Firstborn – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty Mon, 19 Jan 2026 01:52:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cropped-headerlogo-32x32.png Firstborn – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com 32 32 The Overview of the Plan of God, Part 8A https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-overview-of-the-plan-of-god-part-8a/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-overview-of-the-plan-of-god-part-8a Fri, 03 Oct 2025 21:04:38 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=34188 Audio Download

The Overview of the Plan of God, Part 8A

Last Great Day:  I Will Put Hooks Into Your Jaws – Ezekiel 38

[Study Aired October 3, 2025]

Eze 38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.
Eze 38:3  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

Introduction

Here is how we concluded our last study on the overview of the plan of God:

“It is those in whom Christ dwells in this present age, who are “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”, and who therefore alone possess “the double portion… right of the firstborn.”

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

“I hope this has demonstrated from the scriptures that the judging of this world and judging angels is not the right of any but the “firstborn, firstfruits” unto God and the Lamb:

Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

“We will stop at this point for today, and, Lord willing, in our next study, we will demonstrate with the Old Testament types what is the rebellious spiritual condition of those who inhabit this earth during the thousand year reign and the “little season” which follows that reign.” (End Quote)

Continuing with our overview of the plan of God, I want to remind you that we have demonstrated that the destruction of Gog and Magog of Revelation 20 verses 7-9 is the destruction of all the nations of this world. Contrary to what is widely taught in the churches of this world, the destruction of ‘Gog and Magog’ is not the destruction of a minority of mankind. Rather it is the destruction of all of “the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth.” What that means is that after the “little season” of rebellion that follows the thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ, God will  destroy all flesh, and thereby He will “destroy… death.”

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

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. [“The nations in the four quarters of the earth”]

How is it possible for “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” to attempt to revolt against “the camp of the saints” after being converted by, and ruled by God’s elect for over a thousand years? If indeed it were the purpose of God to convert the nations during the thousand year reign of God’s elect over the nations of this world, then Christ and His elect failed miserably. On the other hand, if the very purpose of the thousand-year reign was to gradually build up resentment against the rule of God’s elect for the very purpose of turning them over to Satan, so Satan could convince mankind to revolt against the elect of God, thereby giving God the “occasion” He is seeking to destroy all flesh, then verses 7-9 of Revelation 20 reveal to us that Christ and His elect were very successful at what they were given to do.

What these three verses tell us is that at the end of the thousand-year reign there will not be even one converted person. The thousand-year reign will have the same end product of the Lord leading Israel out of Egypt. After being delivered from Egyptian slavery, Israel spent the next forty years rebelling against Christ’s leadership as “The Cloud” that led them during that entire time. Caleb and Joshua, who were of that old generation, signify the ‘remnant’ which the Lord has in every generation. Not one soul in that generation was converted, and they all had to die in the wilderness. In type it was only the “new man”, the young, who entered into the promised land. The thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ will produce the same thing Christ’s calling and leading His disciples for three and one half years produced. Not one soul was converted, but it did give Christ the occasion He was seeking against the old man within His disciples. That old man was dethroned on the day of Pentecost, where Christ, at His own predestined time, began to convert the hearts and minds of His disciples, through His Father’s omnipresent spirit, coming to dwell within those who were predestined to be judged in this age. What Revelation 20:7-9 reveals is that there will be no converted people during the time of the thousand year reign simply because bringing men to salvation is the very opposite of the purpose for that  reign and the last great day. The last great day is the day of the last rebellion of mankind in which all flesh is destroyed leading to the destruction of death in the lake of fire which is the second judgment and the second death. Let us read it once more:

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. [“The nations in the four quarters of the earth”]

Is there anything said concerning the thousand-year reign which would lead any rational person to believe that this time of being ruled by Christ and His elect with a rod of iron has at any time produced universal repentance and a great revival? Here is what we are told about this time of reigning over carnal minded humans by Christ and His elect:

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Isa 2:4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [Until the thousand years are expired, (Rev 20:7)]

Zec 14:16  And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:17  And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
Zec 14:18  And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:19  This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. [“Rod of iron”]

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
Mic 4:2  And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Mic 4:3  And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Mic 4:4  But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
Mic 4:5  For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.

When the thousand years are expired Satan will deceive the nations into beating their plowshares into swords:

Joe 3:9  Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: [“Against the camp of the saints”]
Joe 3:10  Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Joe 3:11  Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
Joe 3:12  Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.  

Here is the Old Testament type of this little season that follows the last great day. It was a terrifying day for Joseph’s brothers, and out of this terrifying experience came the peace they had been seeking all along. That peace could not come until the ‘old man’, typified by the death of Jacob, renamed Israel, had died:

Gen 50:15  And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
Gen 50:16  And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
Gen 50:17  So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Gen 50:18  And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

Joseph’s brothers were being ruled by him from the time they came down into Egypt to live in the land of Goshen, but they were not at one with him. Rather they spent the next 17 years fearing for their lives. That torment did not end until their “old man”, typified by their father Israel, died, and only then were they delivered from that life of torment and fear for their lives. Contrary to the false doctrines we have all been taught, God’s elect are no more interested in converting the people who live through the time of the thousand years of their reigning, then Christ was attempting to convert Israel while He led them about in the wilderness for forty years after bringing them out of Egypt. Instead of converting that generation God Himself caused them all to die in the wilderness: [Babylon is “in the wilderness”, (Rev 17:3)]

Num 26:65  For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Instead of bringing the holy spirit to all men during the thousand-year reign of God’s elect, the very purpose for these last two steps in God’s work with “the first man Adam” is to give mankind a thousand years to progressively build up great resentment to being ruled by a rod of iron, and then to turn Satan loose upon such a willingly rebellious populace:

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

It is all done for the very purpose of providing God with the “occasion” He is seeking to destroy all flesh, and through that destruction of all flesh He will destroy death. God always gives Himself a good reason, what the scriptures call an “occasion”, to do what He has already predestined to be done. This principle is found throughout the scriptures. “The sins of the Amorites [being] fulfilled” is one example, but it is best stated in the story of Samson where we read:

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

The Lord knew in advance exactly what He was doing with Samson and how He would use Samson to deliver Israel from the dominion of the Philistines.

The Lord also had a predetermined time for the iniquity of the Amorites to be fulfilled:

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

“The Philistines” typify our own flesh, which has dominion over us all until Christ comes into our hearts. The same is true for the thousand-year reign of Christ and His saints. That thousand years was never intended to be a time of repentance and conversion. Rather Christ’s rulership over “the kingdoms of this world” is designed to be a time when Satan is imprisoned and is not permitted to deceive the nations.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign [“with a rod of iron”] for ever and ever.

The elect of God rule the entire earth during this time with the very same “rod of iron” with which God ruled Israel for forty years in the wilderness where Israel, typical of each of us, rebelled against the Lord’s governors and a few thousand people died:

Num 16:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:24  Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Num 16:25  And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
Num 16:26  And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
Num 16:27  So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
Num 16:28  And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
Num 16:29  If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
Num 16:30  But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
Num 16:31  And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
Num 16:32  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
Num 16:33  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
Num 16:34  And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
Num 16:35  And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
Num 16:36  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:37  Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
Num 16:38  The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
Num 16:39  And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
Num 16:40  To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
Num 16:41  But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.
Num 16:42  And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
Num 16:43  And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
Num 16:44  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:45  Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
Num 16:46  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
Num 16:47  And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
Num 16:48  And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
Num 16:49  Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.

This no-nonsense time of being ruled with a rod of iron is immediately followed by the “little season”, a short period which is predestined to be a time when the nations are given over to Satan to the point that they will rebel against the elect of God, and will “compass the camp of the saints”, convinced by the adversary that they can destroy their immortal rulers. It is at that very moment that “the iniquity of [mankind will be] full” and “fire [will come] down from God out of heaven” and will devour them, bringing all flesh, and therefore all death, to its merciful end.

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.

This cataclysmic event is immediately followed by the second resurrection which is also called the “great white throne… judgment”:

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not [in the first resurrection was not] found written in the book of life [and] was cast into the lake of fire.

There are only two resurrections mentioned in all scripture, and all men of all time are in one of those two resurrections. The first resurrection is that of the “firstborn” (Heb 12:23), and the second resurrection is for all others. I want to thank our brother, Larry Groenewald, for pointing out in our discussions of his (Genesis Study #75 – 12/11/14) that the double portion goes only to the firstborn, and that the spiritual application of that double portion is to both rule this earth in this physical realm with Christ during the thousand-year reign, and then to judge angels in the lake of fire, in the spiritual realm, following the destruction of all flesh. The apostle Paul was referring to the right of the double portion which is given only to the firstborn when he told the Corinthians this:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels?  how much more things that pertain to this life?

“Judging the world… pertains to this life”. Judging angels pertains to the realm of the spirit and does not pertain to this life is this present time:

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

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:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

We will pause at this point and continue our study on the spiritual significance of the  last great day in our next study.

Click here for the next study in this series.

]]> Numbers 3:1-26  The Duties of the Levites – Part 1 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers-31-26-the-duties-of-the-levites-part-1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=numbers-31-26-the-duties-of-the-levites-part-1 Mon, 01 May 2023 16:17:57 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=27544

Numbers 3:1-26  The Duties of the Levites – Part 1

[Study Aired May 1, 2023]

Num 3:1  These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai.
Num 3:2  And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 
Num 3:3  These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office. 
Num 3:4  And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father. 
Num 3:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 3:6  Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.
Num 3:7  And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.
Num 3:8  And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
Num 3:9  And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. 
Num 3:10  And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 
Num 3:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 3:12  And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; 
Num 3:13  Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.
Num 3:14  And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
Num 3:15  Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. 
Num 3:16  And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 
Num 3:17  And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. 
Num 3:18  And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei. 
Num 3:19  And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 
Num 3:20  And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers. 
Num 3:21  Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites. 
Num 3:22  Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.
Num 3:23  The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward. 
Num 3:24  And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.
Num 3:25  And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, 
Num 3:26  And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

Introduction

In the first and second chapters of the Book of Numbers, we are told about the army the Lord is raising in every generation and how they are to dwell in this life. As we indicated in the previous study, the various tribes of Israel represent the world from which the Lord enlists His army.

We know that we learn more about spiritual matters from physical realities. In any military campaign, there are losses. Not all military personnel who go to war come back alive. The fact that we are blessed to be enrolled in the army of the Lord does not mean that we all will become overcomers. There are always casualties. That is why we are warned by the Lord as follows:

1Co 9:24  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1Co 9:25  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
1Co 9:26  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 
1Co 9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

There are several examples in the Bible of those who were found missing in action from the Lord’s army when it counted. The ten lepers that Jesus healed represent those who were shown mercy by the Lord to be part of His army, but only one returned from the battle of the flesh to give God the glory.

Luk 17:11  And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 
Luk 17:12  And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 
Luk 17:13  And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
Luk 17:14  And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 
Luk 17:15  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 
Luk 17:16  And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 
Luk 17:17  And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 
Luk 17:18  There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
Luk 17:19  And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Today’s study focuses on the generation of Aaron and Moses who were from the tribe of Levi. It is from this particular tribe the Lord chooses His priests. The study today therefore focuses on the Levites.

Num 3:1  These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai.
Num 3:2  And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
Num 3:3  These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office. 

It is from Aaron and Moses that we have the priesthood. This first group mentioned therefore represents those who are called to minister in the priest’s office. It is the greatest privilege to be called by the Lord and to be chosen to become a priest of the Lord. The names of the sons of Aaron reveal what is expected of the elect. ‘Nadab’ means liberal. The word liberal means willing to respect or accept behavior or opinion different from one’s own. In other words, open to new ideas. On a positive note, the elect being liberal means our willingness to accept the new revolutionary teachings of Christ, the reformer. In accepting Christ’s teachings, we have rejected our own opinion and that of others which constitute man’s wisdom and tradition.

Col 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

‘Abihu’ means God is father. Nadab was the first born of Aaron followed by Abihu. This implies that it is when we become liberal, that is, accept the teachings of Christ, that God becomes our father. That is another way of saying the following:

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word (if you accept my teachings), then are ye my disciples (children) indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

‘Eleazer’, who came third, means God is helper. It is when the Lord becomes our father that we realize that He is indeed our helper! The Lord being our helper means that He will keep and uphold us until that day!!

Psa 121:1  A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 
Psa 121:2  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 
Psa 121:3  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 
Psa 121:4  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The name of the last of Aaron’s sons is ‘Ithamar’ which signifies palm coast. It is very instrumental to note that where there are palm trees, there is water. 

Exo 15:27  And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Num 33:9  And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there.

As the Lord becomes our helper, we become like palm trees which are planted by the rivers of water that bring forth fruit at the right time ordained by the Lord. 

Psa 1:3  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Num 3:4  And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father. 

Being called and chosen does not mean that we have won the prize or have become overcomers. As we can see from verse 4, Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord because they offered strange fires. These strange fires symbolize false doctrines.  

Lev 10:1  And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. 
Lev 10:2  And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 

As we are aware, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, was called and chosen. However, he missed the mark just like Nadab and Abihu. In Paul’s letters, we see Demas, called and chosen, being very helpful in the ministry. However, He fell in love with the world and therefore missed the cut. This is the word of the Lord which warns us not to be slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 
Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
Heb 6:10  For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 
Heb 6:11  And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 
Heb 6:12  That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Col 4:14  Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

2Ti 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Num 3:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 3:6  Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. 
Num 3:7  And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle. 
Num 3:8  And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 
Num 3:9  And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.

On a negative note, the Levites represent our brothers and sisters in Babylon who are also of Abraham’s seed. However, they are not counted as the seed of promise and therefore are not to be given any inheritance. This is not because we, the elect, deserve any inheritance. It is through the hardening of their hearts against belief that we are privileged to receive mercy to believe. In the final analysis, this mercy we have received will be extended to the whole of the human race. 

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

The Levites are given to the elect to help them minister to the Lord. They do the initial leg work of using the law of Moses as our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. After we get to know Christ through faith, we are no longer under their influence or the law of Moses. Today’s Levites represent the Christian religion. They are focused on building and taking care of physical churches (tabernacle of testimony). In other words, they are protecting the legacy of the Christian religion.

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

On a positive note, the Levites symbolized the elect who are given the charge of protecting the testimony which is the word of God. This role of the elect started immediately after Adam and Eve sinned and were expelled from the garden of Eden. The Cherubims signify the elect who are protecting the truth of the word of the Lord in every generation. It is only through the judgment of our old man (fiery trials) that one can access the way of the tree of life!! 

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

In verse 9, the Levites being given to Aaron and his sons positively signifies the elect being given wholly to Jesus, our High Priest, to assist Him to subdue all things so that God may be all in all. 

1Co 15:25  For he (Jesus) must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 
1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Num 3:10  And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 

In verse 10, Aaron and his sons were to be appointed to wait in the priestly office. Here Aaron and his sons represent the elect who are appointed to the priestly office to minister to the Lord. As indicated in verse 10, this privilege is given by the Lord even before the foundation of the world. In other words, it is not of him that wills or of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy.  

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 
Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Num 3:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 3:12  And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; 
Num 3:13  Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.

As indicated in these verses, the Levites were to replace the firstborn of Israel. The reason why they were to replace the firstborn of Israel was that at the time of Passover in Egypt, all the firstborn were condemned. However, it was only the firstborn of Egypt who were slain. As a result of the Passover, all the firstborn of Israel were redeemed or saved or replaced by the Passover lamb who is Christ, our Lord, who came to serve. The firstborn therefore lost their position and were to be replaced by the Levites who were called to serve. This means that we, who have been redeemed by the Lord, are called to serve.

Mar 10:42  And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 
Mar 10:43  But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 
Mar 10:44  and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
Mar 10:45  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Levites replacing the firstborn of the children of Israel is a foretaste of the fact that the Lord’s election is no longer dependent on a person’s pedigree or his or her birth. Paul made this clear when, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he made the statement that it is not one who is born a Jew that counts, but a Jew is a person who worships the Lord in truth and in spirit. 

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Num 3:14  And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 
Num 3:15  Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. 
Num 3:16  And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

As we saw in Numbers chapter 2, the Levites were not counted as part of the army of the Lord. The question is, why was Moses required to count the Levites later? The reason the Levites need to be counted is that since they are required to replace the firstborns, it was necessary that the number of Levites had to be equal to the number of the firstborn of Israel and that any shortage would then be redeemed. As we can see in the latter part of this chapter, the counting resulted in a difference of 273, the firstborn being more than the Levites.

Num 3:44  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 
Num 3:45  “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD.
Num 3:46  And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites,
Num 3:47  you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs),
Num 3:48  and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” (ESV)

What we need to understand is that the laborers of the Lord’s vineyard (the elect) are always fewer than those who parade themselves as apostles of the gospel but are actually the firstborn who are being replaced. Such apostles think they have the legitimate right to lead the Lord’s people but are false apostles, deceitful workers who have transformed themselves into the apostles of Christ.

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.

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.

Num 3:17  And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
Num 3:18  And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.
Num 3:19  And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 
Num 3:20  And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.
Num 3:21  Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.
Num 3:22  Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.
Num 3:23  The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.

‘Levi’ means joined. The Levites are to be joined to the elect. In other words, they are to assist us to minister to the Lord. Jacob’s son Levi had three sons – Gershon, Kohath and Merari. ‘Gershon’ means expulsion; ‘Kohath’ signifies an assembly, and ‘Merari’ means bitter. The Levites therefore consist of the Gershonites, the Kohathites and the sons of Merari. Today’s study focuses on the Gershonites. As indicated, the name Gershon means expulsion. The meaning of the word ‘expulsion’ is the act of forcing someone or something out. Thus, the Gershonites are those who have been forced out of the commonwealth of the priesthood by the Lord. This is even made clear by their designated position of dwelling in relation to the tabernacle of the congregation. They were to dwell on the west side of the tabernacle. The west is where the sun (Christ) sets. What this means is that they will be visited by the Lord at the end of the ages through the lake of fire. They will be part of the multitude who are finally given the opportunity to know Christ. 

Rev 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:10  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

The number of Gershonites counted was 7,500. This suggests that at the completion of the ages, these Gershonites will receive grace through faith.

Num 3:24  And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael. 
Num 3:25  And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, 
Num 3:26  And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

The name of the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites was ‘Eliasaph’ which means God has added. This implies that the Gershonites will be added to the Lord’s people in the fullness of time. The service the Gershonites were to render was to take care of the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the hangings for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the hangings of the courts, the hangings for the door of the court and its cords. As we can see, the hangings to the door of the tabernacle are where people enter. What this means is that their role in the plan of God is to bring in people to start their journey to know the Lord in Babylon. The Gershonites represent our brothers and sisters in Babylon and are therefore those who use every means or effort to make a single proselyte. The Gershonites are also to take care of the covering of the tent. In other words, their focus is only on the superficial way of worshiping the Lord as they focus on cleaning the outside of the cup. No wonder they make a converted soul twice a child of hell. This is what our Lord Jesus has to say about the Gershonites or our brothers and sisters in Babylon:

Mat 23:15  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. 

Mat 23:25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 
Mat 23:26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

We thank the Lord for His mercy towards us to be counted part of His royal priesthood in this life!! Amen!!

]]> Book of Jeremiah – Jer 49:1-10 I Will Bring Again the Captivity of Ammon https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/book-of-jeremiah-jer-491-10-i-will-bring-again-the-captivity-of-ammon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=book-of-jeremiah-jer-491-10-i-will-bring-again-the-captivity-of-ammon Sat, 27 Aug 2022 19:33:08 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=26165 https://www.dropbox.com/s/najopnab989ef3b/20220828-Study_MikeV-CaptivityofAmmon.m4a?raw=1

Jer 49:1-10 I Will Bring Again the Captivity of Ammon

[Study Aired August 28, 2022]

Jer 49:1  Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
Jer 49:2  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
Jer 49:3  Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
Jer 49:4  Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?
Jer 49:5  Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.
Jer 49:6  And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.

Edom is also judged

Jer 49:7  Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
Jer 49:8  Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.
Jer 49:9  If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
Jer 49:10  But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

We have spent the last several studies on the judgment of Moab within us. Moab signifies our own flesh because he is the incestuous son of Lot by his eldest daughter. Ammon is the incestuous son of Lot by his younger daughter. Lot is Abraham’s brother’s son. He is Abraham’s nephew, and in that sense he is Abraham’s ‘brother’ as the scriptures put it:

Gen 14:16  And [Abraham] brought back all the goods [of Sodom], and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people [of Sodom].

Therefore, Ammon, who is both Moab’s brother, via having the same father, Lot, is also Moab’s first cousin because their mothers are sisters, the two daughters of Lot. In the same sense that Lot was called Abraham’s “brother”, Moab and Ammon are also Abraham’s ‘brother’. Like Lot and His first-born son, Moab, Ammon also signifies Abraham’s own flesh which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God”:

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

Jer 49:1  Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king [the king of the Ammonites] inherit Gad , and his people [the people of the king of  the Ammonites] dwell in his [Israel’s] cities?

When the Assyrians carried the northern kingdom away into captivity, the Ammonites rejoiced at Israel’s fall and retook all the land of Gad and Manasseh, which the Amorites had taken away from the Ammonites before Israel came up out of Egypt and destroyed Sihon the king of the Amorites and his army and possessed his kingdom, part of which had been taken from the Ammonites.

This fact is revealed to us in the story of the judge, Jephthah, who delivered Israel from the persecutions of the Ammonites many decades before the time of Jeremiah:

Jdg 11:5  And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
Jdg 11:6  And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
Jdg 11:7  And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?
Jdg 11:8  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
Jdg 11:9  And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
Jdg 11:10  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
Jdg 11:11  Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
Jdg 11:12  And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?
Jdg 11:13  And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.
Jdg 11:14  And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:
Jdg 11:15  And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
Jdg 11:16  But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
Jdg 11:17  Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.
Jdg 11:18  Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.
Jdg 11:19  And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.
Jdg 11:20  But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
Jdg 11:21  And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
Jdg 11:22  And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.
Jdg 11:23  So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?
Jdg 11:24  Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
Jdg 11:25  And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,
Jdg 11:26  While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?
Jdg 11:27  Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
Jdg 11:28  Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

Ammon, signifying our own flesh, has always been envious of the son of the freewoman, and wants to be Abraham’s heir, just as Hagar and Ishmael, who were even closer to Abraham, wanted to persecute and destroy the son of the freewoman:

Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

These things all happened to these people of the Old Testament, and they are all written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come:

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Moab and Ammon both signify the flesh of our “first man Adam” who is always envious of, and at war with, the new man, “the son of the freewoman” within us. Cain, Lot (the son of Abram’s brother), Moab and Ammon all feel they have claim to being the heir because they are indeed the physical firstborn in every case. Not that Haran was born before Abram, but he was born long before Isaac, and Lot had followed Abram long before either Ishmael or Isaac was born. The Truth is that “the first man, Adam is of the earth, earthy”, and therefore he cannot be heir with the child of promise who signifies “the children… of faith”:

Gal 3:6  Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Gal 3:7  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

If the Lord has written in His book that we are to be faithful to the end, then He has also written that we would first “fall seven times… lose our first love, [and] fulfill the seven plagues” before we would be granted to repent of losing our first love [and have our] captivity returned and brought back to the Lord and given back our inheritance.

Both Moab and Ammon, therefore, typify and signify that part of our ‘experience of evil’ (Ecc 1:13) where we ‘lose our first love’, and we want to take back the throne of Christ, which in type was taken from us by God’s design and was given to our new man. We never attempted to cast out the Amorites who had taken our inheritance from us because we felt that we could not make war with the beast within us, who the Amorites typify:

Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

The king of Ammon thinks nothing of warring against Israel over Gilead, which Israel had possessed for over three hundred years. We have no record that they ever once attempted to reclaim their inheritance while it was in the hands of the Amorites. However, in the time of Jephthah, they attempted to reclaim their inheritance which the Lord had given to His people 300 years earlier.

Here in Jeremiah 49 Ammon is again taking back Israel’s inheritance and rejoicing in Israel’s judgment at the hands of the Chaldeans. It all typifies our loss of our first love, which is also signified by the healing of the deadly wound upon the beast within us:

Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Rev 2:3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

When we ‘lose our first love’ the Lord judges us:

Jer 49:2  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.

It is the Lord Himself who causes us to be carried away captive, giving our inheritance back to Ammon, which typifies the dominion of our flesh being given back to our old man. That dominion is not forever, though it may seem that way at the time.

Israel’s seventy years of captivity signify the fact that the Lord’s elect bow to Esau within them “seven times”:

Gen 33:3  And he [Jacob, whose name had been changed to Israel the night before] passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother [Esau].

It is the Lord’s elect ‘Israel’ who must be “punished seven times more for [our] sins:

Lev 26:18  And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
Lev 26:19  And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
Lev 26:20  And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
Lev 26:21  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

Lev 26:24  Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

Lev 26:28  Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

It is the Lord’s own servant whom He loves who must be the first to “fall seven times” and have the Lord’s seven last plagues poured out upon them:

Isa 42:18  Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
Isa 42:19  Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?
Isa 42:20  Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.
Isa 42:21  The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
Isa 42:22  But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.
Isa 42:23  Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?
Isa 42:24  Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
Isa 42:25  Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

Now we know why “no man could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels” has been poured out upon that man:

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

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God [Isa 42:25], who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Jer 49:3  Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.

Heshbon is the capital city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, which he had wrested from the Ammonites to make it into his capital. It was the first city conquered by Israel when Sihon refused to let Israel pass peacefully though his land.

Num 21:25  And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof.
Num 21:26  For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.

“Chemosh, the abomination of the Ammonites”, had not served the Ammonites very well since he had permitted the Amorites to take Heshbon and its environs away from the Ammonites. Such is the service of all our lying, false, doctrines. Ammon, typifying our own flesh, did not learn a thing from the Lord’s chastening:

Jer 49:4  Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?

We may indeed be fruitful and possess much treasure in this world. We might even be militarily superior to every nation on earth, but it is foolish to trust in or take pride in such carnal and temporal passing things because when the Lord comes to “visit” and “to judge” He is not the least bit impressed with such temporary, physical things. It is in His power to strike fear into the heart and mind of the man of sin who is seated on the Lord’s rightful throne in our hearts and minds:

Jer 49:5  Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.

The Hebrew word translated as “wandereth” is:

Here is how this Hebrew word ‘nadad’ is variously translated:

The most common translation is the English word ‘fled’. Even where it is translated as ‘wander’, it is speaking in the context of fleeing from or being pursued by an adversary:

Psa 55:6  And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
Psa 55:7  Lo, then would I wander [H5074: ‘nadad’] far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
Psa 55:8  I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

Jer 49:6  And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.

Our salvation (‘bringing again our captivity’) must always be preceded by the destruction of the kingdom of our proud, rebellious, self-righteous old man, ‘Ammon’ within us.

What the Judgment of Edom Signifies:

Now the Lord turns our attention to the judgment of Edom, which is Esau, who signifies Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the world. While those who “come out of her” (Rev 18:4) will be brought into the temple of God, spiritual ‘Mystery Babylon’ will be destroyed. Edom is the only nation of the nations who are “Abraham’s brother”, and are in that way close to Israel, of whom we will not read ‘I will bring again the captivity of Edom’:

Jer 49:7  Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

The answer to every question concerning Edom as a type of ‘Mystery Babylon the Great’ with all of her false doctrines is, “Yes, wisdom is no more in Teman, her chief city. Yes, counsel is definitely perished from her most ‘prudent’ leaders and elders, and yes indeed, wisdom is vanished from Edom, the type of the great whore, Mystery Babylon the Great.” No whore has any great wisdom. If she did, she would not be a whore. Only those who “come out of her” will hear the words, “I will bring again [your] captivity.” We will not see those words applied to Edom or Esau, the twin brother of Israel, the physical seed of Abraham.

Jer 49:8  Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.

This is how the concept of “dwell deep” is expressed in the New Testament:

Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

“The time that I will visit him [is] the great day of His wrath”, and at that time we all become ‘deep dwellers’.

Four times we are told… ‘Esau… is Edom’:

Gen 36:1  Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

Gen 36:8  Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

Gen 36:19  These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.

Gen 36:43  Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.

The fact this statement is repeated four times indicates that the whole of ‘Esau’ is under consideration. It is therefore of utmost importance that we understand who it is that “Esau, the father of the Edomites” foreshadows and typifies in scripture.

Esau is the closest to Abraham of the three nations who are called “His brother”. This tells us that Esau knows Abraham even better than Moab and Ammon who, through their father, Lot, are also called Abraham’s brother. Moab and Ammon came into the promised land via their father, Lot, who came into the land of Canaan with Abraham. It is the scriptures which tell us that Lot is the same as “the brother” of Abraham:

Gen 12:5  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Gen 14:12  And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

Gen 14:16  And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Abraham typifies Christ:

Gal 3:6  Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Gal 3:7  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Christ is the true “faithful Abraham”, and Esau is the twin brother of Jacob who was beloved of God. Esau, on the other hand, was ‘hated’ of God “while they were in their mother’s womb… having done neither good nor evil”:

Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

As Abraham typifies Christ, the True Father of the faithful, Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, is the Biblical type of those who have no “respect unto the recompense of the reward”, treating faith in Christ as if it is no more valuable than a bowl of red pottage:

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

“The elder shall serve the younger” reveals that our old man will be supplanted by and will serve our new man. It is a principle which is adhered to throughout the scriptures. Esau was born before Jacob, and therefore had the outward claim to the birthright. The same was true for Cain who was replaced by Abel and then Seth. Ishmael was born before Isaac, Esau before Jacob, and King Saul was anointed before King David. Therefore Esau, who is Edom, signifies all those who came before Christ, and who now persecute “the Lord and His Christ”. That so happens to include all men who are still being ruled over by their carnal-minded old man and who are not in Christ. Esau signifies all religion which is in opposition to the Lord. He signifies the beast which comes up out of the earth with “two horns like a lamb [who] speaks as a dragon”:

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

“Two horns like a lamb” is the same as being the twin brother of Jacob. The mind of Christ has no trouble distinguishing these two, but the natural man cannot discern the things of the spirit and he will always default to the natural mind. To our natural mind Jacob really was a conniving supplanter who obviously has no claim to neither the birthright nor the blessing.

Esau, in type, is not just those who are closest to Christ, and yet are His rejected anointed. Esau is certainly rejected, but he typifies all men who are rejected of God in this age. That is why we are told that the Lord’s ‘Christs’, His saviors, “will arise on mount Zion to judge the house of Esau”:

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S [“and His Christ”]

The only time “saviors… come upon mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau” is when “the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ”, followed by a great white throne judgment:

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

The power to judge is given to the elect of Christ at the beginning of the thousand years, and it remains in their hands throughout the time of the great white throne judgment:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

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 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Esau shows no mercy to the Lord and His Christ because he sees Christ as an interloper and a supplanter:

Gen 27:36  And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

Jer 49:9  If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
Jer 49:10  But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

Esau “is not” simply because he signifies the religious world which is all in opposition to the Lord and His Christ whom this world hates and counts as those who unjustly claim to be “the seed of Abraham”.

We will continue with the Lord’s judgment of Esau in our next study where we will learn that Esau within us thinks he can avoid drinking of the cup of the Lord’s wrath, but he will not be permitted to do so.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

If we endure His wrath in “this present time”, it will be well worth it:

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?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

]]> Exo 13:1-22  God did not Lead Them by way of the Land of the Philistines, Although That was Near https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/exo-131-22-god-did-not-lead-them-by-way-of-the-land-of-the-philistines-although-that-was-near/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=exo-131-22-god-did-not-lead-them-by-way-of-the-land-of-the-philistines-although-that-was-near Mon, 13 Jun 2022 20:03:52 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=25845 Exo 13:1-22  God did not Lead Them by way of the Land of the Philistines, Although That was Near
[Study Aired June 13, 2022]

Exo 13:1  The LORD said to Moses, 
Exo 13:2  “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” 
Exo 13:3  Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 
Exo 13:4  Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.
Exo 13:5  And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.
Exo 13:6  Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 
Exo 13:7  Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 
Exo 13:8  You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
Exo 13:9  And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. 
Exo 13:10  You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year. 
Exo 13:11  “When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 
Exo 13:12  you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the LORD’s. 
Exo 13:13  Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 
Exo 13:14  And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 
Exo 13:15  For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 
Exo 13:16  It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.” 
Exo 13:17  When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 
Exo 13:18  But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 
Exo 13:19  Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” 
Exo 13:20  And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 
Exo 13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 
Exo 13:22  The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. 

Today’s study focuses on what happened to Israel immediately after they left Egypt. The study deals with the sanctification of the firstborn of Israel and their beasts for the Lord, the observance of the Passover and the Lord’s guidance and protection of the people of Israel as they began their journey through the wilderness. The journey from Egypt into the wilderness reflects our coming out of Babylon to serve the living God in this world (wilderness). As we come out of Babylon, we need to prepare the way of the Lord for the glory of the Lord to be revealed in our lives. The question is, “How do we prepare the way of the Lord?” The verses below show us how to prepare the way of the Lord.

Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Isa 40:5  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Preparing the way of the Lord means exalting every valley, bringing down every mountain and hill, making straight the crooked and rough places plain. As you can see, Isaiah 40:4 is cast in passive voice, and with the passive voice the subject is acted upon by some other performer of the verb. As we have said over and over, our salvation is the Lord’s work. Therefore, the performer of the verb to exalt the valley and make low the mountains and hills is all the work of the Lord. Now, the question is, “What does it mean to exalt a valley?” In the scriptures, a valley serves as the gulf that separates the people of the world and the Lord’s people as shown in the following examples:

1Sa 17:3  And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

Luk 16:25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 
Luk 16:26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Now, this gulf or chasm or valley is the Lord’s judgments which separate the elect from the people of the world.

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

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

So, every valley being exalted means that the Lord takes us as people of the world (fleshy) and makes us His people (Israel) through His judgments. Every mountain or hill being brought low means that the beast or the old man within us shall be destroyed by the Lord. The crooked being made straight and the rough places becoming plain is another way of saying that the Lord will straighten us up to become His people. That is when the glory of the Lord will be revealed in our lives for all flesh to see.

Isa 60:1  Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 
Isa 60:2  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 
Isa 60:3  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

With this in mind as the introduction, let’s look at how the Lord sanctifies us as His firstborn children to bear His glory.

Exo 13:1  The LORD said to Moses, 
Exo 13:2  “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

We, the elect, are the Lord’s firstborn and therefore constitute the church of the firstborn. In verse 2, we are admonished to be consecrated to the Lord. As we have indicated in earlier studies, both man and beast refer to us.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Consecration means to purify. Purification is attained through the Lord’s judgment of our old man.

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

Exo 13:3  Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
Exo 13:4  Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.

It is the Lord’s strong hand by which He has taken us out of our slavery to sin in this world to become His people. The strong hand of the Lord refers to His judgment of our old man through the ten plagues. The essence of His judgment is for us to learn His righteousness which is symbolized by the eating of unleavened bread.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

The name “Abib” by implication means a young ear of grain. The Israelites coming out of Egypt in the month of Abib is therefore to let us know that when we come out of Babylon, we are still young in the faith. It takes time therefore, after coming out of Babylon to mature.

Exo 13:5  And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.

This land that the Lord is bringing us to is our bodies. There is the need to possess our bodies to offer them as living sacrifice to the Lord. The Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites and the Jebusites are all part of the enemy within us that we must conquer. This composite enemy is the old man or the beast or the flesh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, the Lord delivering the Israelites from Egypt and taking them to the land flowing with milk and honey is to let us know that when we come out of the world, we are to start with the milk of the word of the Lord and must be zealous for the word of the Lord.

Exo 13:6  Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 
Exo 13:7  Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 
Exo 13:8  You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

According to Strong’s Dictionary, the word “feast” can also mean sacrifice as shown in the following scripture in which the Hebrew word for feast is translated as sacrifice:

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

Once the source of our strength or power of the old man is dealt with by the Lord through judgments of the death of the firstborn, we are able to offer a sacrifice of unleavened bread throughout the rest of our lives which is signified by the seven days of the feast of eating unleavened bread. The unleavened bread here signifies sincerity and truth. This means that through judgment, our understanding of the word of the Lord is deepened and is accompanied by a life of sincerity and truth. In other words, our life then reflects the righteousness of Christ.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 
1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The seven days of unleavened bread refers to the complete period of our lives that we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord by living a life of Christ’s righteousness.

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

In verse 8, we are told to tell our sons of what the Lord has done for us when we came out of Babylon. What the Lord did to liberate us from the world is the unleashing of the ten plagues on our old man to set us free from the shackles of sin. Our message to our sons and daughters in Christ is that it is through tribulation that we enter the kingdom of God.

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

Exo 13:9  And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. 
Exo 13:10  You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

What the Lord has done must be a sign to us on our hands and a memorial between our eyes. The Lord’s work here refers to His judgment of our old man. A sign to our hands symbolizes that our works, a symbol of our hand, becomes pleasing to the Lord as He works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure. The Lord’s work being a memorial before our eyes means that our eyes are enlightened to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God. It is when we come to see this that we are able to have the word of the Lord in our mouth.

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

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 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

In verse 10, we are required to keep the statute of the Passover. Every elect of every generation is required to observe the Passover throughout his/her life through faith. Every day of our walk with the Lord is the feast of the Passover.

Heb 11:28  Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

The question is, “What does it mean to keep the passover?” First and foremost, we need to understand the sacrificial offering of the Lord on our behalf.

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Secondly, we need to know that our lives were spared by the Lord from destruction. This has nothing to do with anything we have done. It was just the mercies of the Lord that He showered on us.

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Thirdly, we need to know that the blood of Christ purges our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. In spite of our wickedness and flaws, the Lord has chosen us and purged us of our sins so that we can worship him acceptably.

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The Passover also commemorates our eating of the lamb. This lamb is Christ who is also the word. This means that through the mercies of the Lord, our eyes are being enlightened to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

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 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The enlightening of our understanding is accompanied by the Lord’s judgment which destroys the power and influence of the old man or the flesh in our lives. This is signified by the roasting of the lamb eaten at the Passover.

Exo 12:8  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Observing the Passover also means that we are eating the lamb with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. The unleavened bread here signifies sincerity and truth. This means that our understanding of the word of the Lord must be accompanied with a life of sincerity and truth. In other words, our life must reflect the righteousness of Christ. When our lives reflect the righteousness of Christ, then we are observing the Passover in our lives.

1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

It is so exciting when the Lord reveals some aspects of the truth of the word of the Lord to us. In other words, it is sweet in our mouth. However, when it enters our belly, it is bitter. The bitter herb that must accompany the eating of the unleavened bread refers to the bitter experience we must go through to actualize the word we have received.

Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Exo 13:11  “When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you,
Exo 13:12  you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the LORD’s. 
Exo 13:13  Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.

As indicated earlier, we, His elect, are the firstborn (whether from man or beast) being set apart for the Lord to become part of the church of the firstborn. Being set apart means to be consecrated to the Lord. That means, we are to be purified. The attainment of purification is through the Lord’s judgment of our old man. In verse 13, we are told that the firstborn of an ass must be redeemed with a lamb. That means that it is through the Lord Christ, who is our lamb, that we have been redeemed or rescued from destruction. In the scriptures, breaking the neck is related to breaking the yoke of bondage as shown in the following:

Jer 28:11  And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

Jer 30:8  For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:

So, what verse 13 is implying is that if we are not redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ from the burden (yoke) of sin, then we shall face spiritual death through the breaking of our necks.

Exo 13:14  And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
Exo 13:15  For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

What is said here in verse 14 and 15 embodies what we are to teach in our assembly. Firstly, our teaching must address the strong hand of the Lord in delivering us from bondage to sin. This strong hand of the Lord refers to the ten plagues or the judgment of our old man. Secondly, our teaching must emphasize the stubbornness of our old man or the beast within, signified by Pharaoh’s stubbornness. This implies that the defeat of the beast through the dying of the firstborn is all the work of God and that we play no part in our salvation. Thirdly, we must clearly demonstrate the goal of our being called and chosen as the firstborn, that is, to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord. The goal also includes the reward to be received which involves the role of the elect in the salvation of the world.

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

Exo 13:16  It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

The strong hand of the Lord leaves a mark or imprint on our hands. The mark left by the Lord’s judgment of our old man is that our works (our hands) become pleasing to the Lord as we walk in the spirit and do not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 

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.

The judgment that we go through, also enables us to appreciate the word of the Lord better. In other words, our understanding of the word of God is deepened which is signified by the frontlets between our eyes.

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 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Exo 13:17  When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 

As we have stated earlier, our exit from Babylon does not mean that we have matured. It takes time to mature in the things of God. Our fight against the flesh is a war which the Bible describes as trying to break a bow of steel with our arms. Iron is hard and is almost impossible to break, but steel is several times harder than iron. It is, therefore, impossible to war against the flesh and be successful unless the Lord does it on our behalf. The Philistines stand for the war against the flesh. In the wisdom of the Lord, He leads us in this world (wilderness) toward the red sea so that we encounter the Philistines later. In doing this, He takes His time to train our hands for war before engaging the Philistines. If we start our walk by engaging the flesh (Philistines), we will be discouraged by the cycle of defeat and may give up.

Psa 18:31  For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? 
Psa 18:32  It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. 

Psa 18:33  He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places. 
Psa 18:34  He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

Exo 13:18  But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 

The Lord leading us in the wilderness toward the red sea is for our benefit. The Lord was going to demonstrate to the us (the people of Israel) how to war against the flesh by leading the Israelites towards the Red Sea. This is to serve as training for the people of Israel on how to war against the flesh. It was after the Red Sea experience that the people of Israel started battling against other nations that opposed them. The color red means the ground of the earth which represents mankind as we were made out of the ground of the earth (dust). This means that the Red Sea represents the sea of flesh or simply, our flesh. As we shall see in the next chapter, the Lord making a way through the Red Sea for the people of Israel to walk through is to demonstrate the fact that overcoming the flesh is the work of God. When we are able to learn this lesson of the Red Sea, then we are ready to overcome the flesh or Philistines. That is how the Lord teaches our hands to war so that we are able to break a bow of steel.

Jos 4:23  For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:

Immediately after leaving Egypt, the Amalekites waged war with the Israelites, and this war was to teach the Israelites how to war – that is to depend entirely on God.  This war was such that the Israelites were fighting, but victory depended on Moses’ hands being raised.  So technically, the Israelites fighting the Amalekites is not what wins the war. It is the hands of Moses. Moses’ hands here are the hands of the Lord who fights our battles for us. This war against the flesh within is not to be fought in our strength. The reason we are losing this fight is that we are depending on ourselves!!  It is the Lord’s battle. Let us lift up our eyes unto the hill from whence cometh our help.  Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth!! This help is what wins the war, not our strength.

Exo 17:8  Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Exo 17:9  And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 
Exo 17:10  So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 
Exo 17:11  And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 
Exo 17:12  But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 
Exo 17:13  And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Psa 121:1  A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 
Psa 121:2  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 
Psa 121:3  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Psa 121:4  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 
Psa 121:5  The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

Exo 13:19  Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” 

As we mentioned in the previous review, the first mention of bone in the Bible was in relation to the Lord taking the rib (bone) of Adam and using it to form a woman. The woman was produced from a bone taken from Adam. This means that a bone signifies life. This life is the Spirit of the Lord and it is this Holy Spirit (bone) which came upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost to form the bride of Christ (woman).

Gen 2:21  So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
Gen 2:22  And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 
Gen 2:23  Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

Joseph is a symbol of Christ. So, Joseph prophesying about the Israelites carrying His bones is another way of saying what the Lord told His disciples about the promise of the Holy Spirit when He was about to be taken away at the Mount of Olives. This means that Moses taking the bones of Joseph with him is a symbol of the people of Israel (the elect) receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit which is what is needed to form the church of the firstborn.

Act 1:4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 
Act 1:5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 
Act 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 
Act 1:7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 
Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Exo 13:20  And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 

Succoth means booths or tents.  Succoth signifies that as His elect, we are in this world, but not of this world. Our journey through this world must be a journey of faith with the view of inheriting the promise. In other words, we are looking for the city whose foundation is Christ and the builder being our Lord.

Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Encamping at Etham is spiritually significant. Etham means their plowshare.  A plowshare is the most important part of a plow as it does the cutting of grass and soil. In the Bible, grass signifies the flesh as follows:

1Pe 1:24  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

This means that moving from Succoth to Etham signifies that we start our walk in faith (Succoth) and then we move to the next stage of dealing with the flesh (Etham).

Exo 13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 
Exo 13:22  The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. 

These verses show the Lord’s protection and guidance throughout the Israelites’ journey in the wilderness. As we are aware, ‘cloud’ signifies the elect as witnesses. Therefore, the pillar of cloud refers to the Lord’s elect.  In the sight of the Lord, both night and day are the same. What this means is that in this life (wilderness), we, His elect, are protected and led or guided by the assembly of the elect through His word which is the pillar of fire which gives us light in the night of our walk.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

May the Lord teach our hands to war so that we may be able to war against the Philistines (flesh or the old man) within us!! Amen!!

]]> Exo 12:12-32  And When I see the Blood, I Will Pass Over You https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/exo-1212-32-and-when-i-see-the-blood-i-will-pass-over-you/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=exo-1212-32-and-when-i-see-the-blood-i-will-pass-over-you Mon, 30 May 2022 15:00:41 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=25795 Exo 12:12-32  And When I see the Blood, I Will Pass Over You
[Study Aired May 30, 2022]

Exo 12:12  For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 
Exo 12:13  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 
Exo 12:14  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 
Exo 12:15  Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 
Exo 12:16  And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. 
Exo 12:17  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. 
Exo 12:18  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. 
Exo 12:19  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. 
Exo 12:20  Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. 
Exo 12:21  Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. 
Exo 12:22  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 
Exo 12:23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 
Exo 12:24  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 
Exo 12:25  And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 
Exo 12:26  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 
Exo 12:27  That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. 
Exo 12:28  And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 
Exo 12:29  And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. 
Exo 12:30  And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 
Exo 12:31  And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. 
Exo 12:32  Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 

Today’s study continues with the plague of the death of the firstborn and the Passover. The tenth plague, which is the death of the firstborn, completes the Lord’s judgment of Pharaoh which caused the release of the people of Israel. As we know, the number ten signifies the completeness of the flesh. It is when the sins of the flesh have reached their apex that we come to see clearly the old man or Pharaoh in our lives. That is when the Lord comes with His judgment (the plagues) to destroy Pharaoh (the old man) to set us free to worship the Lord in the wilderness (this world).

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

The ten plagues are the same as the seven plagues of the seven angels which we must fulfill to enter the temple to worship the Lord. The seven angels here represent the elect, or Moses and Aaron who administered the ten plagues.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Exo 12:12  For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

The plague of the death of the firstborn affected both man and beast. As we know, all mankind are like beasts before the Lord. This means that this judgment affects all humanity. However, in this age, it is only the elect who are being judged. The rest of humanity will be judged in the lake of fire age.

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Here in verse 1, we are given additional information that this plague also affects the gods of Egypt. The gods here refer to the works of our hands or simply, our works, as shown in the following scripture:

Hos 14:3  Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

We know that our works relate to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. All these are destroyed during the plague of the firstborn.

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

As indicated in the previous study, the firstborn signifies the might or strength and the source of power:

Gen 49:3  Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

The plague of the death of the firstborn, therefore, signifies the destruction or the stripping of the power or the strength of the old man (Pharaoh) who dominates us. This is achieved by the coming of the Lord with His words (the spirit of His mouth) into our lives after we have come to see clearly the old man or the beast within us.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

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

The blood of the lamb was supposed to be used to mark the doorposts of the houses where the Israelites were eating the lamb. The houses where we are feasting on the word of the Lord are our bodies. The significance of the application of the blood of Jesus to our bodies (houses) is to purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 
Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 
Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 
Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 

In addition to purging our conscience from dead works, we are justified through the blood of Jesus, forgiven and spared from the wrath of God through Jesus.

Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Exodus 12:13 says that when the Lord sees the blood, He shall pass over us and that the people of Israel shall not be destroyed by the plague of the firstborn. This is not to say that we are not to be judged, for we cannot enter the kingdom of God without persecution.

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

However, verse 13 is another way of saying that in every temptation or judgment, the Lord will provide us with a way of escape so that we may be able to bear it.

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

Exo 12:14  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 
Exo 12:15  Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
Exo 12:16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
Exo 12:17  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

According to Strong’s Dictionary, the word “feast” can also mean ‘sacrifice’ as shown in the following scripture in which the Hebrew word for feast is translated as sacrifice:

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

Once the source of our strength or power of the old man is dealt with by the Lord through judgments of the death of the firstborn, we are able to offer a sacrifice of unleavened bread throughout the rest of our lives, which is signified by the seven days of the feast of eating unleavened bread. The unleavened bread here signifies sincerity and truth. This means that through judgment, our understanding of the word of the Lord is deepened and is accompanied by a life of sincerity and truth. In other words, our life then reflects the righteousness of Christ.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 
1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The seven days of unleavened bread refers to the complete period of our lives that we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord by living a life of Christ’s righteousness.

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

We are warned here in verse 15 that if we continue to eat leavened bread, we shall be cut off from Israel. In other words, if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, we shall be cast out into outer darkness.

Heb 10:26  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 

Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Exo 12:18  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. 
Exo 12:19  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. 
Exo 12:20  Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

The number fourteen signifies spiritual progression. It is when we have progressed spiritually through the Lord’s judgment that we are able to eat for a period of seven days the unleavened bread of living a life of sincerity and truth. The seven days refer to the complete period of our walk with the Lord in sincerity and truth. Verse 18 says that the eating of unleavened bread ends on the twenty-first day. The number twenty-one is a multiple of seven and three (21=7×3). This means that the number twenty-one signifies the fact that this complete period of the eating of unleavened bread brings us to spiritual maturity through the Lord’s judgment.

Again, here we are warned of the consequence of continuing to eat leavened bread of malice and wickedness. Doing this will cause us to be cut off from the people of Israel which is another way of saying that we shall be cast into outer darkness.

Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Exo 12:21  Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. 
Exo 12:22  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 
Exo 12:23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 

Our whole life here on earth is one long night as we observe the Passover.

Psa 17:3  Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 
Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

We are instructed in verse 22 not to go out of the door of the house where we are eating the lamb until the morning. On another perspective, the house where we are eating the lamb, or our understanding being enlightened by the word of the Lord, is the church of the firstborn or the elect. This means that during our walk here on earth, while we are getting more understanding of the word of the Lord, we are not to dissociate from the fellowship of the saints. If we come out of the house, or the fellowship, the Lord will not pass over us. Not being passed over means that we do not have any regard for the blood of the lamb which we have sprinkled on our door post. This blood is the shed blood of Christ, and so we are basically trampling on the blood of Christ.

Heb 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot 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? 
Heb 10:30  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 
Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Exo 12:24  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
Exo 12:25  And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 
Exo 12:26  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
Exo 12:27  That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

Verses 24 and 25 stress the need to keep the Passover in every generation. This means that every elect of every generation is required to observe the Passover throughout our lives through faith. Every day of our walk with the Lord is the feast of the Passover.

Heb 11:28  Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

The question is, “What does it mean to keep the passover?” First and foremost, we need to understand the sacrificial offering of the Lord on our behalf.

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Secondly, we need to know that our lives were spared by the Lord from destruction. This has nothing to do with anything we have done. It was just the mercies of the Lord that He showered on us.

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Thirdly, we need to know that the blood of Christ purges our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. In spite of our wickedness and flaws, the Lord has chosen us and purged us of our sins so that we can worship him acceptably.

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

The Passover also commemorates our eating of the lamb. This lamb is Christ who is also the Word. This means that through the mercies of the Lord, our eyes are being enlightened to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

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 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The enlightening of our understanding is accompanied by the Lord’s judgment which destroys the power and influence of the old man or the flesh in our lives. This is signified by the roasting of the lamb eaten at the Passover.

Exo 12:8  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Observing the Passover also means that we are eating the lamb with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. The unleavened bread here signifies sincerity and truth. This means that our understanding of the word of the Lord must be accompanied with a life of sincerity and truth. In other words, our life must reflect the righteousness of Christ. When our lives reflect the righteousness of Christ, then we are observing the Passover in our lives.

1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

It is so exciting when the Lord reveals some aspects of the truth of the word of the Lord to us. In other words, it is sweet in our mouth. However, when it enters our belly, it is bitter. The bitter herb that must accompany the eating of the unleavened bread refers to the bitter experience we must go through to actualize the word we have received.

Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Exo 12:28  And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 
Exo 12:29  And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. 
Exo 12:30  And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

The coming of the plague of the death of the firstborn took place at midnight. Midnight spiritually refers to the period of the coming of Christ into our lives with His judgment as shown in the following scriptures:

Job 34:20  In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.

Psa 119:62  At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.

Mat 25:6  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

As we have said earlier, the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians and the death of the firstborn of cattle or beast represents the same thing. It refers to the death of the old man or the flesh within us. The fact that not one house was spared in Egypt means that the elect of every generation is destined to be judged. There is no exception. Another way of saying this is that we must pass through the flaming sword of the Cherubims which turns in every way such that no one can escape the flaming sword in accessing the tree of life.

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The agony we go through as the Lord judges us is represented here in verse 30 by the great cry in Egypt. This is also exemplified by David’s mourning of Saul’s death. Here David represents the elect, and Saul signifies the old man within us which must die.

2Sa 1:11  Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
2Sa 1:12  And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

2Sa 1:17  And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: 

2Sa 1:19  The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! 
2Sa 1:20  Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

Exo 12:31  And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.
Exo 12:32  Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

Without the death of the old man or the flesh signified by the death of the firstborn, we are not free to serve the Lord in the wilderness (in this world). This is what the Lord meant when He said that if the son sets you free, you shall be free indeed!! Our liberation from the power of the old man within us is the beginning of the period of our walk where sin has no dominion over us.

Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Remember that in one of the previous studies, we discussed what it means to go into the wilderness to serve the Lord with our women, children and our flocks. Going into the wilderness to serve the Lord with the women means being part of the church of the firstborn or the New Jerusalem. The importance of the church in our spiritual development cannot be overemphasized. It is through what every joint supplies that we become mature in our relationship with the Lord. Without the church, we will be blown about by every wind of doctrine. We are perfected by the church.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 

Going to the wilderness to serve the Lord with the children is also significant. Children are the result of the union between a husband and wife. Thus, children spiritually represent the righteousness of Christ which we attain through our union with Christ.

1Jn 3:10  In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Serving the Lord with our cattle means maintaining our livelihood as we serve the Lord.

Zec 13:5  But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

Recognizing the need to work for a living while serving the Lord is one of Paul’s main messages to the churches He ministered.

Act 20:34  Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. 
Act 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Our prayer is that the Lord grants us the grace so we continue to keep the Passover!! Amen!!

]]> Exo 11:1–10 to 12:1-11:  The Plague of the Death of the Firstborn and the Passover https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/exo-111-10-to-121-11-the-plague-of-the-death-of-the-firstborn-and-the-passover/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=exo-111-10-to-121-11-the-plague-of-the-death-of-the-firstborn-and-the-passover Mon, 23 May 2022 22:40:09 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=25756 Exo 11:1–10 to 12:1-11:  The Plague of the Death of the Firstborn and the Passover
[Study Aired May 23, 2022]

Exo 11:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 
Exo 11:2  Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 
Exo 11:3  And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people. 
Exo 11:4  And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 
Exo 11:5  And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. 
Exo 11:6  And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. 
Exo 11:7  But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. 
Exo 11:8  And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. 
Exo 11:9  And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. 
Exo 11:10  And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land. 

Exo 12:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 
Exo 12:2  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 
Exo 12:3  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 
Exo 12:4  And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 
Exo 12:5  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 
Exo 12:6  And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 
Exo 12:7  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 
Exo 12:8  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 
Exo 12:9  Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 
Exo 12:10  And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 
Exo 12:11  And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.

Chapter 11 and the whole of chapter 12 talk about the last plague which is the death of the first born of the Egyptians and that of beasts together with the preparation for the passover. This last plague resulted in Pharaoh relinquishing his hold on the people of Israel in Egypt. It was the last straw that destroyed the resistance of our old man (Pharaoh) and resulted in the people of Israel (the elect) ready to serve the Lord in the wilderness (the world). The death of the old man is the birth of the new man within us who is after the image of Christ. The effect of the plagues (tribulations) is the birthing of the new man within us. It is the same as Christ coming to His temple (within us).

Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 
Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Exo 11:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

The last plague here is the tenth plague which completes the Lord’s judgment of Pharaoh, which caused the release of the people of Israel. As we know, the number ten signifies the completeness of the flesh. It is when the sins of the flesh have reached their apex that we come to see clearly the old man or Pharaoh in our lives. That is when the Lord comes with His judgment (the plagues) to destroy Pharaoh (the old man) to set us free to worship the Lord in the wilderness (this world).

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

The ten plagues are the same as the seven plagues of the seven angels which we must fulfill to enter the temple to worship the Lord. The seven angels here represent the elect, or Moses and Aaron, who administered the ten plagues.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Exo 11:2  Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 
Exo 11:3  And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.

Remember that Egypt can signify Babylon out of which the people of the Lord (Israel) must come to serve the Lord. Thus, the borrowing of jewels of silver and gold from the Egyptians is another way of saying that the little knowledge of the word of the Lord (silver and gold) is taken away from our brothers and sisters in Babylon and given to us.

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.

In verse 3, the Lord giving the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians is another way of saying that when a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes His enemies to be at peace with him.

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

The Plague of the Death of the Firstborn

Exo 11:4  And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
Exo 11:5  And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
Exo 11:6  And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

As we can see in the following verses, the firstborn signifies the might and the source of power:

Gen 49:3  Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

The plague of the death of the firstborn, therefore, signifies the destruction or the stripping of the power or the strength of the old man (Pharaoh) who dominates us. This is achieved by the coming of the Lord with His words (the spirit of His mouth) into our lives after we have come to see clearly the old man or the beast within us.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

In verse 4, the coming of the plague of the death of the firstborn took place at midnight. Midnight spiritually refers to the period of the coming of Christ into our lives with His judgment as shown in the following scriptures:

Job 34:20  In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.

Psa 119:62  At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.

Mat 25:6  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

In Job 34:20 above, it is at midnight that we experience trouble, and it is through this that the mighty (the old man or Pharoah) is taken away ‘without hand’. The phrase “without hand” means that we play no part in the death of the old man. It is purely the work of the Lord!! In Psalm 119:62 above, it is as we experience the Lord’s righteous judgements that we can offer a pleasing sacrifice of thanks to the Lord.

In Exodus 11:6 the effect of the plague of the death of the firstborn is expected to cause a lot of suffering as there shall be a great cry throughout Egypt such that there was none like it. This is another way of saying that this great tribulation is incomparable to anything we have or will experience.

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.

Exo 11:7  But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

In the scriptures dogs signify the assembly of the wicked or evil workers.  This verse, therefore, highlights the benefit of the Lord’s judgment in the life of His elect. Through the Lord’s judgment of the plague of the death of the firstborn, we are kept by the Lord against all that comes against us from the assembly of the wicked or evil workers.

Psa 22:16  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Php 3:2  Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

Verse 7 also says that through the plague of the death of the firstborn, the Lord puts a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. This is to let us know that there is a great chasm between us and the people of the world, including our brothers and sisters in Babylon. This chasm or great gulf is what our Lord Jesus mentioned in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

Luk 16:24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 
Luk 16:25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 
Luk 16:26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

This chasm or great gulf is His judgments which distinguish between the elect and other people making it impossible for one to cross easily into another. Those who have taken hold of the tree of life (Christ) have passed through the flaming sword of His judgments (the plague of the death of the firstborn) which is this chasm administered by the Cherubims (His elect) to protect the way of the tree of life!!

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Exo 11:8  And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. 
Exo 11:9  And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. 
Exo 11:10  And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land. 

Verse 8 lets us know that in the fullness of time the old man or the beast within us shall be overcome. It is the same as Saul’s admission that David would become king. This is to give us hope that what the Lord starts, He is able to bring to completion!!

1Sa 24:16  And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. 
1Sa 24:17  And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. 
1Sa 24:18  And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. 
1Sa 24:19  For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. 
1Sa 24:20  And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.

Verses 9 and 10 are to caution us that it is not an easy road to overcome due to the hardening of Pharaoh’s (the old man) heart. However, at the end of the day, it all works for our good as the resistance of our old man provides the occasion for the Lord to perform His signs and wonders (the plagues) to work a great salvation for us!!

Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 
Heb 2:4  God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? 

This is what we said in our previous study regarding the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart:

The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, or our old man, by the Lord is for our benefit. This is shown as follows:

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

So, the Lord hardening Pharaoh’s heart, or causing the old man within us to resist Him, is for us to appreciate the mercies of the Lord and to learn to show mercy as a result. This is not obvious when we are frustrated by our old man within us as we resist the Lord. However, in the final analysis, we shall come to know His mercies. One of the qualities the Lord is inculcating within us is being merciful. This is because it is through the mercies we have received we can show mercy to the masses of humanity which will result in the ultimate salvation of the whole world. Therefore, inasmuch as we need the Lord’s mercy, we must also show mercy to others in our daily lives.

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.

Another lesson that we can learn from the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is that we come to see that this battle against the flesh is not our fight. It is the work of the Lord to deliver us from the old man or the flesh. By ourselves we can do nothing. As we can see, the resistance put up by Pharaoh is incomprehensible. That is why the beast within, or the old man, is compared to a mountain. A mountain can only be removed, not by might nor by power, but by the spirit of the Lord!! It is the word of Christ that destroys this mountain or the old man.

Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
Zec 4:7  Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

The Passover

Exo 12:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 
Exo 12:2  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 

The adjective “first” represents Christ as shown in the following verses:

Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

The coming of the plague of the death of the firstborn signifies the first month of the year for the Israelites. This implies the beginning of our union with Christ as we journey in this life. In other words, the death of the old man is the birth of the new man who is after the image of Christ.

Exo 12:3  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 

The lamb that every man is required to take symbolizes Christ as shown in the following verses:

Joh 1:29  The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” 

Rev 17:14  They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.

The fact that it was in the tenth month that every Israelite was expected to take a lamb is to make us aware that it is when sin had run its course in our lives (the significance of the number 10) that Christ came to be offered as a lamb on our behalf. For all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God and therefore every man needed Jesus to be offered as a lamb on our behalf to atone for our sins.

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 
Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 
Rom 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

The meaning of the house of their fathers.

Luk 2:49  And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Joh 2:16  And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”

Here Jesus was referring to the temple as His father’s house which is our bodies. A lamb for every house, therefore, means that every individual (elect) must be cleansed by the blood of Christ (the lamb) before one can worship the Lord acceptably in this life (wilderness).

Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Exo 12:4  And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

The lamb to be killed must be eaten with the blood to be sprinkled with hyssop on the door post. As we are aware, the lamb is Christ and Christ is the word of the Lord. The eating of the lamb is being granted the understanding of the mysteries of the word of the Lord. As verse 4 states, some households were too little to eat a whole lamb. In that case, their neighbor must join them to share the lamb according to the number of people in their households. The neighbor here represents an elect as portrayed by the Lord as follows:

Luk 10:29  But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Luk 10:30  And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luk 10:31  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 
Luk 10:32  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 
Luk 10:33  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 
Luk 10:34  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 
Luk 10:35  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 
Luk 10:36  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 

So, what is being said in verse 4 is another way of saying that we must support those who are weak in our midst.

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2  Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 
Rom 15:3  For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. 
Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Exo 12:5  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 
Exo 12:6  And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 

The lamb being without blemish means that Jesus Christ was without sin and therefore, was a perfect sacrifice to God on our behalf.

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

Heb 7:26  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

The number fourteen signifies spiritual progression. Keeping the lamb until the fourteenth day to kill it means that it is when we have progressed spiritually (fourteen days) in our walk with Christ that we come to realize that we are responsible for the death of Christ (the killing of the lamb).

Act 4:10  Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

This is what Jesus had to say about the fact that we are guilty of the death of the men of God whom the Lord sent to us.

Luk 11:49  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Exo 12:7  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 

In verse 7, the blood of the lamb was supposed to be used to mark the door posts of the houses where the Israelites were eating the lamb. The houses where we are feasting on the word of the Lord are our bodies. The significance of the application of the blood of Jesus to our bodies (houses) is to purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 
Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 
Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 
Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

Heb 9:19  For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 
Heb 9:20  Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. 
Heb 9:21  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 
Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 
Heb 9:25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 
Heb 9:26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

In addition to purging our conscience from dead works, we are justified through the blood of Jesus, forgiven and spared from the wrath of God through Jesus.

Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Exo 12:8  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

The flesh of the lamb must be roasted with fire and eaten in the night. This is to let us know that we cannot separate the judgment of the Lord (roasting with fire) from His words. As we are being given insight into the mysteries of the kingdom of God, we are being judged to conform to His image.

Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

The lamb must be eaten with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. The unleavened bread here signifies sincerity and truth. This means that our understanding of the word of the Lord must be accompanied by a life of sincerity and truth. In other words, our life must reflect the righteousness of Christ.

1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

It is so exciting when the Lord reveals some aspects of the truth of the word of the Lord to us. In other words, it is sweet in our mouth. However, when it enters our belly, it is bitter. The bitter herb that must accompany the eating of the unleavened bread refers to the bitter experience we must go through to actualize the word we have received.

Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Eze 3:1  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. 
Eze 3:2  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 
Eze 3:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. 
Eze 3:4  And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

This bitter experience includes the words of those we are sent to minister to, as shown in Ezekiel’s case.

Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
Eze 2:7  And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.

Exo 12:9  Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 

Eating the lamb raw or boiling the lamb in water means trying to understand the word of the Lord but excluding the suffering aspect or the Lord’s judgment as a necessary part of the walk with Christ. This is what our brothers and sisters in Babylon believe and teach. As indicated in verse 9, the head, the legs and the inner parts must be roasted. The fire of the word of the Lord burns false doctrines from our heavens (head), destroys the beast within (inner parts or purtenance) and anything that negatively affects our walk with Christ (legs).

Exo 12:10  And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 

Letting nothing remain of the lamb means we must not neglect any part of the word of the Lord. We must endeavor to understand the whole counsel of God through His words.

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

Burning with fire what remains is the same as saying that if we neglect the whole counsel of the Lord or neglect parts of the word of the Lord, we shall suffer loss through the lake of fire.

1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned (the burning of the remains of the lamb), he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Exo 12:11  And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.

This verse tells us about how we should prepare as our eyes are being opened to the mysteries of the word of the Lord. Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-18 makes us aware of how we should prepare.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 
Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

So, girding our loins as we eat the Passover lamb means we must uphold the truth of the word of the Lord. Shoes on our feet reflect the need for us to be ready with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Peter puts it this way:

1Pe 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Our staff in our hands signifies the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. Eating in haste means the time is far spent or the time is at hand.

Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

May the Lord continue to show mercy to us as we learn to walk with Him!! Amen!!

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Awesome Hands – part 79

“The judgments” Part J

May 29th, 2015

We have covered many of the “judgments” the Lord gave to Moses to give to the Israelites and now we have arrived at the “first fruit judgment”.

This is an important judgment because it signifies to us that the Lord considers the first fruit very important.

On the surface it may seem like a straight forward judgment, but as we look into the words given to us to obey, and weigh them against the sum of the Word, we will notice some interesting spiritual applications that apply to us all today.

 

The First Fruit

 

Exo 22:29  Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
Exo 22:30  Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

When we cover the different “types” of first fruits mentioned in these verses, we will notice there are similarities and differences between each “type” of first fruit.

The first similarity is between the ripe fruits and the liquors. With these two groups, there is no delay to offer them to the Lord. These first fruits are things which are from the earth and are grown, cultivated and “driven” from the earth.

The second similarity is between the firstborn of the sons, oxen and sheep. These three types are all beasts and are things which are “born”, but fruits of the earth are also things that go through a dying process in order to bring forth life and the “next fruit” after its kind.

The first group is offered AFTER it has matured, while the second group referenced as beasts, is offered before it is even off its mother’s milk.

Let’s look at the first group and see what some of the important attributes of it are.

So important is the “first fruit of the land” to the Lord! I am going to read out of Deuteronomy and ask you to pay attention to who was FIRST to be established by the works the Lord had done.

Deu 26:1  And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;
Deu 26:2  That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.
Deu 26:3  And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.
Deu 26:4  And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
Deu 26:5  And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:
Deu 26:6  And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
Deu 26:7  And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:
Deu 26:8  And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:
Deu 26:9  And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deu 26:10  And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:
Deu 26:11  And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

Notice that it is the GREAT nation of Egypt which the Lord established in order to SACRIFICE them so that the “kind of firstfruits” could be established.

Mar 4:26  And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
Mar 4:27  And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
Mar 4:28  For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
Mar 4:29  But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

It is SEED that is cast INTO THE GROUND which must happen in order that LIFE can happen.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but IF IT DIE, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Egypt is an earlier form and type of Babylon, and Babylon is the physical representation of the SPIRITUAL Babylon we all must partake of in order to be ‘CALLED OUT OF HER”.

Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

We all are the kind of first fruits which must first partake of the FIRST FRUIT in order to be given life, but WHAT HAPPENS to the FIRST FRUIT?

The first fruit is sacrificed.

It is the first fruit of the land which is offered/sacrificed so that the Lord continues to bless the REST of the fruit that comes in.

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.

Egypt is sacrificed so that the nation of Israel can be born. Physical Babylon is sacrificed so that the remnant of Israelites could be saved.

That pattern continues on so that Jews were converted to Christians and then sacrificed so that the early church could be established. The early church was given over to an apostate mindset so that the true people of God could immerge and continue to serve him.

We are told to “come out of her my people” because we are to see OURSELVES as what we are being CALLED out of! Yes, we start off AS BABYLON (being babes in Jesus Christ) so that the Lord can call us out of spiritual Babylon which calls us her home.

You may be asking yourself how it is I can be comparing Jesus Christ to Egypt or Babylon? How can I be saying that Jesus Christ is a first fruit like Egypt and Babylon? One is a negative application and the other is a positive, but Jesus Christ contained both within Himself.

The difference with Jesus Christ and the rest of all of humanity is that He contains the is, was and will be of the WHOLE SUM of the PLAN of God.

Here is who Jesus Christ is.

Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Rev 1:19  Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

Rev 2:8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Rom 11:16  For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

With Jesus Christ’s own words He claims to be the FIRST and the LAST.

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Jesus Christ had to deal with the first man Adam as well as the LAST man Adam because Jesus Christ was BORN as a son of man as well as a Son of God.

Jesus Christ SACRIFICED the first so that the LAST could be given LIFE.

Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

At the beginning of this study I stated, “The first similarity is between the ripe fruits and the liquors. With these two groups, there is no delay to offer them to the Lord. They are things which are from the earth and are grown, cultivated and “driven” from the earth.”

When the process the Lord has put in place is complete, He demands we give Him back what He alone has caused to come to fruition.

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

The Greek word used here to “bringeth forth” reveals a lot about this spiritual process.

G5342

pherō̄

Total KJV Occurrences: 63

bring, 17

Mat_14:18, Mat_17:17, Mar_7:32, Mar_8:22, Mar_9:19, Mar_12:15, Luk_15:22-23 (2), Joh_15:2, Joh_15:16, Joh_18:29, Joh_21:10, 2Ti_4:13, 2Pe_2:11, 2Jo_1:10, Rev_21:24, Rev_21:26

brought, 17

Mat_14:11 (2), Mar_1:32, Mar_4:8, Mar_6:27-28 (2), Mar_9:17, Mar_9:20, Mar_12:16, Luk_5:18, Joh_4:33, Joh_19:39, Act_4:34, Act_4:37, Act_5:2, Act_14:13, 1Pe_1:13

bear, 4

Luk_23:26, Joh_2:8, Joh_15:4, Joh_15:8

bringing, 3

Mar_2:3, Luk_24:1, Act_5:16

came, 3

2Pe_1:17-18 (2), 2Pe_1:21

beareth, 2

Joh_15:2 (2)

bringeth, 2

Joh_12:24, Joh_15:5

reach, 2

Joh_20:27 (2)

bare, 1

Joh_2:8

bearing, 1

Heb_13:13

carry, 1

Joh_21:18

driven, 1

Act_27:17

endure, 1

Heb_12:20

endured, 1

Rom_9:22

forth, 1

Mar_4:8

go, 1

Heb_6:1

laid, 1

Act_25:7

leadeth, 1

Act_12:10

moved, 1

2Pe_1:21

rushing, 1

Act_2:2

upholding, 1

Heb_1:2-3 (2)

Here are a few of these verses examined a little closer. There is a common theme running through all of these verses.

1Pe 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Joh 15:8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Luk 23:26  And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

Joh 2:8  And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
Joh 2:9  When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
Joh 2:10  And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
Joh 2:11  This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

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.

2Pe 1:17  For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

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

Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Joh 21:18  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

Act 27:17  Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.
Act 27:18  And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

It is the Lord Himself who is GLORIFIED by what the LORD HIMSELF does to bring about FRUIT of the EARTH. Just like there is a heaven and earth, they will pass away and in their stead will be a “new heavens and a new earth.”

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

He also requires the FRUIT of the SPIRIT which comes forth from this new SPIRITUAL earth.

Grace is brought, we bear fruit, we bear the cross, we bear the good wine, we bear no fruit of ourselves, a voice came saying this is my Son, prophecy comes via the Holy Ghost, bearing His reproach happens because we are driven outside the camp, we are carried where we don’t want to go, and we are “driven in a boat we have no control over” because it is all being worked out but the counsel of His own will and His own will ALONE.

These are among the reasons why the Lord requires the first fruit “of the land”. Whether a negative or positive application is applied, whether good or evil is caused, it is the Lord ALONE who will work it all out to be GOOD for US!

Gen 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

The Lord wants the maturity of the “fruit” He has caused to happen to be His because it is all His work. When we claim a part of it as our works, then we have sinned in our self-righteousness.

Those are the first fruits of the land, but in order for this process to happen spiritually, the Lord wants us to understand that this is a process that happens and doesn’t happen “overnight”.

The “beasts” have 7 days to go through the complete process of judgment before the new man can be born on the 8th day.

 

Conclusion

 

How we can take these sets of the first fruit judgments found in Exodus 22:29-30 and apply them to our lives is that no matter the situation we find ourselves in, no matter the circumstances we are dealing with, the Lord is the one who has already caused the wind to blow to direct your sails before your ever started sailing.

The Lord has already caused you to be “coming out of the country” like Simon the Cyrenian was, so that you can bear the cross of Jesus.

Indeed, the Lord has bid you to the marriage supper of the Lamb so that it can be you who is able to “bear the miracle wine of the Lord” to the “Governor” ruling the hearts and minds of the folks you are being sent to.

Whatever the daily ins and outs of our lives entail, the Lord will redeem the soul of His servants.

Psa 34:22  The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

]]> Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 84 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/foundational-themes-in-genesis-study-84/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=foundational-themes-in-genesis-study-84 Thu, 26 Feb 2015 18:56:26 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=9132 Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 84

(Key verses: Gen 29:31-35; Gen 30:1-24)

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God loves the world, pointing to all in the first Adam as they are all linked to the process of eventually being conformed to the spiritual image of the last Adam, Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate focus of this love of God (Joh 3:6; Rom 8:29; 1Co 15:22). God created the first Adam and all in him in a marred condition, and they will all receive spirit life through the gift of the faith of the last Adam, Jesus Christ, whom the Father appointed as the Saviour of all in the world of the first Adam (Jer 18:4; Eph 2:8-9; 1Ti 4:10; Tit 2:11-13; Tit 3:3-6; 1Jn 4:14). God does not love the natural man and all in this physical creation the way He loves the new man in Christ, and He advises His elect to have the same focus:

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

God’s love for this last Adam is therefore His focus as He also loves His elect more in this age as He is preparing them for their important task at hand to be rulers on this earth in the symbolic thousand-year reign and to be the judges in the lake of fire (Joh 3:16; 1Co 6:2-3; Rev 20). The flesh, however, wants to be accepted and loved apart from God’s eternal spiritual purposes. It is this selfish craving in each natural heart that is also the focus of the trouble in the new household of Jacob. The struggle for love and children is the struggle between Leah and Rachel. Jacob was in love with Rachel, and his uncle Laban promised him Rachel if Jacob will work for him for seven years. When the seven years of service were completed, Jacob wanted his wife, and Laban organised a feast to celebrate the occasion. However, Jacob could not discern properly who the veiled bride was as Laban also brought her to Jacob in the evening. When Jacob woke up the next morning, he saw that he slept with Leah, the elder sister of Rachel:

Gen 29:25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?

Jacob, the deceiver and manipulator, was deceived by Laban, and in his self-righteous heart he could not accept this. Seeing the evil around us is easy for our carnal mind, but to see the same evil inside is humiliating. The theme of sanctification is also highlighted in the life of Jacob who started off as a deceiver and manipulator but is taken through much purging in order to place him in the right position to be the servant for his master’s use. Jacob is set apart to serve God’s purposes and not his own:

2Ti 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these [selfish, deceitful heart and actions], he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

Leah is given to us as the type of the false bride or church who we all encounter on our spiritual journey when we are convinced, by our own deception, that we have found the true bride of Christ. Jacob will have to fulfill his duties to Leah, as the dominion of flesh and the influence of spiritual Babylon in our own lives must run its full course as determined by our heavenly Father:

Gen 29:26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
Gen 29:27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.

It is therefore important to see how Jacob also treated Leah with respect and also submitted to the customs of that country. We must respect God for the time He ordained for us to be under tutors and governors of the flesh until the time that the faith of Christ is given to us which will bring us to spiritual maturity (Gal 3:22-25; Gal 4:1-5):

Gen 29:28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week [Hebrew: “shâbûa” linked with “shâba” which has more to do with a complete period of time, which links spiritually with the number seven]: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
Gen 29:29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

Rachel is the symbol of God’s true church when we receive the faith of Christ to serve God and His children (Rom 12:2; 1Jn 5:2-3):

Gen 29:30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him [Laban] yet seven other years.
Gen 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.

The word “hate” indicates to love to a lesser extent in this case also, as Jacob loved Leah and will have several children with her. His love for Rachel was more than his love for Leah, and this once again helps us to see the way we need to understand God’s love for the world versus His love for His elect. God’s love for His elect is witnessed in their love for Him as they seek and do His will by dying to self and denying the attachments of flesh (Mat 10:37-39; Luk 14:26):

Pro 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

The favoured and much beloved wives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob shared the same problem. God chose to close the wombs of Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel, and they could not produce an offspring initially. The concubines and other wives of these patriarchs, however, brought forth children first, and this only emphasizes that flesh is prosperous and productive long before the spirit man is formed in us. The flesh is given a head-start by God to even have an appearance of maturity. Leah is shown to us with more experience in child bearing than Rachel as Leah conceived four sons initially. Leah first conceived the elder son for Jacob, which was a huge plus in her understanding of things:

Gen 29:32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben [Hebrew meaning: “behold a son!”/ “who sees the son”/“the vision of the son”] for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.

The Hebrew meaning of the name “Reuben” indeed relates to sonship which links him to the all-important inheritance and rights of the firstborn, and that is what Leah was so excited about. What Leah did not know was that the son of man is not the true heir of the more important spiritual inheritance (Job 25:6; Psa 146:3-4). The flesh has a way of convincing itself of its own delusions and beliefs. The rights of the firstborn are reserved exclusively for God’s spiritual elect in Christ, “the firstborn of every creature” (Col 1:15; Rev 3:14). Leah will get four sons in this first fertile period of her life to complete this whole delusion of godly prosperity and favour which she also wants Jacob to see:

Gen 29:33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon [Hebrew meaning: “hearing”]

The second son of Leah is named Simeon, meaning “hearing”, as she believed the Lord heard her prayer, and this son is the proof of her answered prayer to be the beloved wife of Jacob. God’s elect knows that the trials of faith are of much deeper spiritual value when our prayers are not answered in the way and time our flesh wants things to happen (1Pe 1:7-9). It is indeed through patience and much tribulation that we take possession of our spiritual inheritance – not through quick fixes (Act 14:22; Rev 14:9-12). This is what Rachel is learning as she witnessed all of this:

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

The third son of Leah was called “Levi” which means “joined to”:

Gen 29:34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.

Levi will be the head of the tribe of priests at a later stage, serving in the earthly tabernacle and temple. Leah believed that she was joined to Jacob in a deeper spiritual sense after the birth of this third son. Flesh has the delusion that it can please God and be even joined to God in that same condition. Natural man’s faith convinces him that he will appear in the same body in the resurrection as some even described this resurrected body as ‘spiritual flesh’ when the scriptures are clear that the body that is raised is totally different from the one that is buried (1Co 15:36-50). No-one will be joined to the true Christ and His elect with carnal aspirations and high-mindedness:

Rom 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Leah’s fourth son was called “Judah”, meaning “praise”:

Gen 29:35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise [Hebrew: “yâdâh” and “êth”] the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.

Although the flesh indeed praises God, this praise is more about what flesh receives to consume it upon its lusts. That is why the self-centeredness of flesh is incapable of receiving the spiritual inheritance of God (Joh 7:18; Php 2:3-5):

Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Leah “left bearing” after her fourth son for the time being, even while the flesh of Rachel also shows envy towards Leah as Rachel now vents her frustration towards Jacob:

Gen 30:1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
Gen 30:2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

Jacob has been learning since he left Canaan that all things are from God, and he could not be held responsible for God’s actions, even through the dream he had at the place he named Bethel afterward (Gen 28:11-22). God is the only responsible Being, and no one can take this position if they know the truth of God’s sovereignty over all things (Rom 11:36; Eph 1:11). However, Rachel, not adhering to the words of Jacob, did exactly what Sarah did with Abraham (Gen 16:1-3). Jacob, like his grandfather Abraham, followed his wife’s counsel and slept with her handmaid Bilhah, who became Jacob’s concubine:

Gen 30:3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
Gen 30:4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

To bear upon another’s knees is to claim ownership to their offspring – “that I may also have children by her”. Rachel named the first son Bilhah bore for Jacob, “Dan”:

Gen 30:5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
Gen 30:6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

“Dan” means judge or judgment, as this announces what Rachel and Jacob, as types of God’s elect, will first go through as they will be the first to learn about their own evil hearts and the true righteousness of God (Isa 26:9):

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?

Bilhah conceived another son for Rachel after she bore Dan:

Gen 30:7 And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
Gen 30:8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

The name “Naphtali” carries the meaning of wrestling or fighting, which again emphasizes the battle between these two women in our own lives in the form of the flesh or fleshly church versus the spirit or spiritual assembly in the true Christ (Gal 5:17). Like the typical elect of God, Rachel now also must learn that nothing of eternal value will come the easy way. All God’s true spiritual inheritance will come through much resistance. The levels of persecution and hatred from those who are “after the flesh” will not subside, but rather increase (Gal 4:29). Although Leah had four sons of her own flesh against Rachel’s two sons through her handmaid Bilhah, this did not satisfy Leah. She could not bear children of her own at this stage, but then gave her handmaid, Zilpah, to sleep with Jacob to have more offspring through her:

Gen 30:9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
Gen 30:10 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.
Gen 30:11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

The first son which Zilpah bore for Leah as Jacob’s seventh son, was called “Gad”, Gad means “a troop cometh” which connects with overcomers in warfare (Gen 49:19). Seeing that Gad is an offspring of the handmaid of Leah, the negative application applies first, as the flesh indeed overshadows our life from our birth, and we are under the dominion of its lusts and pride (1Jn 2:16). Gad and his offspring will also have a positive application in the overcoming Christ (1Ch 5:17-22). The second son which Zilpah bore for Leah from Jacob was Asher:

Gen 30:12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.
Gen 30:13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

The meaning of Asher’s name connects with fleshly happiness through Leah’s emotional state of mind. Happiness is a temporary emotion which our old man is given by God to keep him going amidst his otherwise dreary life. Outward earthly happiness is the worldly counterfeit of true inward joy, which is part of the fruit of the spirit of God in His elect (Gal 5:22-23). The prosperity gospel is well loved in spiritual Babylon, as it overpowers those who are searching for “these things” of the earth which bring temporary happiness long before the kingdom of God is first established in their lives. The flesh always has things the wrong way around:

Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Now the eldest son of Leah, Reuben, has grown big enough to start playing his role in this battle between Leah and Rachel, and also in the household of Jacob:

Gen 30:14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.

Much has been speculated about these mandrakes which Reuben brought his mother Leah, but this happened in the time of the wheat harvest or the feast of weeks (Pentecost) which was later established in the calendar of the physical nation of Israel. This harvest was one of the three major harvests in Israel:

Deu 16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:

Exo 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

This wheat harvest is all about the resurrection of the “kind of firstfruits” which is reserved for God’s elected church which is represented by Rachel and not Leah (Jas 1:18; 1Co 15:23). Mandrakes are also described in the scriptures as giving off a sweet or pleasant fragrance which also is connected to the elect of God:

Son 7:12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.
Son 7:13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

This pleasant fragrance of the true doctrine of Christ is earmarked for God’s elect because the world and its churches cannot appreciate the “sum of” God’s true doctrine, combining the old and the new, which fulfills the true savour of the knowledge of God’s Word (Psa 119:160 ASV; Isa 28:9-10; Mat 13:52; Joh 17:3; 1Co 2:13). The churches of this world, which Leah and her more children symbolize (the “many”), can only corrupt the word of God with their false doctrines as they also add and take away from all the words man must live by (Mat 4:4; Rev 22:18-19):

2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2Co 2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
2Co 2:16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
2Co 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

Leah actually accused Rachel of taking her husband which was not the case at all:

Gen 30:15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.

The Word of Christ, like the mandrakes in the wrong hands, will be twisted and abused to serve the interest of the flesh. Leah could not let go of her carnal aspirations and fleshly lusts to be the true wife of Jacob. She seduced Jacob again to sleep with her as he came from the field in the evening indicating that although we are the elect of God, we can never assume we have arrived. We are in the process of being saved and should always be on guard (2Sa 11:1-27; Pro 4:23; 1Co 10:12; 1Pe 5:8). This time Leah was able to conceive a fifth son for Jacob called Issachar:

Gen 30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired hire [Hebrew: śâkar = temporary purchase] thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
Gen 30:17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
Gen 30:18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire [Hebrew: śâkâr = payment/ wages/ compensation], because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

Issachar means “there is recompense” as even the flesh demands its wages for work done. Leah saw this son as her reward for giving her maiden, Zilpah, to Jacob. The number five has to do with grace through faith, and this is how the natural mind sees grace as his reward for his own faith. It is all about physical rewards which God must give when the flesh believes it has done good deeds. However, all the good deeds of flesh are but a filthy cloth of self-righteousness (Isa 64:6):

Mat 7:21 Not every one 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.

The sixth and last son that Leah personally conceived for Jacob was Zebulun:

Gen 30:19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
Gen 30:20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

Zebulun was the tenth son of Jacob (six sons from Leah), and this all complements the number of fleshly man (the number ten combining with the number six). The name “Zebulun” means “habitation” which is the temporary dwelling which flesh is. Zebulun’s habitation was indeed “at the haven of the sea” which is spiritually the symbol for flesh and all its activities as expressed by Jacob at his death (Isa 60:5; Rev 13:1; Rev 17:1,15,18):

Gen 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

Leah also bore Jacob one daughter after this last son:

Gen 30:21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

God will not change His mind on anything, as He had it all worked out before this physical age began. God never forgets His plan for mankind and is constantly working everything for His purposes and for the benefit of His elect. The time has come for Rachel to bring forth her firstborn:

Gen 30:22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
Gen 30:23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
Gen 30:24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

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

God So Love The World
Why God Hates All Flesh
The Meaning of ‘Hated of All Men’
The Three Barren Wives of The Patriarchs
Once In Grace Always in Grace
Numbers in Scripture

]]> Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 76 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/foundational-themes-in-genesis-study-76/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=foundational-themes-in-genesis-study-76 Fri, 19 Dec 2014 19:52:50 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=8624 Foundational themes in Genesis – Study 76

(Key verses: Gen 25:22-34)

Spiritual sonship is a theme in the scriptures which highlights God’s purpose with mankind, which in this life is reserved for those few whom He is conforming to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (Joh 1:1-4; Col 1:15-19; Rev 3:14). Jesus is God’s preeminent creation as He is above everything, and He alone has immortality or spiritual perfection at this stage with the Father (1Ti 6:15-16; Eph 1:13-14). This glorious conforming process in the few elected ones is marked with fiery trials and much tribulation to make these sons of God perfect (Rom 8:29; 1Pe 4:12; Act 14:22; Heb 2:10; Heb 12:4-7):

Rom 8:22 (Phillips NT) It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail.
Rom 8:23 And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realised our full sonship in him.
Rom 8:24 We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got.
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience.

This theme of spiritual sonship is also typified in Genesis through the relationships between Abraham, “the father of us all” in terms of the faith, and Abraham’s beloved son, Isaac, and Isaac and his offspring (Isa 51:1-2; Rom 3:22; Rom 4:12; Rom 4:16; Rom 9:7-8; Heb 11:17-18). Whether it is physical or spiritual, the firstborn in scripture is related to might, strength, excellence, dignity, elevation and power, which all links to taking or having governance and authority (Deu 21:17; Psa 105:36; Hos 12:2-3):

Gen 49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

This rulership and authority of the firstborn, as acknowledged by the father of the son, is also promised within the law of the double portion according to the law of Moses:

Deu 21:15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn [Hebrew: “bekôr” which links with “bikkûr” which means “firstfruit”: In Exodus 23:16 this “bikkûr” also is the feast of harvest or pentecost] son be hers that was hated:
Deu 21:16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:
Deu 21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

This spiritual truth of the double portion of the firstborn was established in the beginning in Jesus Christ as the Lord and ruler of both the heavens and the earth, which is what this double portion in the law of Moses typified (Gen 1:1; Gen 2:7; Pro 8:22-30; Joh 1:1-4; Act 17:24; Rev 1:1-8). This Jesus could only reveal to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead:

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

Within these two realms there is also an order established by God. It is only through faith that anyone will be able to see that the things which are seen (“the earth”), are ruled and controlled by the spiritual (“the heaven”), which do not appear to the natural man as such, and which the natural mind cannot appreciate or understand (1Co 2:14):

Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

All things are first “bound” or “loose[ed]” in heaven before it has any affect or application on the earth:

Mat 18:18 (CLV) Verily, I am saying to you, Whatsoever you should be binding on the earth shall be those things having been bound in the heavens, and whatsoever you should be loosing on the earth shall be those loose in heaven.
Mat 18:19 Again, verily, I am saying to you that, if ever two of you should be agreeing on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it is they should be requesting shall be coming to them from My Father Who is in the heavens.

From this perspective, the heaven rules not only that which belongs to heaven, but also that which is on earth (Mat 6:9-10). The rulership of the heavens is therefore vital to lay hold of as this powerful heavenly perspective and insight helps us to subdue and have dominion over our own earth and all the nations of that earth (our own bodies and carnal mind first):

Isa 40:17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

These spiritual foundations were properly laid in the beginning – that is in Christ, the firstborn or firstfruit (Hebrew: “rêshı̂yth”; Greek: “archē”) of the Father (Gen 1:1; Joh 1:1-3; Rev 1:8). Through Christ, the foundations of heaven and the foundations of earth were laid, and He works with them (Psa 24:1; Pro 16:4; Joh 1:3; Col 1:16; Job 38:4; Psa 102:25). Spiritually the number 12 speaks of foundations (including that of power and authority), and the number 24 signifies the total authority over the foundations of heaven and earth (Gen 2:7; Gen 17:20; 1Co 3:11; Jas 1:1; Rev 14:1-5; Rev 21:19-20). This position was given to Jesus by the Father, and He gives this ‘right’ of the firstborn also to those whom He receives from the Father in this age – the “uihothesia” who is also called “a kind of firstfruits” in the scriptures (Exo 23:15-16a; Psa 103:19; Mat 16:19; Luk 12:31-32; Rom 8:23; Jas 1:18):

Isa 40:21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Isa 40:23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

This rulership is now made available to those whom He has chosen before the foundation of the earth to rule and reign with Him:

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

This dominion over all is a desire every human craves, but our natural thinking on this is always twisted. Many therefore exercise evil authority over others and are greedily chasing earthly possessions to give them this false sense of being blessed and in control. This constitutes also what the strong delusion is which God sends in them (2Th 2:11). In the world this hierarchy of power is prominent, which is also revealed through the spiritual whore, Babylon. This whore enjoys keeping many in spiritual diapers and looks down on those who are deemed not up to their spiritual standard. This spiritual whore is rewarded with what she has been given to believe:

Rev 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

The law of the firstborn is what caused so much unhappiness in the household of Isaac and Rebekah. After Isaac waited and prayed patiently for twenty years for an offspring with his wife, Rebekah conceived twins (Gen 25:19-21; Gen 25:26), but there was a struggle within Rebekah’s womb which will affect their lives as long as they lived:

Gen 25:22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
Gen 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

So this struggle was for this right to rule. This struggle relates to the war in our own heaven when we become aware of this double portion or two eons in which we must live and rule (Mat 4:4; Rev 12:1-17). God ordained that the heavens and the earth will be these opposing forces as the generations of the heaven and the generations of the earth will always be foreign to each other (Gen 1:1; Gen 2:4; Psa 2:1-2; Gal 5:17). Although the flesh is first on the earth, it will not have spirit life or get the double portion of spiritual rulership, which is given to the one that is born “afterward”:

Mat 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

The spiritual eon comes second or last for us, and that spirit life in the second man, Christ, gives us the rulership over all. What the flesh cannot see or accept is that the last Adam, Jesus Christ, is actually the Lord from heaven who has this rulership before the foundation of the earth (Isa 48:13; Zec 12:1; Heb 1:10):

Col 1:15 Who [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

The war in the heavens is all about inheritance – the spiritual versus fleshly inheritance. God has no pleasure in flesh or its inheritance:

Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

The outcome of this struggle in the womb of Rebekah was already predetermined: “…the elder [flesh] shall serve the younger”. The election that those who “are after the spirit” will have dominion over those who “are after the flesh” is revealed in these two offspring of Isaac and Rebekah. As the first Adam is “the figure” or type of the last Adam, they are indeed a twin in that sense, but the lastborn has the superior position (Rom 5:14):

Rom 9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

God had nothing against Esau personally, but against that which he was chosen to represent, which is death and its fleshly desires. God’s pre-election or predestination is a doctrine which few can accept because of their false beliefs in a free will of mankind and the doctrine of an eternal hell. These and other false teachings prevent many from seeing how God works His plan to save all people through His elected spiritual sons. Those who reject the doctrine of predestination actually accuse God of being unrighteous in making these choices:

Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

These accusers of God cannot accept the great mercy of God, and their hate-filled heart will only be satisfied if their enemies burn in an eternal hell (Psa 136:1-26). This is revealing the wickedness of their own Adamic hearts which they themselves cannot see in their self-righteous state of mind. God has never spoken a word, and neither did it ever come up in His mind that He will burn His own children with physical fire for all eternity (Lev 18:21; Lev 20:1-5; Eze 16:20-21; Jer 7:30-31). Yet many are still deluded by these false and evil teachings of eternal hell and the eternal existence of flesh and death, even when God clearly states in the scripture that death in all its carnal forms will be destroyed (Rom 8:6-8):

1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Our first old man is indeed delivered and redeemed by the fire of God’s word through judgment which brings the resurrection to new life through Christ, the firstborn (Exo 13:13; Isa 26:9; Jer 5:14; 1Co 3:13-15). God made the choice, and we respond to His choice – not the other way around (Rom 9:16):

Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

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

Sonship is God’s choice and through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob this is made clear for those who can receive this. Through Isaac’s offspring, this pattern is repeated, and again the firstborn is rejected even before he did anything either wrong or right:

Gen 25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
Gen 25:25 And the first came out red [Hebrew: “admônı̂y” from “âdam”], all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

The firstborn was Esau, and he was red and hairy, which reflects the first man Adam who is from the ground or field, and that includes “all that is in the world” (Num 6:18-19; 1Co 11:14):

Mat 13:38a The field is the world….

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.

Esau is that which represents the lusts of this world in us as we all must first endure this stage of fleshly sonship, and this type of sonship is not “of [the spirit] of the Father” (Mat 19:30). Jacob, the twin brother of Esau, was the last born, and his actions in the womb and during the birth process reveal so much about our own walk and the struggles of the flesh until the day of final redemption from this “body of sin” (Rom 6:6; Rom 7:18; 2Co 5:21):

Gen 25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

Jacob was holding on to Esau’s heel! Jacob’s name actually means exactly that – “heel holder” or “supplanter”. Heels are the part of the foot which leaves prints and tracks, and through these prints or tracks others can identify us and our walk (Psa 89:51; Son 1:8):

Jer 13:22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels [Hebrew: “âqêb”/“iqqebâh” = heel/footsteps/footprint] made bare.

The heels we first take hold of are visible in the tracks or footprints of the rejected flesh, which is revealed to us when we can see the man of sin in ourselves first (2Th 2:3-4; Rev 13). The revelation of our true carnal nature is important in our growth and development in sonship. We start off being the enemies of the elect of God when we have reproach in our hearts against the truth in the words. Our old man of sin does lift his heel against the new man:

Psa 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend [our old man], in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel [Hebrew: “âqêb” or “iqqebâh”] against me.

Psa 89:50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
Psa 89:51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps [Hebrew: “âqêb” or “iqqebâh”] of thine anointed.

God’s elect will be brought to repentance by the rebuke and chastening of our loving Father, and then they will continue in His Word, even against those who hide themselves and mark our steps to rejoice when we stumble (Psa 56:4-6; Joh 8:31; Heb 12:5-7). This relationship between Jacob and Esau and the ways they live also brings important aspects of our own growth process to the fore:

Gen 25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

These two sons of Isaac and Rebekah also caused the division in the family in terms of the preference these parents showed for these two sons and their way of life:

Gen 25:28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau, like his name, was attached to anything that is red, which connects with the earth, which is the first Adam (Gen 2:7). Isaac was also more attached to the fleshly firstborn, Esau, but Rebekah loved the last born, Jacob:

For Sarah the second born of her husband was the favourite son (Isaac). Now also for Rebekah the second born of the twins (Jacob) is favoured. A woman is a picture of the church in scripture – the false church or the true church – and these two women, Sarah and Rebekah, are given to us as types of the true church in the way they were attached to the types of the true Seed which God favoured (Gal 3:16; Gal 3:29). It is through God’s true church that the true sons of God and the manifold wisdom of God will be revealed:

Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.

The earth is what the weak flesh is attached to, and from its composition the flesh also sees its survival and preservation (Gen 2:7; Gen 3:17-19):

Gen 25:29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
Gen 25:30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [Hebrew: “âdôm” from “âdam”] pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom [Hebrew: “ĕdôm” from “âdôm”]

Jacob, true to his name, wanted to negotiate for something much more important than what his flesh wanted. He wanted rulership over much more:

Gen 25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright [Hebrew: “bekôrâh” = belonging to the “bekôr”]
Gen 25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Gen 25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Gen 25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Esau despised the rights of the firstborn and the inheritance attached to it (Gen 17-18; Gal 3:16; Gal 3:29). The buying of this birthright was, for the time being, only this pottage of lentils, but it will becomw a more costly transaction for Jacob progressively. This inheritance connects spiritually to the blessed and holy first resurrection which comes at a very high price for God’s elect – the losing of their lives (Mat 10:38-39):

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Many cannot appreciate this powerful inheritance when they, like Esau, cannot see the profit to live soberly in this present age as the chastening power of the grace of God has not been unveiled to them (1Tim 2:11-12). They despise the true sons of God by rejecting and mocking their election and make fun of their suffering as they cannot see what the mystery of the glory of Christ is (Luk 24:46; 2Co 11:23-28; Col 1:24-27). Although the first resurrection is not yet fulfilled outwardly, this spiritual governance and dominion over sin is being inwardly established now in the elect, even in downpayment form (Eph 1:13-14).

Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

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

Begotten and Born
Numbers in Scripture
Colors in Scripture – Red, Part 1
The Spiritual Significance of The Nazarite Vow
Revelation 14:1-5
The Biblical Overview of The Plan of God, Part 7

]]> Awesome Hands – part 56: “The Firstborn” https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/awesome-hands-part-56-the-firstborn/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=awesome-hands-part-56-the-firstborn Mon, 08 Sep 2014 20:09:44 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=8456

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 56

“The Firstborn”

Feb. 19, 2013

In this study today, we are going to cover the final plague and it’s execution on the Egyptians. We are also going to examine the spiritual application of this last of ten plagues for the “Jew who is one inwardly”.

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Our praise will be of God when we are able to acknowledge the working of His hands in our lives and claim none of it for ourselves.

“It came to pass”

We ended part 55 of this series with the instructions and particulars of what the Israelites are commanded of the Lord to do in order to fulfill the requirements of the Passover.

We are now going to pick up with the Israelites fulfilling these commandments faithfully.

Exo 12:28  And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
Exo 12:29  And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

It is in the night that the Lord starts salvation for any of mankind and that includes His first begotten Son.

Day is likened unto life and night is likened to death. For the Lord, He sees both day and night alike for the purposes He is calling all of mankind into, and He is the only One who can use both Faithfully to execute His will for good.

Psa 139:11  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
Psa 139:13  For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

For this story of the plagues, the Lord causes the death of the firstborn to happen so that the Pharaoh will finally let the Israelites go. This pattern is the same that Christ followed since it is THROUGH DEATH that salvation comes.

Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

It may not seem apparent on the surface and in the letter, but the freeing and deliverance of Israel from the bondage in Egypt is a type of the freeing salvation we are given by the works of God alone.

Of course, being given the start of salvation in no way means that we have arrived at God’s purposes and work in us but that we simply have been given the ability to see our safety in the process of the cross and what Christ alone accomplished by the working of the cross.

That is why and how we die daily when we follow Christ to the cross.

Still, it is not going to be an easy transition from death to life since even the Pharaoh presents to us just how formidable the flesh and carnal mind is to those who are being freed from the bondage of the same.

Exo 12:30  And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
Exo 12:31  And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.
Exo 12:32  Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

After all the has happened with the firstborn deaths and the utter destruction of Egypt at the power of the Lord being placed in Moses and Aaron’s hands, the Pharaoh still insists that he be blessed by Moses. This shows us that it will be “until the end of the flesh,” that we will be enduring and overcoming it.

EVERY “house”, that is every generation, will know the Truth of “this death” to the carnal mind.

It is written several times that it is at NIGHT that the Passover happens and a big part of that is to show us WHEN it is the Lord comes to “our house” and “passes over us” in our “hour of need”.

Exo 12:33  And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
Exo 12:34  And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.

The Israelites do as they were commanded and follow the commandments of the Lord. There is a way out of the dire situation they have been placed in and by following the commands of the Lord, they are additionally blessed to have the Egyptians be quick to send them on their ways.

“Borrowing of the Egyptians”

There are always many layers to any story in scripture, and there are many layered admonitions we can gain by seeing various types and shadows that are contained within various stories.

That concept is no different to this story and in particular as it pertains to the aspect of the Lord telling Moses to tell the people to borrow of their neighbors, silver, gold and raiment.

Exo 12:35  And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
Exo 12:36  And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
Exo 12:37  And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
Exo 12:38  And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

Previously in the last study, I mentioned that each layer and each type and shadow builds upon itself and other types, in order to better expound to us what is being said.

This is a similar concept to how Christ would speak “plain” words, yet they held and hold a spiritual meaning behind them to those who are given eyes to see and ears to hear.

For example, in Exodus 11:2 Moses is told this:

Exo 11:2  Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.

However, when the children of Israel do according to Moses words they borrow silver, gold and raiment. Raiment is not mentioned in Exodus 11:2.

It may seem like a small thing, but what we can learn from this additional bit of information really paints for us a clearer spiritual picture of what we are being told.

The Israelites borrow from their neighbor AS they are exiting Egypt so when we try to determine what this might mean we can look at other examples of this happening in scripture and make a spiritual comparison, spiritual with spiritual of what we are being taught.

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

So, where else do we see silver, gold and raiment mentioned together? Remember, there are positive and negatives to all words in scripture and that also applies to spiritual concepts.

Here is another example of silver, gold and raiment being mentioned in scripture but with a little more detail, just as Moses adds the detail of raiment being borrowed like silver and gold was borrowed.

Eze 16:10  I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
Eze 16:11  I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
Eze 16:12  And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Eze 16:13  Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14  And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.

The Egyptians indeed witnessed firsthand the FAVORING of God’s children over the Egyptians.

Here are a few more examples:

Rebekah was given away AFTER abiding for TEN days with her family. Abraham typifies “the Father” welcoming in His new child, in this case his new daughter-in-law.

Gen 24:51  Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken.
Gen 24:52  And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
Gen 24:53  And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
Gen 24:54  And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.
Gen 24:55  And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

One last example, of many examples, can be found in Joshua:

Jos 21:43  And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.
Jos 21:44  And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

Then a few verses later:

Jos 22:2  And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:
Jos 22:3  Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.
Jos 22:4  And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan.
Jos 22:5  But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Jos 22:6  So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.
Jos 22:7  Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,
Jos 22:8  And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

Did anyone notice that when the Israelites left Egypt they SPOILED the Egyptians?

Does anyone think it coincidence that when the Israelites left Egypt they had much cattle, silver, gold and raiment? What then had they DONE that led to them successfully being led out of Egypt?

The answer is the same answer found in the examples listed above. They DILIGENTLY took heed to the commandments and law of the Lord and FAITHFULLY obeyed. I am not saying they did this on their own since we know via the “sum of thy Word” that Faith is a gift and the Lord works all things.

So, what does this mean for us today? It was the DEATH of the firstborn and the PASSOVER which led to the salvation process starting for the children of Israel.

Who then is the Passover? Who then is our GOLD and SILVER? Who is our Raiment? Who is the FIRSTBORN sacrificed for OUR (and the rest of humanity’s) salvation?

Col 1:12  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

The Passover:

Heb 11:27  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Heb 11:28  Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

Heb 12:21  And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

“By Faith … a gift of God”

What the Israelites did when they “simply” followed the commandments of the Lord was that they acted in Faith. They were leaving a “known” Egypt, though in slavery, to go unto a wilderness they knew nothing about.

They followed the commandments of the Lord and did as He instructed Moses.

Exo 12:39  And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
Exo 12:40  Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
Exo 12:41  And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
Exo 12:42  It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

When the work of the Lord happens, it is for all, for everything that work is set out to do. Meaning, the Lord does a quick and complete work in “that selfsame day”.

It is in the night, night being likened to blindness, darkness and death that the Lord comes to us with deliverance. (Col 1:12-15)

When we come forth form this darkness, this night, we are going forth with the raiment, gold and silver that ONLY the Lord can give us, HIS NAME and His work in us.

We know the Israelites, like we all do, go on to doubt, to betray, to back talk and to do many things AGAINST the commandments of the Lord and this is VERY MUCH like what we know is to LEAVE our FIRST LOVE.

When the Firstborn, our First Love comes into our lives we are given EVERY thing we could ever want. We are given His name, His wealth and His covering. We are given ALL THINGS He can give us.

However, it is a VERY short time until we start thinking we know best and we go into rebellion. We take His name but don’t want to take on “His wealth” like the women in Isaiah 4. So, why DOES this happen?

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

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Didn’t Adam and Eve experience this? They were given everything in the garden BUT the SERPENT beguiled them with lies mixed with Truth.

After this study, I will be doing a mini-series on “satan and the devil”. I feel led to go into this very aspect in a lot of scriptural detail to show how and why satan is able to mix Truth with lies in order to accomplish being used to cause the “children” of the Lord to do the things that cause us to “leave our First Love”.

What are the first works we must do? Did not the Israelites show us these “first works” in type and shadow in leaving Egypt by Faith?

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Here is what the children of Egypt did.

Exo 12:42  It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
Exo 12:43  And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
Exo 12:44  But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
Exo 12:45  A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
Exo 12:46  In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
Exo 12:47  All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
Exo 12:48  And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
Exo 12:49  One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
Exo 12:50  Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
Exo 12:51  And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.

The Israelites start off doing the commandments of the Lord but they soon fall away from those same commandments pulled by lusts that dwell in us all and can be easily TEMPTED by the SUBTLE SERPENT.

The “only” thing we have to battle this old serpent with is Jesus Christ, and He ALONE is ENOUGH.

Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that THROUGH DEATH he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

The Firstborn is able to deliver us all, and does deliver us. However, this is a life-long process for “us” and is a process most will face in the lake of fire.

We will pick up the “Awesome Hands” series from this spot after the mini-series on “Satan and the devil” is done, but I believe the mini-series will better equip us to view how the Lord views the works of Satan and the devil in our lives as He admonishes us to “keep thy commandments”.

Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

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

Joh 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Joh 15:11  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Joh 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

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