Since we should now be seeing that prayer is a way of Life, do we pray for the world?

Is “praying for the world” the same as “supplications, prayers and intercessions and giving of thanks for all men” as mentioned in 1 Timothy 2:1-4?

What does the sum of the Word say?

If we are “as He is so are we in this world,” how do we follow Jesus to the cross as it pertains to prayer?

What was Jesus’ prayer on the cross? It was, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  “Them” would be all of humanity.

We must all “prove all things”, so notice this verse:

Joh 17:8  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Joh 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

It should be self-evident that if Jesus had prayed for His flesh, He would have prayed to not be crucified. However, He prayed, “Thy will be done.” We have been given His Word to know how to do this.

He prays for “us” to be kept from “the evil”.

When we examine this all closely, we know there is something that is in all of the world, and it all leads to sin.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

The love of the Father is to KEEP his commandments. The love of the world is to keep the law working in our members.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

When we pray to the Father for anything, He knows what we need before we ask. He wants us to continually and fervently speak to Him in prayer.

What He wants us to pray for is for His Spirit to cause us to do His will in all things.  Considering this, is it EVIL or WRONG to pray for physical healing, physical bread and water, or anything that benefits our flesh or the flesh of others as long as we have the proper mindset when asking?

The answer is NO.

How can that be?

All that is in the world is in us all, but when we pray, and we pray properly according to Godly prayer, we are NOT PRAYING for the lusts of the flesh to be pampered and nourished so that we can fulfill those lusts.

We are praying that our flesh be nourished and benefitted so that the KINGDOM of God can be represented, and that just like Jesus Christ, we can be used to PRESENT the Kingdom of God to the WORLD in others.

This is how that Jesus Himself taught us to pray.

“Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins of others; lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Look at those different aspects to how we are to pray when we pray. We are told to pray for “daily bread”. Of course this is both physical bread and spiritual bread at the same time.

The Father has caused all that is happening in our world to happen so that He can ultimately fulfill the purpose of Jesus coming to this earth. Jesus came in the likeness of man so that all men will be saved.

Yet, there is still the sum of the word to consider when wondering if we should only pray for those in the body, who we know, or should we also pray for those who are sent to us to pray for.

Let us see what the Word says.

Mat 8:2  And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mat 8:3  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Mat 9:18  While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

Mat 9:20  And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

Mat 9:27  And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.
Mat 9:28  And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

Mat 9:32  As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.

Mat 9:36  But when HE SAW the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

There is an undeniable pattern that has been so beautifully laid out for us if we only take hold on it.

It is when “there came” those in front of Jesus, that those which were BROUGHT to Him were given the blessing of having been brought to Jesus for HEALING.

Now I know this is speaking of physical healing, and we know, even from the sum of this series, that spiritual “greater things than these” are where our focus should always be.

However, if someone has been sent to us who is in need of physical bread because they are STARVING to death, and we give them spiritual bread instead/only, how can we possibly consider that as loving our neighbor as ourselves?

Jas 2:14  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Jas 2:15  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
Jas 2:16  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Jas 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

We must have works that go along with the Faith with which we have been gifted. Only, the works are the works of Him who has SENT US and not our own works.

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

Whenever someone is sent to us, to come before us in Spirit, we know that it is NOT a coincidence. All things are worked and caused by the Lord.

As such, we must recognize that when we “see the multitudes”, it is because we have been placed into the position to “see them”.

We cannot have the mindset to simply not pray for them because they are not “of us” when one who is not “of us” asks for prayer. We must be “as He is” and be moved with compassion in prayer.

Here is the reason we are given:

Mat 9:37  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Mat 9:38  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

We do not know which leper of the “ten lepers” placed in our path will come back to say, “Thank you for praying for me.” What we do know though, is that whatever we are presented with in our daily walks with Jesus is placed there so we can be laborers in His harvest.

We are not to be as the hypocrites are and simply appear to pray when what is truly needed is a life of Godly prayer. In this, the Lord will cause us to be used mightily for His kingdom.

In the next study, we are going to search the scriptures to see how the Holy Spirit we have been given helps us in prayer, and how the entire “house of prayer” interacts with “another Jesus”.

The Book of Hosea – Part 9, Hos 9:1-17

[Study Aired June 8, 2024]

The term “whore” or “harlot” is, by Babylon Christian sensitivities, increasingly offensive because they, as we in the past have done, incredibly want to relieve their accusing consciousnesses (Rom 2:12-16) of their deliberately subtle and Babylon’s increasingly blatant degeneracy. Today, in this it seems, the rapidly closing age of man’s rule, Babylon has once again become one language. Not just by her ability with AI to instantly translate languages, but more spiritually potent internationally is the deranged moral cry of every man openly justifying his “one language” of spiritual perversions. In fact, so degraded is the term ‘honourable’ regarding thinking and actions that very few people can identify what it means, equally as they can’t identify the difference between a man and a woman. The world is designed by Christ to be on a one-way ticket just short of oblivion; ‘but for the Elect’s sake, no flesh would be saved alive’ for the One Thousand Year Rule by them! 

Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 

Regarding the Tower of Babel:

Gen 11:1  And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 
Gen 11:2  And it came to pass, as they [Descendants of Noah] journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. [Shinar = country of two rivers {Euphrates River} 1. the ancient name for the territory later known as Babylonia or Chaldea and today, Iraq. Since Mt. Ararat is a distance to the North-North-West, they must have gone into Persia, Iran today in order to come from the East].

Notice that they are not heading East towards the sun/the Son of righteousness, but instead to the symbolic spiritual darkness in the West to build their amazing tower. Eventually, the light shining from the rising sun in the East will dispel the darkness in the West. This spiritually symbolises what happens to the Lord’s Elect. However, for the time being, as described in Hosea’s account in old Israel, there will be semi-darkness in the coming exile.

Gen 11:3  And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter [The burning of brick to make it stronger is what the Elect of God see in themselves as they suffer the glorious tribulation of Him building off-site yet still on the Earth, the New Heavenly Jerusalem in them ascending spiritually as a tower “unto heaven”]. 
Gen 11:4  And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 
Gen 11:5  And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 
Gen 11:6  And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do [to pollute Christ’s word].
Gen 11:7  Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech [… confounded language in the world is exactly what is nearing its conclusion today]. 
Gen 11:8  So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 
Gen 11:9  Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. 

Babel H894. Definition: babel or Babylon = confusion (by mixing) 1. Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates. From H1101 – 1. to mix, mingle, confuse, confound a. (Qal) 1. to mingle, confuse 2. to mix. 

What is mixed is the seed of men “mingling” with one another of endless moral ideologies opposing the Lord’s word. If those times of building the tower of the Beast’s ascension to sitting on the throne of God, soundly stating that he is god, were not cut short, the timeframe and plan for God’s recreation of man would have been theoretically shortened.

Likewise, and today for the sake of the Elect, Old Israel in Hosea’s time is deliberately designed to be a whore for the emergent Bride of Christ’s enduring reflection, not to repeat her former ways.

The Lord Will Punish Israel

Hos 9:1  Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor. 

Righteous or unrighteous sexual lust, particularly for men, is designed by God to be a phenomenally powerful magnet, equally as most women’s desire to bear children. On both occasions, if sensual gain is heightened by lingering on an illicit act, the replayed thought held captive by lust is likely to sear one’s conscience to excuse the occasion and subsequently carry out the misdeed. Just as alternately crossed layers of plywood create a thin yet incredibly strong structure, so do the dismissed trumpet blasts of righteous alarm laminate illegitimate thoughts for a seared conscience.

Likewise, is the “joy as other people” who do not know Christ since they do not have a moral foundation as Israel did outwardly to know right from wrong. Consequently, whoring was as natural as brute beasts of the field. Symbolically in nature, brute beasts have more ‘morality’ than mankind only because they are programmed to procreate by certain biological timings rather than man’s conscious deliberations.

Pro 5:3  For the lips of a strange woman [Israel’s neighbours, even some of their ‘own household’] drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 
Pro 5:4  But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. 
Pro 5:5  Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 
Pro 5:6  Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. 
Pro 5:7  Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 
Pro 5:8  Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: 
Pro 5:9  Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: 
Pro 5:10  Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; 
Pro 5:11  And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, 
Pro 5:12  And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 
Pro 5:13  And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

Israel, as we do spiritually, having repeatedly committed whoredoms and given to not hearing the still small trumpet blast within to remember their Lord’s commands, have figuratively fattened themselves with ‘loved reward upon every cornfloor’ and is traced to a seared conscience since their reward is the fatness of lawlessness without sharp rebuke. 

Eze 33:3  If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 
Eze 33:4  Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 

Hos 9:2  The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. 

Nonetheless, all her outstanding debts will be paid in the coming exile, and for our unrepentant hearts, the resurrection to Judgment. In that case, in this time and age, spiritually for us, our unrighteousness will never be satisfied with Babylon’s bread and wine, and we may be given over to a reprobate unclean mind, hopefully for temporary chastisement. If not…

Hos 9:3  They shall not dwell in the LORD’S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

Israel went into exile regardless of the potential confusion of connecting Egypt, Assyria, Sodom, and Old Jerusalem since our Lord deems them all as one and the same. Similarly, it is with the Lord’s own people inwardly today if any return to the vomit of unclean Babylonian doctrine. Subsequently, and before being dragged out of Babylon, God’s Elect were one and the same with the mixed seed of Babylon’s churches. 

Rev 18:3  For all nations [The Elect, too!] have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her [Babylon’s] fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies [Lewd doctrines for etching ears]. 
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Hos 9:4  They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.

If we come before our Lord seeking answers to our prayers and we have not beforehand acknowledged our sins, our sacrifice—that is, spiritually, our prayers—is polluted and contemptible. Offering lame, sick, blind and any other sacrifice that is defective is us when we come before Christ without repentance and forgiveness for our brother’s sins against us.

Mal 1:6  A son [in the flesh] honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests [those claiming Elect], that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Mal 1:7  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar [Christ]; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. 
Mal 1:8  And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor [An outward king or person deeply respected]; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

Verse 4 of Hosea seems to directly relate to the Day of Atonement, which is a “holy convocation” and not a feast day as the other six are named. It is a solemn assembly and day of physical fasting that profoundly identifies Old Israel as physically dependent on him.

Passover – Lev 25:4-8

Unleavened Bread – Lev 23:6

Feast of Firstfruits – Lev 23:10

Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks (count 50 days) – Lev 23:16

Feast of Trumpets – Lev 23:24

Day of Atonement, not a Feast but a Sabbath rest – Lev 16, 23:26-32

Feast of Tabernacles or Booths – Lev 23:34

How interesting that in the subsequent verses of Joel 2:12-17, written before 201 BCE, a prophetic representation of spiritual fasting for the Israelites, no doubt a lot of blindness for the masses, and partial blindness for a few!

Joe 2:12  Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joe 2:13  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 
Joe 2:14  Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? 
Joe 2:15  Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Joe 2:16  Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 
Joe 2:17  Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? 

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in [in the Lake of Fire].

So, too, it is with our sister Babylon, as we once did. They fast and pray similarly to the custom of Israel before Christ without his spirit to cleanse their polluted hearts. For those dragged to Christ since the cross, the Bridegroom’s spirit resides within, where mourning is far removed since they know their calling as His Bride, where physical fasting is not a necessity, but rather, a broken and contrite spirit which is totally submissive to Christ.

Meanwhile, in the harlotry of Babylonian Christianity, they fast and pray mostly for physical reward, and “their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.” Consequently, in type, the Lord’s people, the “haven of the good”, bury their spiritually dead brother’s polluted bones, represented as unclean doctrines and resulting stench in their nostrils.

Eze 39:11  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers [the Elect of God]: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
Eze 39:12  And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
Eze 39:13  Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. 
Eze 39:14  And they shall sever out men of continual employment [the Elect who never give up routing spiritual pollution from within], passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 
Eze 39:15  And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog [the multitude of Gog, the world].
Eze 39:16  And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land [at the end of the One Thousand Year reign in the Lake of Fire].

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Hos 9:5  What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD? 
Hos 9:6  For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis [haven of the good] shall bury them [since they are in exile]: the pleasant places for their silver [God’s word], nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles. 

A brambled confusion of thorns in their tabernacles is what blindness does to one devoid of spiritual understanding. He’s pricked that the scriptures are too difficult to untangle, and rightly so since he hasn’t been given spiritual understanding (Mat 13).

Hos 9:7  The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. 

The days of visitation have come in this age since the cross only upon the Lord’s little flock of Elect. Any professing priests of God therein, and typified as Essau disdaining his inheritance, are foolish and mad enough not to recognise God’s glorious gift of the First Resurrection and give their entire heart to him.

Hos 9:8  The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.
Hos 9:9  They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah [hill]: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins. 

“The days of Gibeah” are frightfully renowned for the Levite giving his concubine to be most vilely raped repeatedly to death by the sons of Belial, and her husband subsequently sending her dissected body to the far corners of Israel…

Jdg 19:30  And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed [a pollution depicting all of Israel and not just Benjamine] done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

During the conflict, Israel fiercely battled Benjamin to near extinction. This can be compared to finding only one ripe cluster of grapes on a vine or one plump, ripe fig on a fig tree, which would be thoroughly plundered by thoughtless, uncouth men, leaving nothing for anyone else, representatively leaving no carried forward seed of Benjamin now paralleled to Ephraim’s coming destruction. 

On a positive note, the Lord’s scattered little flock is cherished as the apple of His eye, with the one ‘firstfruit’ fig symbolizing the emerging Bride amidst a world of spiritually immature green apples or evil figs (naughty figs, Jer 24:1-10).

Hos 9:10  I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor [Lord of the gap; a deity; Baal], and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved. 
Hos 9:11  As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception. 

Unclean fowl such as crows and vultures, keen to be first to gorge themselves on an animal’s afterbirth or struggling young just delivered, is like Israel, the church, lacking in her Lord’s courage to protect her flock from evil spirits who would normally fly away at the first motherly threat; so, too, are we in lockstep with our first father, Satan, if we fail to challenge what we suspect is unclean doctrinal food. 

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil [unclean fowl], and he will flee from you. 
Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 
Jas 4:9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 
Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Rev 18:2  And he [An Angel of the Lord in harmony with the Elect] cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 

Hos 9:12  Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave [Miscarry] them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!
Hos 9:13  Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer. 

Those verses can be seen as we once were, allowing the innocence of youthful and pure doctrines to perish without any resistance from our mother Babylon, who stands by passively while her religious leaders also indulge in wrongdoing. Subsequently, she bears symbolic stillbirths, even though they live, being ripped apart by the predatory pastors of Babylon, effectively giving their children to Satan, “the murderer”.

Lev 18:21  And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 

Rev 12:1  And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 
Rev 12:2  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Rev 12:3  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 
Rev 12:4  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 
Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 
Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Even Babylon will violently protect her still-born lamb (her laity) to remain in her care, twice dead. Having been a wool grower (a sheep farmer), I’ve noted individual ewes for up to three days, keeping at bay foxes, eagles and crows from her stillborn until she grows weary and thirsty. She will go her way and, just like Babylon, forget her dead young, and naturally, her milk will dry up. Thankfully, for the Lord’s little flock, she has moved on from milk and is paradoxically soundly attached to the Vine, Christ, the symbolic root of Jesse from King David’s stock.

Hos 9:14  Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. 
Hos 9:15  All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings , I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.
Hos 9:16  Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. 
Hos 9:17  My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations. 

The Bride of Christ is spiritually connected to Christ, who is her foundational root. While the Bride’s sisters in Babylon are focused on the victimised ‘wandering’ Jews who claim to be Jews but are not and are fiercely defending their mutually agreed 200,000,000 Zionist lies, she (the Bride) is also scattered and symbolically wandering among every nation on Earth.

Joh 10:15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 
Joh 10:16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 

Deu 30:1  And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 
Deu 30:2  And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 
Deu 30:3  That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. 
Deu 30:4  If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 
Deu 30:5  And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

The Bride of Christ sees the detailed view of the entirety of her Lord’s word. The flesh is a wearisome evil experience, and so, too, can be endlessly reminded of having been a whore. Though not remotely proud of her former, and still disappearing nature, she is well past being sensitive and defensive to how her Lord designed her for recreating her in his image.

Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 

1Co 15:41  There is one glory of the sun [The Father in Christ], and another glory of the moon, [One of two churches] and another glory of the stars [The world, those outside the camp of the Saints]: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 
1Co 15:42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Now, and with no memory of her whoreish ways, the Bride, Christ’s blossoming Wife, the New Heavenly Jerusalem above, is an extraordinarily dazzling and colourful jewel already considered to crown her Husband (Pro 12:4… ‘a virtuous woman…’) intimately fitted (rooted) in spiritual comfort of the same unified mind in him (Rev 21:9-27).

Zec 7:1-14  “Is not this the fast that I have chosen?”

[Study Aired July 13, 2023]

Zec 7:1  And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; 
Zec 7:2  When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, 
Zec 7:3  And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? 
Zec 7:4  Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying, 
Zec 7:5  Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? 
Zec 7:6  And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? 
Zec 7:7  Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain? 
Zec 7:8  And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, 
Zec 7:9  Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: 
Zec 7:10  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. 
Zec 7:11  But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. 
Zec 7:12  Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 7:13  Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts: 
Zec 7:14  But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate. 

Here is some historical context that will help explain why this entourage was going up to Jerusalem to inquire of the priests of the Lord in the first place. We want to understand the spiritual significance of their actions, as those actions and the details surrounding these events were written for our sakes upon whom the end of the ages are come (1Co 10:11, 1Pe 1:12).

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1. Confronting the sin of religious hypocrisy.
2. (1-3) A question about fasting.

Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev, when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the LORD, and to ask the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”

1. In the fourth year…on the fourth day of the ninth month: On December 4, 518 B.C. a delegation came to Jerusalem with a question about fasting. At this point, the temple was somewhere around halfway completed.
2. Should I weep in the fifth month and fast: The fast in the fifth monthcommemorated the destruction of the temple (2Ki_25:8-9). Zechariah also mentioned a fast in the seventh month (Zec_7:5), which remembered the murder of Gedaliah, the last act of rebellion against the Babylonian governor of Judah (2Ki_25:25).
3. The Law of Moses commanded that on the Day of Atonement, the people of Israel should afflict their souls (Lev_16:29-34). The text in Leviticus does not specifically say they should fast, but it has long been understood by Jewish teachers as a command for Jews to fast on the Day of Atonement. In addition to this, during the exile the Jewish people instituted four more fasts to remember key dates in the tragic defeat of their nation. Here are the additional fasts:

1. (Psa_137:1-8)beautifully – and powerfully – described the sadness of heart that made the exiles remember their sin and such tragedies with these additional days of fasting.
2. To ask the priests who were in the house of the LORD: These men knew that during their forced exile in Babylon they observed these fasts that commemorated the tragic fall of Jerusalem. Now since God’s people were back in the land and the temple was rebuilt, they wanted to know if it was appropriate to continue to observe these fasts of mournful remembrance.
3. The matter brings up an issue relevant today: How long should we remember and mourn over our past? Should we do things to remember either our sins or the tragedies of the past?
4. As I have done for so many years: These additional fasts were not commanded by God but instituted by man. Yet because they were traditionally practiced for so long (at least 70 years), they developed a legitimacy of their own. They thought, “We’ve done this for so many years, we may as well keep doing it.”

***end of excerpt from Enduring Word Bible Commentary Zechariah Chapter 7***

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The natural progression of our sojourning in Christ has been shown in the last three chapters of Zechariah. Chapter four was about the two witnesses who have been given the power of God to prophesy for a time, times and half a time, and chapter five explains how God’s elect, by the grace and faith of Christ, come to see Babylon out of which we are mercifully being dragged in this age by God’s hand alone (Joh 6:44). Chapter six details for us the four sore judgments (Eze 14:21) that we must go through  as we come out of Babylon, not by our own might or power, but rather by God’s spirit (Zec 4:6) that are used in our lives to overcome the complete beasts which we are, typified by four horses, each horse having their own symbolic meaning and presence in our life-long journey of ‘coming out of her my people’ (2Co 6:17).

In this seventh chapter we are shown the natural hardness of our hearts that serves God out of selfish motives, “supposing that gain is godliness” and that those riches are the evidence we are accepted of the beloved (1Ti 6:1-21, Pro 1:1-21). The subject of learning to be content, whether we have a little or a lot, is one that can only be achieved through Christ, through whom we can endure all things (Php 4:11-13). 

Php 4:11  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Php 4:12  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 
Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 

The way we will find our liberty in Christ will not be through the negative example of fasting and prayer that we just examined [Enduring Word Bible Commentary] but rather by doing this one simple thing which requires the life of Christ within us to accomplish (Php 3:13-15).

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 
Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

The fast which is acceptable with God is expressed through a life that has been granted to be broken and contrite in this age, which is a gift of God (Isa 58:6-8, Isa 66:2, Eph 2:8-9).

Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 
Isa 58:8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

[This old covenant type and shadow of that spirit of contriteness and brokenness found in Isaiah 66:2 is powerfully explained in king David’s repentance as a man after God’s own heart (Psa 51:1-8)]

Keeping under ourselves (1Co 9:27), dying daily (1Co 15:31), confessing our faults, and praying for one another (Jas 5:16-20) are all ongoing exercises in the lives of God’s elect who are given the strength through Christ to do all these things [“to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke“]. Having done all, we can stand before our Father (Eph 6:13) and are scarcely saved in this age through judgment (1Pe 4:17-18). These following verses in 1 Timothy 6:1-21 are a real snapshot of the problem, cause and solution to overcoming our marred, subject-to-vanity, earthen vessels over which only God can give us victory, a victory that is typified for us through the captivity Israel and all humanity must go into and be delivered out of, through Christ.

1Ti 6:1  Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. [Joh 13:13, Heb 12:1-2, Rom 12:1-2]
1Ti 6:2  And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort. [These verses confirm how we do service to one another in the Lord (Eph 5:21, Gal 5:13, Php 2:3)] 
1Ti 6:3  If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; (1Co 4:6)
1Ti 6:4  He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 
1Ti 6:5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1Ti 6:7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 
1Ti 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 
1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 
1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 
1Ti 6:11  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 
1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life [Joh 17:3], whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1Ti 6:17  Charge them that are rich in this world [Rev 3:17], that they be not highminded [Rom 11:20], nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; [1Co 3:21-22]
1Ti 6:18  That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 
1Ti 6:19  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. [Eph 6:13].

Zec 7:1   And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; 

Zechariah is a type of the elect who is being admonished and shown through the word of God that everyone in their appointed has to go into Babylonian captivity and then through judgment [9] ‘come out of her my people’ (Rev 18:4). This message of judgment [9] upon our old man is written for the elect, but also for the whole [4] world, as symbolized by pointing to “the fourth year of king Darius” in “the fourth day of the ninth month” in ChisleuH3691, which is the word for the ninth Hebrew month and also means “his confidence”.

ChisleuH3691 kislêv Chisleu = “his confidence”

1) the 9th month of the calendar corresponding to Nov-Dec

H3691 kislêv kis-lave’

Probably of foreign origin; Kisleu, the ninth Hebrew month: – Chisleu.

It is because we are first of the generation who have confidence in our own flesh that we must be judged in the ninth month on the Hebrew calendar [“Kisleu, the ninth Hebrew month: – Chisleu“] in order to learn to trust solely on God (Pro 3:5-6) to provide all that we need through Christ. It is with the spiritual circumcision of our hearts (Php 3:3) that we put off our fleshly minds that cannot produce the righteousness of Christ, but naturally trust in our own righteousnesses (Isa 64:6, Eze 33:13, Dan 9:18), despising the true riches of God (Rom 9:23, Eph 3:8, Php 1:19, Php 2:30, Php 4:19, Rom 2:4).

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, [Joh 6:63] and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

[It is with the body of Christ where that confidence in Christ can mature, so when we forsake the assembling of ourselves for no particular reason we are inadvertently casting away our confidence (Heb 10:25, Heb 10:35, Heb 11:25-26)]

Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 

Eph 3:8  Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;  

Php 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Zec 7:2  When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, 
Zec 7:3  And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? 

Unknowingly, this question of our first self-righteous religious beast, “Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?“, is equivalent to asking ‘should I continue in sin so a worse thing can come upon me?’ (Joh 8:11-12, Luk 21:34). The answer of course is ‘no’, and the answer to Sherezer and Regemmelech is also going to be ‘no’ they should not continue to dig up dead men’s bones, which is what we do when we lament and fast for past mistakes which have already been covered by the blood of Christ. There was no redemption through the blood of Christ at that time, and so these traditions were added onto the law of Moses making it more and more a burdensome relationship with God (Joh 1:17, Act 15:10)

Joh 8:10  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, [The woman symbolizes the church, his body, where there is no condemnation in Christ (Rom 8:1).] where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 
Joh 8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. 

Luk 21:34  And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

When we send “Sherezer^H8272 and Regemmelech^H7278” to make an inquiry such as we see in this story, we are going before God with an idol of our heart, as an earthly king (king’s stone heap^H7278) who is being led of the devil, making me a “prince of fire”^H8272, also confirmed by the PNB translation of this verse: “And treasurer and stoning the king,  and his men, had sent to house of God to seek the favor of the face of I was, I am, I will be.” In other words, we are telling God that our many wonderful works can save us [our fasting – our lamenting], and we are in effect boasting, which is excluded by the law of faith (Eph 2:8-9, Rom 3:27).

H8272 Sharezer shar’etser
BDB Definition:
Sharezer or Sherezer = “prince of fire”
1) son of king Sennacherib of Assyria and murderer of his father
2) an Israelite whom the people sent to the house of God to pray in the time of the prophet Zechariah and king Darius
Part of Speech: noun proper masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: of foreign derivation

H7278 Regemmelech regem melek
BDB Definition:
Regem-melech = “king’s stone heap”
1) a man sent by some of the captivity to make enquiries at the temple concerning fasting
Part of Speech: noun proper masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H7276 and H4428

Zec 7:4  Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying, 
Zec 7:5  Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? 
Zec 7:6  And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? 
Zec 7:7  Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?

The rhetorical question in the fifth verse would not be asked if the answer weren’t no. So the people were not properly fasting unto the Lord and they were not mourning for their current (sinful) state of being, but rather for past sins of their fathers, as if by those actions they could somehow be exempt from the judgment of God that comes upon all men (Rom 1:18, Rom 2:3-4). 

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness

Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things [those in the past who have died for instance], and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?[1Pe 4:17] 
Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? [I the LORD search the heart (Jer 17:9), I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (Php 2:12-13, Rom 9:19-20)]

These verses in Zechariah 7:5-7 reveal another way in which the flesh does not take accountability for its present sinful condition. Fasting “in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years” typifies a completely wrong way in which we try to apply God’s grace in our lives through a fast that is not acceptable to God because it is in our flesh and not in Christ the beloved (Lev 16:29, Isa 58:5, Eph 1:6).

Lev 16:29  And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 

Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 

When everything is going perfectly in our lives, like the children in Israel being provided for all their physical needs in the wilderness, there is no growth to be had, a thought paralleled by this underlined portion of our verse here, “And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat and drink not the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when  inhabited the south and the plain? (Zec 7:6-7 – KJV)” This same thought is reflected in the new covenant in 1 Corinthians 11:20-22 as related to understanding what our communion is all about (1Co 10:16). 

1Co 11:20  When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. 
1Co 11:21  For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
1Co 11:22  What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 

When we take out the italics and just read these verses (Zec 7:6-7) at face value, it’s clear that they did indeed eat and drink the words of the prophets, with the point being that the witness they received or ate fell on deaf ears and blind eyes. This typifies for us our inability at that stage in our walk to hold fast to the words of the Lord, not having been yet received by God through His chastening grace, which is forthcoming for Israel (Isa 26:9, Eph 2:4-5, Heb 12:6).

Zec 7:6-7  And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat and drink not the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when inhabited the south and the plain [when everything is going perfectly in our lives]? 

Zec 7:8  And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, 
Zec 7:9  Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: 
Zec 7:10  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. 

True judgment can only happen through a right relationship with our Father and Christ, which relationship matures through our being judged by God as we continue in His word. When we judge righteous judgment (Joh 7:24), we stop trying to execute judgment with our own carnal reasoning and are blessed to follow Christ’s example of executing “true judgment” (Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5).

Joh 5:30  I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 
Joh 5:31  If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true [Rev 1:1-2, 1Jn 4:17, Rev 11:3, Php 2:12-13].

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Joh 7:24  Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

The fruit of a life that is subject to God is described as showing “mercy and compassions every man to his brother“, and our religion is pure only if we “oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor” and remain unspotted from the world as we’re told to do in James 1:25-27, which describes the elect that are the “fatherless“, being separated from our former father, the devil, who is the god of this world (2Co 4:4). The elect are the “widow” who has been widowed from our former mother “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev 17:5). The “stranger” represents the strangers and foreigners of Ephesians 2:19, and the “poor” represents those who are now poor in spirit, humble and contrite because of the grace-through-faith relationship they have been called to in Christ (Mat 5:3-5, Isa 66:2).

Jas 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 
Jas 1:26  If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
Jas 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [Gal 6:10] and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 

Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

We are to be persuaded of our elders (1Th 5:12-13, Eph 2:6, Luk 16:31), and convinced of better things of each other (Heb 6:9-10) and not to “imagine evil against his brother in your heart” which is what we do when we impute motives on Christ’s body. We execute true judgment by showing “mercy and compassion every man to his brother.” These were the words the LORD brought to Zechariah because this spirit was lacking in Israel as a type of how we can be lacking in natural affection and proper judgment (2Ti 3:3-5, Eph 5:29). It is such spiritual apathy that the Lord is burning out of the body of Christ (Col 1:24, 1Pe 4:12) as we decrease and He increases (1Co 3:6) through each joint that supplies in love what the body needs to build itself up (Eph 4:16).

Zec 7:11  But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. 
Zec 7:12  Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts. 

Here’s the problem with spoiled children, which we all were in our appointed time, and this eleventh verse echoes back to the point of hearing the word of the prophets but not doing, “but they refused to hearken” (Luk 6:46). 

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

When we refuse to hearken we pull “away the shoulder” which is the part of our body that is symbolic of what should be bearing the burden of the body of Christ and so fulfilling the law of Christ (Neh 9:28-30, Gal 6:2-3, 1Ti 6:19).

Neh 9:28  But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; 
Neh 9:29  And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
Neh 9:30  Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.
Neh 9:31  Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 
Gal 6:3  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

We all stop our ears at first, and, God permitting, He gives us ears to hear and eyes to see as a result of the pruning and chastening God gives to every son being received of Him (Heb 12:6, Joh 15:1-4). God willing, we see the day approaching (Heb 10:25), and are being given to strengthen each other and prevent iniquity from abounding in our midst (Eze 33:13). 

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 
Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

This 12th verse “Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts” is talking about us in our appointed time. Yet if God is working with us, that “adamant stone” of a heart can be changed and softened into a fleshy converted heart that no longer wants to operate in carnal fleshly-driven self-righteous flesh (Jer 31:33, Eze 36:26, 2Co 3:3), but rather only wants to be found in Christ having His righteousness (Pro 7:2-3, Php 1:21, Php 3:8-9).

2Co 3:3  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. 

Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 
Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Zec 7:13  Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts: 
Zec 7:14  But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate. 

Because we all ask amiss at first, the Lord does not hear these fleshly-driven prayers that are not in accord with His will, or He answers us according to the idol of our hearts; either way it is a work of the Lord for our good (Jas 4:3-5, Eze 14:4). In order to bring us to stop asking that way, God “scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not.” It is in Babylon where we are scattered, and our lands are desolate of any stay of God’s bread and water (Isa 3:1), where “no man passed through nor returned“, meaning that this is where we will stay for the duration of our life experiencing God’s wrath upon us for laying “the pleasant land desolate” unless He drags us out of Babylon and shows mercy to us in this age through His judgments upon us (Rom 11:30-32, 1Pe 4:17).

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.

To lay the “pleasant land desolate” is to be overcome by the devil whom we can only conquer through Christ (1Jn 4:4). With Christ in us as our hope of glory within (Col 1:27), we can look to him and present our bodies a living sacrifice (Heb 12:1-2, Rom 12:1-2) and overcome all that is in the world within us including Satan’s influence that preys on our weak flesh and whom we can resist through Christ (1Jn 2:16-17, 1Pe 5:8-9, Jas 4:7). This is the fast God has chosen for God’s elect today, to overcome the wicked within us and the world’s influence of which Satan is the god, and we do that by being granted to recognize and fulfill (Rev 1:3) the verses which were mentioned earlier, (Isa 58:6-8, Isa 66:2).

Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

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Awesome Hands - part 140 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – part 140

"Lord of the Sabbath"

September 2, 2018

I oftentimes think back on my life, and how the Lord has directed my steps to the place I am now. I know we all do this even if it is simply thinking about yesterday or that past week that has come and gone.

Specifically pertaining to this study, I often think about where I have been in my beliefs and where it is I am now. This causes me to remember how it used to be to go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays and experience the things that we did during those times.

Of course, going to church on Sunday was required because it was by doing this we were not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, and most importantly, we were keeping the sabbath day according to my church upbringing.

I know keeping the sabbath is different in each denomination, so I won’t get into the specifics, but getting together on the “sabbath” was very important.

Our study today finds us looking at how the Israelites were instructed by Moses to keep the ten commandments as listed in Deuteronomy 5. This is a reiteration on what they had already been told, but the Israelites are about to embark on a crossing of the Jordan and they need to be reminded of these things.

In our study today, we will be looking at what the sabbath meant to the Jews in the old testament and what it means to the spiritual Jews in the New Testament. We will also look at the next mentioning of the word “yad”, which will tell us just how we are to look upon the symbol that the Lord has made us to ourselves and the world around us.

A covenant with “us”

 

Deu 5:1  And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
Deu 5:2  The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Deu 5:3  The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

Obviously, I have emphasized the words used here with emboldening and underlining. I did this to show how it is Moses is addressing the people, who are alive and who are assembled before him.

It is this group of people who were given the admonishments to learn, keep and do the judgements that the Lord commanded.

If we inject ourselves into this scenario, and realize that we are spiritual Jews being given these same admonitions, then we will gain more knowledge of how to see the Lord’s judgments in our lives for what they are.

Specifically for this study, the next mentioning of the word “hand” or “yad” is found in Deut 5:15.

Deu 5:13  Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
Deu 5:14  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
Deu 5:15  And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

If we can just remember the slavery we were in to our past circumstances, before the Lord brought us out with an outstretched arm, then we can deal with the current fiery trials we are in now.

Israel here is being told to keep the physical day of the Sabbath, which was Saturday to them, but we know that we are not bound by the law. We know this in many ways from scripture, but as a short recap, I will list out a few verses that illustrate this for us.

Heb 7:11  If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

The people received the judgments and statutes of the keeping the sabbath while “under the law”, but the priesthood is changed therefore the law is changed.

Heb 10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Being under the shadow, the Israelites were still required to keep that law, however we are not under the shadow in the New Testament but under the “Light of Christ” (my phrase) because we are no longer children under the Old Testament, but we are now sons under the New Covenant.

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Gal 4:6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Just to make this crystal clear to those with eyes that see and ears that hear, Christ tells us who the Lord of the sabbath is. We also know that Jesus broke the sabbath and this was one of the reasons the Pharisees gave for crucifying Him.

Joh 5:15  The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
Joh 5:16  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

I will have mercy, and not sacrifice was something that Christ tells the Pharisees that they do not have.

Jesus said this one other time in a different way, which should tell us that this is an important lesson we should learn so that we can bring into captivity the Pharisaical mindset that can easily beset us.

Mat 9:10  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
Mat 9:11  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
Mat 9:12  But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mat 9:13  But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

This phrase, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice” is taken from Hosea 6:6:

Hos 6:1  Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
Hos 6:2  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Hos 6:3  Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
Hos 6:4  O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.
Hos 6:5  Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.
Hos 6:6  For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Hos 6:7  But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

In other words, don’t be like men who only look toward outward observances of what the law meant and taught, but look toward the inward man for what is needed to obey God and His statutes and judgements. Of course Israel in the flesh, and no one in the flesh, can obey God, but Jesus Christ in us can because …. wait for it .. He is Lord EVEN OVER THE TEMPLE, because He is GREATER than the temple.

Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Joh 2:16  And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
Joh 2:17  And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
Joh 2:18  Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Joh 2:20  Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
Joh 2:21  But he spake of the temple of his body.

What then do we do with this information? What is the significance of being the temple and the Lord being greater than the temple? It should be easy to figure out who the “temple of His body” is.

Hosea prophesied it perfectly. Here it is again:

Hos 6:1  Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
Hos 6:2  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Hos 6:5  Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

The Lord puts His words in the mouths of His prophets and we are all His prophets and prophetess’. His words slay those He puts us in front of, because we are the light of the world with His judgments in our mouths.

This point brings us to the next mentioning of the word “yad” in Hebrew.

Deu 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu 6:6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
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 6:9  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Deu 6:10  And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
Deu 6:11  And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
Deu 6:12  Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Deu 6:13  Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Deu 6:14  Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
Deu 6:15  (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

It should be clear that we are the Light of the world, and the judgment of God come forth for out mouths. When those judgments come forth, it’s going to be very obvious that we have been marked by God and just like the hundreds of times throughout scripture that the commandments of God are brought forth, those bringing the message will be “hated of all men”.

The Lord tells us NOT to FORGET Him by paying attention to the things that had us in bondage and keep those we are sent to IN BONDAGE. The difference is that those we are placed before with the judgments of God do not even KNOW they are in bondage to the elements of the world!

Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

We’re all in the same boat. The difference between “us” and “them” is that when the boat is discovered to be sinking, and death is nigh unto us, we can walk on water!

It is when we are actually adopted sons of God that we need to be aware that we are given “houses that are full”, “vineyards with fruit”, “wells that have been already been dug”, all to make us spiritually well off. We need to be aware so that we do not fall into the trap of forgetting the Lord.

We do this by FEARING the Lord and NOT worshipping other gods. The first and foremost God we will all be drawn to worship is the god staring back at us in the mirror!

The way to avoid all of this is to recognize that our mind and the work we work with our hands are all done to glorify god and NOT to make graven images to worship.

That is what it means to have a sigh placed on our hands and in the frontlet of our eyes.

Keeping the sabbath is a commandment of God, but keeping a day each week is NOT what a Jew inwardly is told to do. Keeping the sabbath is keeping the things mentioned briefly in this study at the forefront of our minds and lives.

I am repeating several groups of scriptures throughout this study because they really bring home various points contained within the same group of verses.

Notice the work we are all to do:

Joh 5:16  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Jesus does the work in us, and this is our keeping the sabbath. We rest in Him, but in so resting we are resting from our own works that we would produce with our hands, and we are awaiting the direction of the Lord in whatever it is we are dealing with at that time.

Isaiah 58 sums this study up for us:

Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
Isa 58:9  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
Isa 58:10  And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
Isa 58:11  And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Isa 58:12  And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Isa 58:13  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isa 58:14  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

“Not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words” is finding rest and keeping the sabbath of the Lord for the Jew which is one inwardly.

Mike I am trying to keep my emails to you down to a minimum. I know you have quite a load to keep up with. Lately the Lord has put on my heart to study the book of Esther. So far I think I have a pretty good understanding of the flow of the book. The Lord has shown me many spiritual applications hidden within this book. My question is this…. I had never even heard of the feast of Purim. After learning of this and using several commentaries about it, I noticed a connection between

Est 9:21  To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
Est 9:22  As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of (sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.)

and….

Rev 11:10  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and (shall send gifts one to another); because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

And then this reference from Luke….

Luk 18:12  I fast twice in (the week), [ the week of unleavened bread] I give tithes of all that I possess. Est 4:16  Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Do you think the giving gifts in this Purim feast is the same as what is referred to in Rev. 11:10? And is the fast that is referred to in Luke the same as the fast of Est 4:16? What is the significance of this gift- giving of Rev 11:10? (how do we live by this)? Your brother in the Christ,
R____

Good morning R____,
 
Thank you for your concern for my work load, but please don’t fail to share with me the things you are seeing in God’s Word. I am still so very thankful that shortly before Ray Smith “separated me from His company,” (Luk 6:22) you had written me an e- mail telling me what God had revealed to you about the spiritual significance of Christ being born in a manger. The instant I read that e- mail, the spirit of God witnessed to me that what you were saying was indeed from God and was in line with the words of God. Beasts come to a manger to get nourishment, just as men come to Christ to get the “words of life… the bread of life.”
So do take the time to continue sharing with me the revelations God gives to you. I promise I will not hoard them up for myself. I love to tell others where I have learned what God has given me, and I take every opportunity to do so.
This letter about Esther is no exception.  I had never before noticed that the decree for the destruction of the Jews in the Persian Empire was proclaimed at the time of the preparation for the Passover.

Est 3:12  Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring.

Knowing this makes this whole story of Esther coming before the king, contrary to the law, a type of Christ laying down His life for us. Esther, like Abraham before her, and like Daniel and like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo, before her, had determined to obey the Lord, typified by Mordecai, and let the Lord Himself determine what would be the outcome of obedience to His Word.

Dan 3:16  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we [ are] not careful to answer thee in this matter.
Dan 3:17  If it be [ so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [ us] out of thine hand, O king.
Dan 3:18  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Est 4:16  Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which [ is] not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Abraham, we are told “received Isaac as one raised from the dead”, simply because Abraham had determined to obey God, and “sacrifice His only son.”
And so too, do Daniel coming forth from the Lion’s den and the three Hebrew children represent those who are raised from the dead as they come forth of the fiery furnace. All who lay down their lives as living sacrifices to God are being buried with Christ in His death and have been and will be raised with Him in glory.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin.

That is just how “Christcentric” are the scriptures. (I got that word from Joe Beeler). The scriptures are ‘Christcentric’ from Genesis to Revelation. It is all the revelation of Jesus Christ, and this book of Esther is no exception to that rule. It too, is all about Christ [ Esther] and His relationship to His Father [ Mordecai].

Est 2:10  Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew [ it].

Est 2:19  And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate.
Est 2:20  Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.

In the sense that Ester obeyed the commandment of Mordecai, Mordecai, typifies our heavenly Father.
Now suppose that the Pharisee is speaking of fasting twice in every week? That does not change the fact that the Jews were fasting during the days of unleavened bread at the time Haman had gotten permission to destroy all Jews in the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
Yes, when we take God’s gold and appropriate it to ourselves as if it were something that had not been given to us, and we use God’s gold, His word and His doctrines, to exalt ourselves as does the Pharisee within us all, then we are taking God’s commanded fasts and His commanded gift- giving and using it to celebrate the destruction of God’s elect.
So whether the Pharisee’s “fasting twice in the week” is a direct reference to the fasting of the Jews during the days of unleavened bread in Esther or not, the Pharisees fasting while looking down on the publicans is the same as Haman looking down his nose at Mordecai and seeking the destruction of Mordecai.
Apparently the Jews were already fasting before Esther asked them to fast three days and nights for her.

Est 4:1  When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
Est 4:2  And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
Est 4:3  And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, [ there was] great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

A few verses later we read:

Est 4:5  Then called Esther for Hatach, [ one] of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it [ was], and why it [ was].
Est 4:6  So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which [ was] before the king’s gate.
Est 4:7  And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.

Then we are told this:

Est 4:16  Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which [ is] not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

All if this was done during the Passover and the days of unleavened bread, in the first month, the month of Nisan.

Est 3:7  In the first month, that is, the month Nisan , in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.

This was, as we noted above, all at the time of the Passover, all typifying and foreshadowing the sacrifice of Christ as our savior.
You also ask:

“Do you think the giving gifts in this Purim feast is the same as what is referred to in Rev. 11:10?… What is the significance of this gift giving of Rev 11:10? (how do we live by this)?

I had never before considered that there was any connection between the gift- giving of Esther at Purim and the gift- giving at the death of God’s elect in Rev 11, but knowing that Babylon is “that great city wherein our Lord was crucifed,” knowing that “as he is so are we in this world,” it follows that this is the only time in scripture where the Pharisees within us want to see Christ and those who are in Him, dead.
You ask “How do we live by this?” and the scriptures answer:

Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed [ thee]? or thirsty, and gave [ thee] drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took [ thee] in? or naked, and clothed [ thee]?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Mat 25:44  Then shall they [ the wicked within us] also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

What we do and what we don’t do is all “ye did it unto” Christ. What is done to Christ’s witnesses is done to Christ, and every time you or I have ever believed a false doctrine over the word of God, though it may have been in ignorance, we were still believing a lie over the Truth, over God’s word. Babylon is, was and will always be in the majority. Babylon is always slaying God’s elect and rejoicing over their death and refusing to bury God’s elect and sending gifts of joy to one another over the fact that they have successfully separated from our company:

Luk 6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

“Separating you from their company, reproaching you and casting out your name as evil for the Son of Man’s sake is the fulfillment of this verse:

Rev 11:9  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
Rev 11:10  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

 I know that you are aware that we “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” I know also that you are aware that God’s Word is, was and will be “at hand.” Knowing this gives us the knowledge that we all, at our appointed time “see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another;”

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Rev 1:3  Blessed [ is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. (ASV)

So in review, the fasting may not be a the exact same number of days in Esther and in Luke, but both are fasting under the law, and I have no doubt that there is a connections between the gift- giving of Esther and Rev 11. Those who kill God’s elect, just like Haman, always think they are serving their king:

Est 3:8  And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws [ are] diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.

Babylon does not know that it is Babylon. They actually perceive themselves as God’s elect.
I hope this is of some help as you try to see the hidden things of the spirit, behind the letters of God’s Word.
Your brother in the Christ,
Mike

Spiritual Significance of Mental Illness

[Published February 17, 2008]

Hello the team,

I enjoy” is, was and will be” very much; in fact I am reading and listening to “is, was and will be” the unknown character of Christ and his word almost daily. The question I have concerns MENTAL ILLNESS.  Could you give some information on mental illness, the spiritual significance of mental illness.

E____

Hi E____,

Thank you for your question. You ask: What is the spiritual significance of mental illness?

When we look at the example of Christ’s healings in scripture, the example of the epileptic stands out as a very clear case of mental illness.  Look at what is said about that healing:

Mat 17:14  And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a [certain] man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
Mat 17:15  Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
Mat 17:16  And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Mat 17:17  Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
Mat 17:18  And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Mat 17:19  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mat 17:21  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Here is this same story in Mark:

Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mar 9:25  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
Mar 9:26  And [the spirit] cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
Mar 9:27  But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

According to this and many other scriptures, all diseases are really nothing more or less than evil spirits which are sent by God to do what they are doing. Just witness this story:

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.
Joh 9:6  When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
Joh 9:7  And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

“Which by interpretations is sent” tells us that this entire story, as with every story in the Bible, happens because God sends spirits to cause His will to be done in all things:

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Anyone in whom dwells the spirit of promise takes great comfort in those words. He does not complain about the things he cannot immediately understand, simply because he has been given the faith to believe that verse and all the other verses of God’s Word which witness to its Truth.

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
1Sa 16:16  Let our lord now command thy servants, [which are] before thee, to seek out a man, [who is] a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

Since Christ is the Truth through whom His Father does all things, it is actually Christ who is doing all things for His Father just as Joseph did all things for Pharaoh.

Christ actually gives us this warning about casting out demons:

Mat 12:43  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44  Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last [state] of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

“Empty [but] swept and garnished” is the condition of all who first come to Christ. That is the condition of us all when the beast receives a deadly wound within us. If we refuse to “leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ and go on unto perfection,” then the “sincere milk” itself becomes a poison which will retard our growth in Christ.

The scriptures do not allow us to remain on a plateau indefinitely. Yes, there is night and day, there is summer and winter, but there must be growth through it all. If there is no growth “then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

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

We have all lived these words by virtue of being so long in Babylon. It is only by God’s sovereign grace that any of us are ‘chosen’ out of the ‘many [deceived] called’ to have our “swept and garnished” house, again cleansed and filled with the fire of God’s spirit, His Word. Peter is not encouraging us to remain babes in Christ. To the contrary, he is warning us against remaining a babe in Christ: “That you may grow thereby…”

Your question is:

“Could you give some information on mental illness, the spiritual significance of mental illness.”

Christ tells us plainly that mental illness, as with all illnesses, is the work of an “unclean spirit.” Christ also tells us that His Words “are spirit.”

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.

However, just as Christ’s Words and His doctrines are His spirit, He has also created and sent out an Adversary to those words and doctrines:

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

So the answer to your question is that mental illness in scripture, just like any other disease in scripture, is spiritual illness, or false prophets. Mental illness, spiritually, signifies spiritual lunacy, the hardest disease from which we must all be purged:

Mar 9:28  And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Mar 9:29  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Read our paper on “The Fast That I Have Chosen…” It is not “the fast” which “this wicked generation” of orthodox Christianity is practicing with all of their efforts to “lay on heavy burdens” by raising money to further all their lunatic doctrines which “cast us all into the fire [of God’s purging Word] and water [of His baptism].

Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? [is it] to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7  [Is it] not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
Isa 58:9  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I [am]. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Luk 12:49  I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50  But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

The holy spirit, the fire and the baptism are all one and the same thing. They all are God’s Words:

Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken , the same shall judge him in the last day.

“The last day” is already upon the house of God:

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.

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?

Those judging, purging, cleansing, fiery words are already judging God’s elect:

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

All of God’s Words are designed to be lived by all men through the judgment of all men:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

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.

Each of us is “the earth.” When Christ’s judging words are in us, then we will learn righteousness and the lunacy of all of the false doctrines of Babylon will be burned out of us.

I hope that answers your question, and I hope you can see that mental illness, or lunacy, spiritually stands for the hardest false doctrines from which we must be delivered. They cannot be cast out by unconverted, “yet carnal… babes in Christ.” They cannot be cast out by disciples who think they are converted just because many of the spirits are subject to them and they have seen people healed of other diseases.

Mental illness is a spiritual type of strong delusion. Be sure to read Will God’s Strong Delusion Deceive You? I hope you see that false doctrines must be replaced by the Truth before seven other false doctrines, worse than the first, come and take up residence upon the throne of Christ within us all.

Mike

Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Moses and Christ “did neither eat bread nor drink water” for “forty days and forty nights.” Such fasting for such an extended period would literally kill most modern men. Nowhere else in scripture are we ever told of anyone fasting for so long.

The next time fasting is mentioned is in connection with the holy days of the old covenant. The ‘day of atonement’ was a day of “fasting and afflicting your soul.”

Lev 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

David fasted when his son, born of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, the wife of David’s trusted captain Uriah, became sick. David had killed Uriah in order to take his wife for himself. God of course knew what evil was in David’s heart. So God sends Nathan to David to tell him that the child born of this adultery would not live. When David heard this he began fasting, hoping God would have mercy on the child. God took the life of David’s child in spite of the fact that David was fasting. Then David ended his fast.

2Sa 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

David’s fasting did not impress God and certainly did not cause Him to change His mind. David’s fasting was profitable to David because it was an acknowledgment of the need to afflict his soul. Had David denied the desires of his soul when his soul was originally lusting after another man’s wife, this would have been a much grander offering to God that to fast after the battle against the flesh had been lost.

So what did Christ mean when He responded to those who were comparing His disciples to John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees?

Luk 5:33 And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?
Luk 5:34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?
Luk 5:35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Notice what Christ connects with this statement concerning when His disciples would fast:

Luk 5:36 And[“And,” meaning continuing the thought about when His disciples would fast] he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
Luk 5:37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
Luk 5:38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
Luk 5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

Here Christ Himself is linking outward ritual fasting with the rituals of the old covenant. When Paul tells us that “the letter kills, but the spirit gives life,” he is telling us that no amount of outward ritual can in any way change you inwardly. Likewise, when Christ tells us that “it is not that which goes into a man’s mouth, but it is that which comes from within the man, that which comes from the heart, this defiles the man,” He too, is telling us that no amount of outward ritual, including the outward observance of clean meats, the outward observance of holy days and sabbaths, the outward observance of circumcision, the outward observance of water baptism, the outward observance of tithing, and yes, even the outward observance of fasting, will in any way contribute to the spiritual maturity of the inward man. Anything that is outward and observed by men is unproductive to the growth of the spirit.

I recently had a very able defender of the need to keep the law of Moses tell me, “The old wine really is better. Just ask any wine maker. He will tell you that old wine is better than new wine.” To this man these words of Christ, given in response to the question, “Why don’t your disciples fast?” have no meaning whatsoever. These letter of the law observers do not even realize that what they are saying with such carnal arguments is that a new garment is less desirable that an old worn out, ‘fading away,’ ‘vanishing,’ ‘disannulled,’ ‘done away’ with garment. How true is the warning of our Lord: “No man having drunk the old wine straightway desireth the new: for he saith [to this very day], the old is better.” They do not realize that the holes in the old garment do not cover their nakedness. Yet they prefer the old and still to this day declare “The old is better.”

So while we have established that there is no longer any need for ritual fasting, there never was any profit to fasting “to be seen of men.” Is there yet any time that one should fast and ‘afflict his soul?’

There are many examples of fasting in the new testament. Cornelius, the Roman centurion whose house was the first Gentile home to receive the Holy Spirit, was fasting when the angel appeared to him and told him to send to Joppa for Peter. Paul and Barnabas fasted and prayed over each man they ordained as overseers of the churches they had established.

In defending his apostleship to the Corinthians, Paul speaks of ‘fasting often:’

2Co 11:27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

The last time chronologically that fasting is mentioned in the New Testament is in Act 27. Paul is in the process of being delivered to Caesar, and the Lord has brought Paul and all on the ship with him to death’s door. All “276 souls,” have endured being tormented by the perception of being hopelessly lost at sea in the mist of a terrible storm:

Act 27:19 And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.
Act 27:20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

How many days?

Act 27:33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.
Act 27:34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.
Act 27:35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
Act 27:36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.
Act 27:37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.

Under such dire circumstances, why would Paul tell these people to “be of good cheer?”

Act 27:22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
Act 27:23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
Act 27:24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
Act 27:25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

“All hope that we should be saved had been taken away.” All on board were fasting. I seriously doubt that their reason was ‘to be seen of men.’ Their very hope of life was taken away. They were ‘afflicting their souls’ and denying their flesh. To these lost souls, their “bridegroom had been taken away from them.” Just as with the disciples of Christ, the outward circumstances seemed to be clear. Three and one half years of casting out demons, healing the sick and feeding thousands were all for nothing. Where was their Savior right now? “All hope that we should be saved was taken away.” This is the time to afflict one’s soul:

Luk 5:35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

We might think that Paul’s faith was not being tried through all of this. How little do we understand the pulls of the flesh upon the Son of God Himself:

Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

It seemed at that moment, even to our Savior Himself, that His ‘bridegroom had been taken away.’ Would the apostle Paul have had more faith than our Lord? No, Paul was given the assurance by the angel because he needed that assurance to stand up under the circumstances that seemed to all 276 people on board that ship, that “all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” This is the experience not just of our Lord. Neither is this experience just for His apostles, like the apostle Paul. This experience of having “all hope that we should be saved… taken away” is common to all of God’s elect. It is a time for “afflicting our souls.” But let us never forget this Truth:

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

The Words of Christ concerning ‘fasting’ and ‘afflicting your soul’ are as spiritual as any words of scripture. So what, in the final analysis, is the fast that God wants of us all? How would He have us to spiritually ‘afflict our souls?’ How spiritually should we ‘deny ourselves… and die daily’ to the things of the flesh?

Isa 58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Isa 58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

There it is. “This is the fast that I have chosen…” This is the fast that God really wants. This is “a day for a man to afflict his soul.” This is the ‘fast’ that God would prefer for either David or for us. And what is this spiritual fasting and affliction of the soul?

“.. . This is the fast that I have chosen. To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke! … To deal bread to the hungry… bring the poor that are cast out into your house… when you see the naked, you cover him… and hide not yourself from your own flesh.”

Is this the ‘fasting’ we hear of from the ministers of orthodox Christianity? Do they not do the exact opposite in every case? Are they not strengthening the bands of wickedness by telling God’s people to participate in the affairs of this age? To physically fight for God and country? To physically kill their enemies whom Christ has said we should love? Do they not strengthen the bands of wickedness with their doctrine of man’s free will, denying the sovereignty of a God who “works all things after the counsel of His Own will?” Who plainly tells us “You did not choose me, I have chosen you?”

Instead of “undoing the heavy burdens, letting the oppressed go free and breaking every yoke,” do they not increase the burden of those in their charge with their blasphemous doctrines of everlasting, unending, eternal torture in real flames of literal fire for the vast majority of the human race for all time? This in spite of the fact that we are told that “Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world” (1Jn 2:2). Instead of letting the oppressed go free and breaking every yoke, do they not place those in their charge under the unscriptural doctrines of observing days, months, times and years, paying tithes on their incomes, binding burdens of ‘voluntary service’ upon them which serves only to increase the physical wealth of those who should be their spiritual servants?

Just last night I witnessed an NBC documentary on pastor Benny Hinn in which Mr. Hinn refused to allow an audit of his ministry’s finances. Pastor Hinn knows fully well how obvious it would be that he places burdens on the hearts and finances of those he claims to serve, while he and his family and friends live a lifestyle that any king on this earth would envy. And Benny Hinn is by no means the exception to this twisting of the truth that “they who preach the gospel, should live of the gospel.” While “The Son of Man may have nowhere to lay His head,” many of today’s ‘men of God’ have multiple mansions where they occasionally ‘lay their heads.’ The rest of the time their heads are reclining in the beds of the most luxurious motels and hotels the world has to offer. “Live of the gospel” has been twisted into ‘Live in luxury of the gospel.’ The blatant gaudiness of clothes and stage furnishings testifies to the truth:

Rev 3:17… Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked

So should a Christian fast? If your sole purpose is to ‘afflict your soul’ and deny your own selfish desires, the answer is yes, you should fast. There is a time in the walks of all Christians when physical fasting has a place. But for those who are able to receive it, the fast that God prefers is outlined in the scriptures given above. In the final analysis there is nothing you can do physically and outwardly that will improve you spiritually and inwardly. Physical fasting is something that should be known only to God. Spiritual fasting is something that, “like a city on a hill, cannot be hid.” This is the fast that God has ordained for His elect:

Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

Hello, Mike,

Would you please help clarify the following scriptures on fasting? Is fasting one of the sacrifices we no longer must make?

Mat 6:16 When you fast, do not be as hypocrites….
Mat 9:15 But the days will come when the bridegroom will have been taken away from them and then they will fast…

Also, are you aware of another good source for questions/ answers on Scripture – I don’t want to burden you – you must get tons of emails!!

Thanks for your help.

C____

Hi C____,

Thank you for your question about fasting.

The first time fasting is mentioned in scripture, it is in connection with the law given to Moses.

Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Moses and Christ “did neither eat bread nor drink water” for “forty days and forty nights.” Such fasting for such an extended period would literally kill most modern men. Nowhere else in scripture are we ever told of anyone fasting for so long.

The next time fasting is mentioned is in connection with the holy days of the old covenant. The ‘day of atonement’ was a day of “fasting and afflicting your soul.”

Lev 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

David fasted when his son, born of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba the wife of Davids trusted captain Uriah, became sick. David had killed Uriah in order to take his wife for himself. God of course knew what evil was in David’s heart. So God sent Nathan to David to tell him that the child born of this adultery would not live. When David heard this he began fasting, hoping God would have mercy on the child. God took the life of David’s child in spite of the fact that David was fasting. Then David ended his fast.

2Sa 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

David’s fasting did not impress God and certainly did not cause Him to change His mind. David’s fasting was profitable to David because it was an acknowledgment of the need to afflict his soul. Had David denied the desires of his soul when his soul was originally lusting after another man’s wife, this would have been a much grander offering to God than to fast after the battle against the flesh had been lost.

So what did Christ mean when He responded to those who were comparing His disciples to John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees?

Luk 5:33 And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?
Luk 5:34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?
Luk 5:35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Now notice what Christ connects with this statement about when His disciples would fast:

Luk 5:36 And [“And,” meaning continuing the thought about when His disciples would fast] he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
Luk 5:37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
Luk 5:38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
Luk 5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

Here Christ Himself is linking outward ritual fasting with the rituals of the old covenant. When Paul tells us that “the letter kills, but the spirit gives life,” he is telling us that no amount of outward ritual can in any way change you inwardly. Likewise when Christ tells us that “It is not that which goes into a man’s mouth, but it is that which comes from within the man, that which comes from the heart, this defiles the man,” He too, is telling us that no amount of outward ritual, including the outward observance of clean meats, the outward observance of holy days and sabbaths, the outward observance of circumcision, the outward observance of water baptism, the outward observance of tithing and yes, even the outward observance of fasting, will in no way contribute to the spiritual maturity of the inward man. Anything that is outward and observed by men, is unproductive to the growth of the spirit.

I recently had a very able defender of the need to keep the law of Moses tell me, “The old wine really is better. Just ask any wine maker. He will tell you that old wine is better than new wine.” To this man these words of Christ, given in response to the question, ‘Why don’t your disciples fast?’ have no meaning whatsoever. These letter- of- the- law observers, do not even realize that what they are saying with such carnal arguments, is that a new garment is less desirable that an old worn out, ‘fading away,’ ‘vanishing,’ ‘disannulled,’ ‘done away’ with garment. How true is the warning of our Lord: “No man having drunk the old wine straightway desireth the new: for he saith [ to this very day], the old is better.” They do not realize that the holes in the old garment do not cover their nakedness. Yet they prefer the old and still to this day declare “The old is better.”

So while we have established that there is no longer any need for ritual fasting, and there never was any profit to fasting “to be seen of men;” Is there yet any time that one should fast and ‘afflict his soul?’

There are many examples of fasting in the new testament. Cornelius, the Roman centurion, whose house was the first Gentile home to receive the Holy Spirit, was fasting when the angel appeared to him and told him to send to Joppa for Peter. Paul and Barnabas fasted and prayed over each man they ordained as overseers of the churches they had established.

In defending his apostleship to the Corinthians Paul speaks of ‘fasting often:’

2Co 11:27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

The last time chronologically fasting is mentioned in the New Testament is in Act 27. Paul is in the process of being delivered to Caesar, and the Lord has brought Paul and all on the ship with him to death’s door. They all, “276 souls,” have endured weeks of being tormented by the perception of being hopelessly lost at sea in the mist of a terrible storm:

Act 27:19 And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.
Act 27:20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

How many days?

Act 27:33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.
Act 27:34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.
Act 27:35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
Act 27:36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.
Act 27:37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.

Why, under such dire circumstances, would Paul tell these people to “be of good cheer?”

Act 27:22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
Act 27:23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
Act 27:24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
Act 27:25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

“All hope that we should be saved had been taken away.” All on board were fasting. I seriously doubt that their reason was ‘to be seen of men.’ Their very hope of life was taken away. They were ‘afflicting their souls’ and denying their flesh. To these lost souls their “bridegroom had been taken away from them.” Just as with the disciples of Christ, the outward circumstances seemed to be clear. Three and one half years of casting out demons, healing the sick and feeding thousands was all for nothing. Where was their Savior right now? “All hope that we should be saved was taken away.” This is the time to afflict one’s soul:

Luk 5:35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

We might think that Paul’s faith was not being tried through all of this. How little do we understand the pulls of the flesh upon the Son of God Himself:

Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

It seemed at that moment, even to our Savior Himself, that His ‘bridegroom had been taken away.’ Would the apostle Paul have had more faith than our Lord? No, Paul was given the assurance by the angel because he needed that assurance, to stand up under the circumstances that seemed to all 276 people on board that ship that “all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” This is the experience not just of our Lord. Neither is this experience just for His apostles, like the apostle Paul. This experience of having “all hope that we should be saved… taken away” is common to all of God’s elect. It is a time for “afflicting our souls.” But let us never forget this Truth:

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

The Words of Christ concerning ‘fasting’ and ‘afflicting your soul’ are as spiritual as any words of scripture. So what, in the final analysis, is the fast that God wants of us all? How would He have us to spiritually ‘afflict our souls?’ How spiritually should we ‘deny ourselves… and die daily’ to the things of the flesh?

Isa 58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Isa 58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

There it is. “This is the fast that I have chosen…” This is the fast that God really wants. This is “a day for a man to afflict his soul.” This is the ‘fast’ that God would prefer for either David or for us. And what is this spiritual fasting and affliction of the soul?

“… This is the fast that I have chosen. To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke! … To deal bread to the hungry… bring the poor that are cast out into your house… when you see the naked, you cover him… and hide not yourself from your own flesh.”

Is this the ‘fasting’ we hear of from the ministers of orthodox Christianity? Do they not do the exact opposite in every case? Are they not strengthening the bands of wickedness by telling God’s people to participate in the affairs of this age? To physically fight for God and country? To physically kill their enemies whom Christ has said we should love? Do they not strengthen the bands of wickedness with their doctrine of man’s free will, denying the sovereignty of a God who “works all things after the counsel of His Own will?” Who plainly tells us “You did not choose me, I have chosen you?”

Instead of “undoing the heavy burdens, letting the oppressed go free and breaking every yoke,” do they not increase the burden of those in their charge with their blasphemous doctrines of everlasting, unending, eternal torture in real flames of literal fire for the vast majority of the human race of all time? This in spite of the fact that we are told that “Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world” (1Jn 2:2). Instead of letting the oppressed go free and breaking every yoke, do they not place those in their charge under the unscriptural doctrines of observing days months times and years, paying tithes on their net incomes, binding burdens of ‘voluntary service,’ upon them which serves only to increase the physical wealth of those who should be their spiritual servants?

Just last night I witnessed an NBC documentary on pastor Benny Hinn in which Mr Hinn refused to allow an audit of his ministry’s finances. Pastor Hinn knows full well how obvious it would be that he places burdens on the hearts and finances of those he claims to serve, while he, himself, and his family and friends live a lifestyle that any king on this earth would envy. And Benny Hinn is by no means the exception to this twisting of the truth that “they who preach the gospel, should live of the gospel.” While “The Son of Man may have nowhere to lay His head,” many of today’s ‘men of God’ have multiple mansions where they occasionally ‘lay their heads.’ The rest of the time their heads are reclining in the beds of the most luxurious motels and hotels the world has to offer. “Live of the gospel” has been twisted into ‘Live in luxury of the gospel.’ The blatant gaudiness of clothes and stage furnishings testifies to the truth:

Rev 3:17… Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

So should a Christian fast? If your sole purpose is to ‘afflict your soul’ and deny your own selfish desires, the answer is yes you should fast. There is a time in the walks of all Christians when physical fasting has a place. But for those who are able to receive it, the fast that God prefers is outlined in the scriptures given above. In the final analysis there is nothing you can do physically and outwardly that will improve you spiritually and inwardly. Physical fasting is something that should be known only to God. Spiritual fasting is something that, “like a city on a hill, cannot be hid.” This is the fast that God has ordained for His elect:

Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

I hope this has answered your question to your satisfaction. I have placed the emphasis where I see it placed in scripture.

Mike