Conscience – A Seared Conscience, Part 15

[Study Aired February 10, 2024]

Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;  ~ 1Ti 4:2  

Few expressions from a child are more repugnant and rile a parent more than the sullen or fiery body language of stubbornness backed up with unflinching eyes. If not swiftly corrected in love, that condition is often the beginning of a seared conscience. Of course, the most unyielding, fearful and powerful men ever to exist, as Pharoah of Moses’ time did, and now we will melt before the Lord regardless of the many life experiences that emboldened our consciences.

As consistently expressed in this Conscience series, our conscience is awakened, as Cain experienced, when a recognised governing law is broken. For Christians and unbelievers alike, those laws are innately known so that mankind is without excuse, as seen in Romans 1:18-32 and directly in verse 20.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he [Christ] that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Christ’s Wife is the ONLY personage who knows His name since she, as ‘his Christ’ and Wife, is in intimate unity with Him by His word (Acts 4:26. Rev 11:15; Rev 12:10). The symbolic 1,000 wives of Solomon’s court, representing all of the Babylonian Christian churches named as harlots, at their ruling leisure (delusionally) make Him come to them when feeling the need to receive seed unaware of producing bastard sons (Deu 23:2. Heb 12:8) of “another Jesus” (2Co 11:4). 

Searing of any part of our anatomy or spiritual heart is the consequence of contact with a very hot surface, physically or spiritually. Over time, repeated searing occurring on the same wound causes the body to lay up hardened leathery skin to resist further pain. The human body is fearfully and wonderfully made to protect itself. So, too, are our cauterised minds made to resist repeated abuse, particularly because of our imagined self-will for the children we have been with the fiery, determined eyes of stubbornness. If that hot, searing surface erupts into a furnace, no leathery heart will survive its chastisement.

A hardened heart is (H3515) a heavy, grievously oppressed heart since it knows to do righteously and repeatedly doesn’t. It is thus seared.

The old childhood adage, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me” is a lie until the mind is seared and its enemies made impervious and eventually irrelevant. So, too, can our Lord’s light afflictions build resistance to change, at which point His still, small voice prompting our conscience repeatedly withstood, dulls our hearing and blinds our eyes to the drum of distant hail. When the size of chastening hail grows to the weight of a talent (45 kg or 100 pounds) with a devastating terminal velocity of about 160 km an hour, equivalent to 100 mph, utter devastation occurs, and what the hail doesn’t crush, the melt-water will seep into every crevice of hidden sin and drown the lies now petrified in rock, the word of God as a memorial.

Isa 28:14  Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men [by repeated rejection and the beginnings of a seared heart], that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 
Isa 28:15  Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death [Rev 18:7-8 “… am no widow, and shall see no sorrow”], and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Isa 28:16  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

What the hail destroys, the water submerges every nook and cranny in a watery grave. The Elect of God is that hail in the Resurrection to Judgment, the Lake and baptism of Fire that, like water, seeps into every crevice and utterly consumes the very elements of the earth we are, bringing forth gold (2Pe 3:10-12).

Note that the fire, which melts the elements within, isn’t constantly restarted to bring forth gold. It is a one-time event for every person raised in one of the two resurrections since repeated smelting hardens gold, symbolically searing consciences. Rather, the heat for the Elect of God in this age gets turned up and down according to our stubbornness. Either way, for both resurrections, the fire burns through the toughest, seared consciences.

We have the nature of a seared conscience when we live with a resident familiar spirit, lazily having not resisted Satan by mimicking Christ’s power with his expression, “Get behind me, Satan” (Mat 16:23). Since the entire world will be eventually saved, we have a 100% guarantee that our old man will die both physically and spiritually (1Co 15:59).

Lev 20:6  And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 

Isa 29:4  And thou shalt be brought low, thou shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall come low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. [What beautiful poetry!)

A familiar spirit is a necromancer (H178) who promotes dead works and lying doctrines, and we thus become fornicators, silly women {churches} (2Ti 3:6) hiding in the darkness, nudging, shuffling feet under the table, winking to garner party spirit (revellings; carousals of like lying minds), fearful of being exposed by the light of Christ.

Pro 6:11  So shall thy [spiritual] poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
Pro 6:12  A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. 
Pro 6:13  He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 
Pro 6:14  Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

Isa 8:19  And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

This is the kind of spirit that doesn’t shout with the trumpet blast of truth but whispers out of the dust of the ground his earthy, deathly doctrines.

Isa 8:20  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Psa 35:19  Let not those who are my lying enemies rejoice over me, those who hate me without cause wink with the eye.
Psa 35:20  For they do not speak peace; but they think deceitful things against the quiet ones of the earth.

The Body of Christ are ‘the quiet ones of the earth’ rising up at the sound of the paradoxical trumpet blast of the still, small voice of God’s spirit saying, “This is the way; walk ye in it”.

Isa 30:19  For the people shall dwell in Zion at [in the creation of the New…] Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
Isa 30:20  And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: 
Isa 30:21  And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Mar 9:49  For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt [salt symbolically preserves the truth]. 
Mar 9:50  Salt is good, but if the salt is become saltless, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace [through unity in Christ] with one another.

A seared conscience is the result of repeatedly hardening one’s heart. The shades of a hardened heart in scripture are ‘endless’, beginning with Adam’s and Eve’s tender hearts excusing and accusing themselves, laying the first coat of self-righteousness for a seared conscience in us all. Few dramas of a hardened heart are more profound than Pharaoh’s in the time of Moses by the Lord’s hardening.

Exo 4:21  And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

Likewise, anytime we plant our feet in defiance against Christ’s word, He is giving us, represented as Pharaoh, a hardened heart to humble us. Pharoah, like us in our time of visitation, witnesses the destruction of our empire and, like Babylon and Old Jerusalem within, never to rise again.

2Th 2:1  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand [working now, within].

A mind not easily shaken or troubled in spirit by our Lord’s chastisements is a malleable and tender heart having been stripped of its seared “impenitent” nature.

Rom 2:1  Therefore you are without excuse, O man, everyone who judges; for in that in which you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge do the same things.
Rom 2:2  But know that the judgment of God is according to truth on those who practice such things. 
Rom 2:3  And, O man, the one judging those who do such things, and practice them, do you think this, that you shall escape the judgment of God? 
Rom 2:4  Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, and the forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 
Rom 2:5  But according to your hardness and your impenitent heart, do you treasure up wrath for yourself in a day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
Rom 2:6  who will render to each [degrees of chastisement relevant…] according to his works;

Of course, the Lord said that he hardened Pharoah’s heart. Pharoah represents us and our Lord likewise hardening our hearts – why? To humble us and recognise that we are the new pot Christ is shaping for His particular use once fired in the furnace of affliction, now in the positive sense seared and impervious to our former ways, knowing that He is Lord and master and not us. Nonetheless, that pot, represented by Nebuchazznezer’s image, our creator smashes to smithereens since it is an earthen vessel (Dan 2:34-35). Christ will only accept any element other than refined and pure gold in the temple he is recreating, represented as faith tried in the fire. 

2Ti 2:20  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 

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

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

What we are being purged of is anything that is not of faith (Rom 14:23) through a malleable heart, one utterly convicted of Christ’s commands and represented as pure gold.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [G684: the utter destruction of vessels]
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

What a startling and astonishing revelation it is when we see that we are that man of perdition set up for utter destruction. The drumbeat of spiritually blinding sermons, particularly currently from mainstream Christianity, is frantically pointing to the heads of the WEF or the Pope or principals of the world’s banking cartels as that man of sin, when all the while, he is that gargoyle in the mirror! The point is that God sears our hearts to guarantee our destruction so that he can reshape us in his image.

Mat 20:15  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? [with his creation of evil to re-create good?] Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 

Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. 
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens:it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith [Satan, Christ’s agent doing only what he is told as seen in Job chapters 1-3] that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. (CLV)

God hardens our hearts seven times in accordance with that number, representing the process of completion of utterly destroying the man of perdition and graphically represented by Pharaoh’s hardened conscience to the seven plagues on Egypt.

We, having likewise been chastised for our God-given seared conscience, are given faith to acknowledge our sins and, like the prodigal son, return to our Father.

Pro 24:16 for a just one falls seven times, and rises up again; but the wicked shall fall into evil.

To conclude, we will finish on a positive aspect of a hardened heart, one whose conscience is seared against the wiles of the Serpent and our righteous lusts for companionship and unity of mind and spirit in a spouse.

One of the most painful decisions a single Elect of God desirous for the passions in unity with a spouse understandably remains deeply saddened is that their flesh’s highest calling is very likely being stripped away before their eyes in a pricked consciences’ dedication to Christ. It distressingly is a matter of not looking back on the richness that the flesh offers behind the walls of Sodom, Egypt, Babylon and Old Jerusalem as we flee those cities to the Mount of the Lord.

Such unmarried male and female Elect are a wall embedded with breasts like defensive towers guarding their virginity against their incredible thirst to experience marital love. Initially, and possibly for years, the spectre and not knowing if being a eunuch for the Lord is one’s lot in life, understandably is a dreadful trial.

Son 8:9  If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver [Christ’s word]: and if she be a door [Chasing the passions of the world], we will inclose her with boards of cedar [that burn like chaff].
Son 8:10  I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

A beautiful young woman, an Elect of God, His Church, indeed, is a wall paradoxically with twelve open gates in her that never close day or night because there is no night when her breasts are only for Christ! (Isa 60:11, Rev 21:25). There isn’t any darkness when we understand spiritual Shulamite passions. However, dawning light retreats us to darkness whenever we touch the light and find it too bright for our pride since we secretly would rather retain our Queen Vashti-like seared will wounding both Christ and our earthly unconverted spouses’. For an Elect, we knowingly are making “a covenant with death” (Isa 28:18) physically and particularly spiritually.

Being a eunuch, a virgin for the Kingdom’s sake, is one of the most arduous trials men and women have to endure in the flesh. Spiritually, the Body of Christ are eunuchs born from their Babylonian mother’s womb, virgins for the Kingdom within.

Mat 19:12  For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

When we think more deeply about it, there are all sorts of ways dear little souls of marital maturity are made eunuchs that are not directly a physical emasculation. Modern society places many psychological emasculations on men and women, soundly searing all hope of advancing in many areas of their lives and not just in marriage.

1Co 7:29  But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
1Co 7:30  And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; 
1Co 7:31  And they that use this world, as not abusing [over using lawful aspects of the flesh]  it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
1Co 7:32  But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
1Co 7:33  But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife [or husband]. 
1Co 7:34  There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
1Co 7:35  And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.

A most outstanding truth is that the Smith blowing on the coals in which the Elect of God serenely dwells have their seared hearts utterly burnt up as a sweet virgin sacrifice to our Lord. 

Lord willing, may we not become distracted by any lusts, particularly by way of a seared conscience defiantly pursuing our will to satiate even our righteous lust.

The Book of Romans, Part 5 – Hypocrisy Among Us

[Study Aired July 11, 2023]

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 
Romans 2:2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 
Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 
Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 
Romans 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 
Romans 2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 
Romans 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 
Romans 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 
Romans 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

Romans chapter one has shown us that we are to always look within first to understand our status as believers. Paul discussed how the scriptures are to be understood so that we are without excuse. He told us that the wrath of God will be against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

Romans 1:18-20 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

Paul used the example of homosexuality to show us a spiritual truth of sin within us, the body of Christ. We must recognize the sin within and its purpose. Its purpose is to bring the wrath of God upon us to change us into the new man and destroy the old man through judgment.

1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 

In this passage from Romans chapter two, Paul addresses the issue of judgment and hypocrisy among believers. He emphasizes that no one has the right to pass judgment on others because we ourselves are guilty of the same sins. Paul reminds us that it is ultimately God who will judge everyone according to their actions and that His judgment is based on truth.

Paul questions those who think they can escape God’s judgment while condemning others for the very same things they themselves do. He challenges their arrogance and ignorance of God’s goodness, which is meant to lead people to repentance. He highlights that those who harden their hearts and refuse to repent are storing up wrath for themselves, which will be revealed on the day of judgment.

Paul asserts that God will render to every person according to their deeds. Those who patiently and persistently pursue righteousness will receive eternal life. On the other hand, those who are contentious, disobedient to the truth, and follow unrighteousness will experience indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish. Paul emphasizes that this applies to both Jews and Gentiles, as there is no partiality with God.

Overall, the passage serves as a reminder to us to exercise humility and refrain from passing judgment on others before we examine ourselves first. It underscores the importance of repentance and aligning our actions with the truth. The passage also emphasizes the impartiality of God’s judgment, showing that both Jews and Gentiles will give and account for their deeds.

Romans 14:11-12 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

There is hypocrisy among us. We must be careful to not only be hearers of the word but to be doers of the word. We all have taken the verses condemning homosexuality and applied it to others as an abomination not realizing our hypocrisy of committing these sins within by believing the lies of Babylon.

Proverbs 26:24-26 Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

Matthew 23:23-28 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 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. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 

James 1:19-24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Notice the wrath of man cannot work the righteousness of God. Only God’s wrath can work righteousness. Paul is warning us to judge properly. If we were to only use these verses to build the doctrine of judgment, we would believe we cannot judge at all. 

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 
Romans 2:2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 
Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

We must keep in mind the sum of God’s to build any doctrine.

Psalm 119:160 (ESV) The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

Paul goes on to explain the purpose of the wrath upon us.

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

Wrath upon us is the goodness of God which produces repentance. This is one of Christ’s first warnings.

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Paul continues his warning.

Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 
Romans 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

These verses speak about the consequences of a hardened and unrepentant heart and the accumulation of wrath for the day of judgment.

They highlight that when we possess a hardened and unrepentant heart, we are storing up wrath for ourselves. This means that our persistent rejection of God’s truth and refusal to repent leads to judgment and punishment. The “day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” refers to the day when God will execute His righteous judgment upon all men.

This serves as a warning, emphasizing the importance of having a soft and repentant heart before God. It underscores the idea that our choices and actions have consequences, and God’s righteous judgment will ultimately be revealed.

Proverbs 28:14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Luke 12:47-48 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

These verses emphasize the account we give before God and the consequences of a hardened heart and unrepentant lifestyle. They highlight the seriousness of our actions and the need for genuine repentance and obedience before God’s righteous judgment.

The following verses contrast the outcomes for those that seek to do good and seek glory, honor, and immortality, versus those who are contentious and disobedient, pursuing unrighteousness.

Romans 2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 
Romans 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 
Romans 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 
Romans 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

Romans 2:7 highlights the path to eternal life for those who patiently continue in doing good. This verse emphasizes the importance of perseverance and consistent adherence to following the law of Christ. It states that those who seek glory, honor, and immortality by persisting in well-doing, that is by continuing in his word, will ultimately attain eternal life.

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

On the other hand, Romans 2:8 describes the consequences for those who are contentious and disobedient, who reject the truth and instead follow unrighteousness. They will face indignation and wrath, implying that they will experience judgment and punishment for their disobedience.

Romans 2:9 further emphasizes the consequences of evil deeds, stating that tribulation and anguish will come upon every soul that does evil, regardless of whether they are Jews or Gentiles. This verse underscores the universal nature of God’s judgment and highlights that actions and choices have ramifications for all individuals, irrespective of their background.

In Romans 2:10, the passage emphasizes that glory, honor, and peace will be given to every person who works good, again stressing the importance of righteous actions and conduct.

Romans 2:11 concludes the passage by emphasizing that God does not show partiality. This verse underscores the idea that God’s judgment is just and equitable, regardless of a person’s background. It reinforces the idea that all individuals will give an account for their actions.

Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

1 Peter 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.

In summary: in Romans 2:1-11, Paul addresses the issue of hypocrisy and judgment among us. He warns us against passing judgment on others while committing the same sins. Paul emphasizes that God’s judgment is based on truth and will be rendered to every person according to their deeds. He highlights the consequences of a hardened and impenitent heart, which stores up wrath for the day of judgment. However, those who patiently continue in well-doing and seek glory, honor, and immortality will receive eternal life. Paul emphasizes that God shows no partiality and that both Jews and Gentiles will face the consequences of their actions.

These verses underscore the importance of self-examination and humility, reminding us to focus on our own actions and attitudes before passing judgment on others. They highlight the universal nature of God’s judgment, the consequences of unrighteousness and disobedience, and the blessings that come from seeking and doing good. The supporting verses further emphasize the principle of reaping what we sow, and God’s impartial judgment based on our individual actions.

Overall, this passage serves as a reminder for us to walk in righteousness, exhibit patience, and avoid hypocrisy and judgmental attitudes. It emphasizes the need for repentance, obedience to the truth, and the pursuit of good works, while highlighting the consequences of unrighteousness and the impartiality of God’s judgment.

Here are the verses for our next study.

Romans 2:12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 
Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 
Romans 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 
Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 
Romans 2:17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, 
Romans 2:18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; 
Romans 2:19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 
Romans 2:20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. 
Romans 2:21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 
Romans 2:22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Romans 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? 
Romans 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. 
Romans 2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Romans 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 
Romans 2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 
Romans 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. 

[Study Aired June 26, 2022]

Jer 44:1  The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,
Jer 44:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,
Jer 44:3  Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers.
Jer 44:4  Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending
them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
Jer 44:5  But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.
Jer 44:6  Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.
Jer 44:7  Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;
Jer 44:8  In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
Jer 44:9  Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Jer 44:10  They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.
Jer 44:11  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.
Jer 44:12  And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.
Jer 44:13  For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:
Jer 44:14  So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.

In this 44^th chapter of Jeremiah we have another commandment from the Lord to Jeremiah instructing Jeremiah to point out Judah’s sins and to warn them of the Lord’s impending judgments upon those sins. However, the sins of these Jews are being committed immediately after witnessing the punishment of Judah and Jerusalem.

Jerusalem had fallen to the Chaldeans on “the fourth month” of Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

2Ki 25:3  And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
2Ki 25:4  And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.

Gedaliah was made the governor of the land at that time, and he was assassinated in the seventh month of the same year:

2Ki 25:22  And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.

2Ki 25:25  But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
2Ki 25:26  And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.

All Judah, and even King Nebuchadnezzar, knew that Jeremiah had been prophesying for decades concerning  what would happen to the Lord’s people who wanted His name but did not want to wear the clothing He wanted them to wear, neither did they want the food He was serving them.

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

These “seven women” here typify the “seven churches of Asia” who in turn signify the completely apostatized church of Christ.

Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

These “seven churches” signify all Christianity who have the name of Christ and have endured so much persecution while serving the Lord. These seven churches are typified by the remnant Jews under Gedaliah, and then under Johanan, who had performed many commendable and good works, and yet they feared what the world would think of them and what the world would do to them if they obeyed the Lord. These remnant Jews, and the seven churches, feared men more than they feared what the Lord would do if they disobeyed Him. These Jews, in practical effect, “have lost [their] first love” and are being warned:

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.

These seven churches are called “the seven churches of Asia”, and this is what they have done to the Lord and to His apostles like Paul and John:

2Ti 1:15  This thou knowest, that all they [seven churches] which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

Paul had spent years ministering to these churches just as Jeremiah had spent so much time and energy in prophesying to the Jews who were carried away with Kings Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, and now to these Jews who were left in the land. Yet “all they which are in Asia” forsook the apostle Paul, and in doing so, they forsook the Lord Himself and went right back into the world just as these Jews before them went right back into Egypt:

Jer 44:1  The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Noph were prominent Egyptian cities of that day, and Pathros is just another word for Egypt, as these verses demonstrate:

Jer 44:15  Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

Eze 29:14  And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom.

Jer 44:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,
Jer 44:3  Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers.

The holy spirit inspires Jeremiah to point out that all these Jews “[had] seen all the evil that [the Lord] had brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah”. They could not deny that “this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells therein”. Nevertheless, because of their stubborn, self-righteous nature they cannot humble themselves to “acknowledge [their self-righteous] iniquity [and] transgressions against the Lord”:

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:14  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jer 3:15  And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah himself typifies these “pastors according to [the Lord’s] heart”, but this story typifies how we all first receive the Lord’s spokespersons:

Jer 44:4  Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
Jer 44:5  But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.

As Ezekiel puts it, the Lord answered these Jews, who are types of us, “according to the multitude of [their] idols”:

Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5  That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

When we approach the Word of God, we are coming to Christ. When we do that with a preconceived false doctrine, then we already have a made-up mind that will not be affected by the Lord’s Words, nor by those whom He sends to us to guide and persuade us concerning what His Word is telling us. When we refuse to believe the Lord through His proven leaders and speakers, we are actually living under His wrath, even if He is deceiving us by ‘answering us according to the multitude of the idols of our hearts’:

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

‘Believing on the Son’ entails believing those whom the Son has sent to lead and persuade us in His Words.

These words come straight out of the mouth of Christ Himself:

Luk 10:16  He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

What Christ tells us today about rejecting His prophets and leaders was just as true in Old Testament times:

Mar 6:11  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Luk 10:16  He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

Knowing the voice of the True Shepherd is a matter of spiritual life and spiritual death:

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

When we listen to the voice of a stranger, and we don’t even recognize the voice of Christ, we are living under His wrath:

Jer 44:6  Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.
Jer 44:7  Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;

Just casually reading about how we see what the Lord has done to others, it does not seem possible that we could forget so quickly and cut ourselves off from Him and His people so soon after having witnessed what He did to our own people and His people after just a few months. However, that is what is written in the books of these Jews and in the books of all those who do the exact same things today.

Jer 44:8  In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

Offering incense typifies and signifies our prayers:

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Rev 8:3  And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4  And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

When the Lord takes from us that which we had, then everything we think we are doing to serve Him, and even our prayers, become an abomination to Him:

Pro 15:8  The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

Pro 28:9  He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

Luk 8:18  Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

If we have lost our ability to hear and discern the Lord’s voice, we have “cut [our]selves off” from Him, and He is now asking:

Jer 44:9  Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

It is a rhetorical question because the Lord Himself caused them to forget that just yesterday they were proclaiming their desire to please Him and obey Him, and just yesterday they saw what He had done to those who had forgotten His words and His commandments, and now they are doing the exact same thing and are turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to His words.

In our next study, we will see that these men and their wives in Judah and Jerusalem and even these remnant Jews and their wives, who had coalesced around Gedaliah, were “burning incense to… pouring out drink offerings unto… and making cakes to worship… the queen of heaven”.

Jer 44:17  But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

Jer 44:19  And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

This is what consistently afflicted the Lord’s people throughout their entire history until this very day. This is what has caused more people to leave the fellowship of the body of Christ in this generation, more that any of the other false doctrine of the enemy. What these words translate into is the observance of days, months, times, and years… the traditions of men”, against which we have been warned, but which warning from the Lord in His Word means less to most men and women than the fear of what this world, their families and friends and society as a whole will think  of them. We will cover this in more detail in next week’s study of the remainder of this 44^th chapter of Jeremiah.

Jer 44:10  They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.
Jer 44:11  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.

We do not just casually ignore the Lord’s words and get by with doing so. When the Lord warns us with this question:

Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

What are these “weak and beggarly elements whereunto the whole world desires again to be in bondage”?

Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years [praying to, pouring out drink offerings to, and baking cakes to observe days, months, times, and years]
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Gal 4:12  Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

Paul tells us, “Be as I am… as I follow Christ.” Christ did not even keep the weekly sabbath and not the holy days of His time. It is until this very day that this is the trigger which will make most of those who come to Christ decide that the way is just too taxing, and they will forsake Him to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and pour out drink offerings and bake cakes to her, telling ourselves all the while that we are doing so to the Lord and not to the queen of heaven.

The Lord will have none of it when we are determined to go back into this world.

Jer 44:12  And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine:  they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

This is the same judgment pronounced upon their fathers who were forced to wander in the wilderness for forty years until that generation, except for Caleb and Joshua, died there in the wilderness. It is in that sense, that these remnant Jews signify those who “find no place of repentance”. It is in the sense that we are told “they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest… as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Jer 44:13  For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:

“As I have punished Jerusalem” refers to what the Lord had done just three months ago, when others of their own people and their own family were punished for refusing to listen to the Lord’s words from His prophets. Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in the fourth month of the 11^th year of Zedekiah. All these events involving the remnant that was left in the land, including the assassination of Gedaliah, happened in the seventh month of that same year:

Jer 39:2  And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.

Jer 41:1  Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.
Jer 41:2  Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

Gedaliah’s government lasted just three short months before it was terminated by one of the very people who had not gone to Babylon. Such is the fate of those who turn their backs on the Lord’s proven and faithful leaders like the prophet Jeremiah.

Eating with the Lord Himself, as the seventy elders of Israel did in the mount with Moses and Aaron, and living in the promised land, as these remnant Jews have lived, typifies having been “once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and [being] made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and having tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come”, and yet they fall away.

Exo 24:9  Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
Exo 24:10  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
Exo 24:11  And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

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

This remnant saw what the Lord had done to Judah and Jerusalem. They were right there all those years Jeremiah had been prophesying of the Lord’s impending judgments upon them if they continued rebuffing His judgments upon them. King Solomon had warned the Lord’s people many years earlier:

Pro 29:1  He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Having accepted the Truth that “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” I used to think and teach that the word ‘impossible’ in Hebrews 6:4, simply meant that it was impossible for men. However, this is not ‘men’ speaking. This is the Lord himself speaking to us and telling us that it is impossible to renew to repentance those who have been so very blessed and are yet given to turn their backs on all those blessings.

Verse 18 of this same chapter reveals that this Greek word is being used to inform us of the Lord’s perspective. Those words are not from man’s perspective:

Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible [G102: ‘adunatos’] for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

This is the definition of the Greek word G102, ‘adunatos’, translated as ‘impossible’:

G102
ἀδύνατος
adunatos
ad-oo’-nat-os
From G1 (as a negative particle) and G1415; unable, that is, weak (literally or figuratively); passively impossible: – could not do, impossible, impotent, not possible, weak.
Total KJV occurrences: 10

This Greek word appears ten times in the New Testament, and it is most often translated as ‘impossible”:

G102
ἀδύνατος
adunatos
Total KJV Occurrences: 10
impossible, 6
Luk_18:26-27 (3), Heb_6:4, Heb_6:18, Heb_11:6
could, 1
Rom_8:3
impotent, 1
Act_14:8
possible, 1
Heb_10:4
weak, 1
Rom_15:1

The fact that this Greek word ‘adunatos’ is listed as ‘possible’ in Hebrews 10:4 demonstrates that computers cannot think, because the fact is that it is not translated as ‘possible’ at all. Rather, it is translated as “not possible” in:

Heb 10:4  For it is not possible [G102: ‘adunatos’] that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

These Jews had witnessed the veracity and accuracy of the words of the Lord from the mouth of His prophet, Jeremiah. They had heard and witnessed the fates of all of King Josiah’s sons, King Jehoahaz, King Jehoiakim, Jehoiakim’s son, King Jechoniah, and King Jehoiakim’s brother, Zedekiah. They had witnessed how the false prophet, Hananiah, had died just three months after Jeremiah has prophesied that he would die that same year, and still they refused to be obedient to the Lord’s words forbidding them from returning to Egypt instead of submitting to the princes of the king of Babylon, and the Lord by the word of Jeremiah had commanded them to do.

It is in that sense that these remnant Jews signify those of whom the Lord tells us they will “be cut off and that without remedy”, and that “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance”.

Jer 44:14  So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.

They “have a desire to return there” in the same sense that the “seven women” have a desire to wear the Lord’s name, but they refuse to wear His garments or eat the food He supplies.

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.

The words “but such as shall escape” refer to those who, like Jeremiah and Baruch, and like Caleb and Joshua, were sent by the Lord to witness against the disobedience of those who find no place for repentance.

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.

I’d like to end every study on a positive note because everything is indeed ‘yea’ in Christ:

2Co 1:18  But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
2Co 1:19  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.

Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

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Prophecy of Isaiah – Isa 63:15-19 Why Have You Made us to Err From Your Ways?

[Study Aired August 9, 2020]

Isa 63:15  Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
Isa 63:16  Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
Isa 63:18  The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.
Isa 63:19  We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.

In our last study of verses 6-14 of this chapter, Isaiah is led by the Lord to remind us of God’s great mercies towards us as His people:

Isa 63:7  I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
Isa 63:8  For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
Isa 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

At the same time, he is inspired to remind us that we have indeed rebelled against the Lord:

Isa 63:10  But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

A mere one verse reminds us of our desire to return to Egypt, as a sow to her wallow in the mire and as a dog to his vomit. In that one verse He tells us that when He hardens our hearts and makes us to err, He becomes our enemy. It is all His work after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).

Then the Lord goes right back to reminding us of His great mercies toward us and of all the great works He performs on our behalf and how He always brings us “up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock”. He reminds us of all He has done for us by having us remember what He has done within us and in our midst, and He even asks “Where is He that brought them up out of the sea… that led them by the right hand of Moses… that divided the Red Sea” (Psa 136:13), a type of resurrection from the dead.

Isa 63:11  Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the [Red] sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
Isa 63:12  That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?

The Lord concludes with these words concerning Himself:

Isa 63:13  That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
Isa 63:14  As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.

Those words are a short summary of how the Lord is working with all of mankind. We begin our walk with the Lord as “carnal… babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4). As babies He literally takes us by the hand, and with so much patience, He leads us into maturity. However, maturity takes many long years, and we are one and all prodigal sons along that path and during that journey. It is the Lord who gives us “an experience of evil” to humble us, and then He delivers us from our own humiliation which He has caused us to experience because of the corruptible earthy composition with which He has at first made us to be, and through which He makes us to err from His ways and hardens our hearts from His fear.

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

The life of every man is a work of the Lord, “Yes, even the wicked for the day of evil” within each of us. It is all a work of His love and His patient mercy towards all His creatures.

That was the message of our last study, and our study today continues with that same theme of what the Lord is doing to “drag” us to Himself.

Isaiah is led to speak for us all when He asks the Lord:

Isa 63:15  Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?

When Isaiah pleads for us “…where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?” he is expressing our own sense of being forsaken and forgotten by the Lord while He puts us through our own ‘experience of evil’ to humble us. The book of Job, according to the Jewish scholars, and it is agreed by most scholars, was written before Moses existed. Therefore, it would have been familiar to both kings David and his son Solomon, who tells us that it is the Lord who has given us “an experience of evil” (Ecc 1:13). So when Isaiah asks, “Where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?”… The Lord does indeed restrain His strength and His mercy toward us while He is causing us to rebel against Himself. In fact, He actually becomes our enemy, while He is in the process of dragging us to Himself. We will not just naturally seek Him, and we certainly do not just naturally appreciate the pain which our sins bring upon us. It requires ‘suffering for a season’ to bring us to ourselves.

Luk 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:19  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

The story of Job is also our story. “Suffering for a while” is what is essential to bring us to see the self-righteous second beast we all are in our own time (Rev 13:11). In time we come to know the Lord face to face, and at that point we are all forced to face our own “vile” self-righteousness and admit that in our self-righteousness we have been found guilty of “contending with… reproving… disannulling His judgment, and condemning” God Himself, all for the purpose of maintaining our own supposed integrity and to make ourselves righteous.

This is who we are:

Job 27:5  God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 27:6  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

If we are the Lord’s faithful elect, this is how He is working with us in “this present time” (Rom 8:18):

Job 40:1  Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2  Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

When the Lord finally does show us just how vile and self-righteous we are and when He gives us “place of repentance”, then He again comforts us and rewards us for what “His hand [and] His workmanship” have accomplished within us:

Isa 64:8  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

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.

So, Isaiah reminds us who we are as the Lord’s accepted anointed who are given “place of repentance [in] this present time” (Rom 8:18).

Isa 63:16  Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.

Both Abraham and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, are long dead, and “the dead know not anything”:

Ecc 9:4  For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Ecc 9:5  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecc 9:6  Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

The great men of God of old who have died in faith did not receive the promises and are manifestly incapable of helping themselves, much less you and me. Abraham and Israel are both dead, but Christ is not dead and is “the firstfruits of them that slept” and is seated ‘at His Father’s right hand ruling in the kingdoms of men’ at this very moment.

Mar 12:36  For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

The Lord wants us to know that He has not lost control over His creatures and that, quite to the contrary, “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men”, and the kings of the earth and the rulers and the people are all “do[ing] whatsoever [His] hand and [His] counsel determined before to be done” (Act 4:23-28).

Here is what the scriptures teach on this subject:

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Mat 28:16  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
Mat 28:17  And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Act 4:23  And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
Act 4:24  And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
Act 4:25  Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises [Enoch in verse 5: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, verses 8-9], but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

In the very next chapter, Isaiah reminds the Lord that He is indeed our Father:

Isa 64:5  Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isa 64:7  And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
Isa 64:8  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Isa 64:9  Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.

Christ Himself acknowledged that the Jews were indeed the physical descendants of Abraham:

Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

However, a mere two verses later, He denies that the Jews are Abraham’s spiritual children:

Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Then the prophet Isaiah puts into very plain words a Truth which has been made clear throughout scripture and from the beginning, but is neither seen nor heard by our rebellious, carnal-minded “first man, Adam”. Mankind has been denying this truth from “the first man Adam” until today:

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

The commentaries physically see with their eyes what is being said in this verse, but they cannot perceive what the Lord is revealing concerning His sovereign hand in the affairs of mankind.

Here typically is what John Gill’s Commentary is saying about this verse of scripture. This commentary typifies all the rest of the Babylonian commentaries who simply cannot accept the Truth of all scripture which teaches clearly:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

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

Notice the double tongue within us all which admits to what these words say while at the same time denying that it really is God who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11):

“O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear?…. These are the words, not of wicked men among the Jews, charging all their errors, hardness of heart, and wickedness they were guilty of, upon the Lord, as if he was the author and occasion of them, and led them into them; but of the truly godly, lamenting and confessing their wandering from the ways, commands, and ordinances of God, the hardness of their hearts; their want of devotion and affection for God; and their neglect of his worship; not blaming him for these things, or complaining of him as having done anything amiss or wrong; but expostulating with him, and wondering at it, that he, who was their loving and tender Father, that he should suffer them to err from his ways, and to wander from his worship, by withholding his grace and withdrawing his presence from them; by leaving them to the corruptions and hardness of their hearts; by chastising them sorely, and suffering the enemy to afflict them in such a severe manner as laid them under temptation to desert the worship of God, and cast off the fear of him. The Jews (f) interpret this of their being hardened from the fear of God, and made to err from his ways by seeing the prosperity of the wicked, and their own long captivity, troubles, and distresses:” (End Quote – John Gill’s Commentary)

John Gill, who wrote one of the better commentaries, admits, “These are the words, not of wicked men among the Jews, charging all their errors, hardness of heart, and wickedness they were guilty of, upon the Lord, as if he was the author and occasion of them, and led them into them; but of the truly godly…” (End Quote). There you have it! Mr. Gill admits that the words, “O Lord, why have you made us to err from your ways, and hardened our heart from you fear?… are the words, not of wicked men among the Jews, charging all their errors, hardness of heart, and wickedness they were guilty of, upon the Lord, as if he was the author and occasion of them, and led them into them; but of the truly godly…”

Then in the very same breath and with the same pen and tongue, he goes on to place the responsibility for this ‘hardened heart’ and being ‘made to err from [the Lord’s] ways’ upon the “hardness of their heart” and letting us know that “The Jews(f) interpret this of their being hardened from the fear of God, and made to err from His ways by seeing the prosperity of the wicked, and their own long captivity, troubles, and distresses:” (End Quote) It is not adding to Mr. Gill’s words at all to quote what he had just said, “Not blaming him [the Lord] for these things, or complaining of him as having done anything amiss or wrong.” In other words, Mr. Gill, the Jews, and all of us when we first come to the Lord, place all the responsibility for our sins upon our own shoulders and not on the shoulders of our Creator who first made us of “flesh and blood… corruption” (1Co 15:50).

Notice how Mr. Gill changes the word “made” to the word “suffer” while reasoning around what the Lord just told him:

“…but expostulating with him, and wondering at it, that he, who was their loving and tender Father, that he should suffer them to err from his ways,” (End Quote)

Mr. Gill is typical of each of us before the Lord opens our eyes and ears to His words. We all, by nature, want to think that obedience and disobedience is our decision to make, and that God has nothing to do with our so-called ‘free will’. At the same time we self-righteously declare our faith in a God who is sovereign. It is a double-minded, double-tongued doctrine to which we all just naturally ascribe as “carnal babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4). But it cannot be both ways. Either the Lord makes us to err from His ways and He hardens our hearts from His fear, or we do all that. Either He is responsible for all that we do, good and evil, or we are. Who will we believe? Will we believe “that which is written”- ‘You Lord, made us to err from your ways… (Isa 63:17), you made the wicked for the day of evil… (Pro 16:4), [and] You create evil (Isa 45:7)’, or will we believe Mr. Gill and all the Christian scholars and Jewish scribes, and take the responsibility for all this evil in our lives and in this world upon our own shoulders and contend with the Lord and contend with ‘that which is written’ (1Co 4:6)? Whatever we decide on this question, it certainly will not be a decision we will be making free from the influence of our own Creator, because this is what the scriptures teach, and this is the unfailing Truth:

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

When the Lord does give us “place of repentance”, then we will have “Return[ed]… the tribes of [His] inheritance… for [our] sakes”.

Isa 63:18  The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.

Our “possession” of the kingdom of God in “this present time” is but “a vapor that appears for a moment and then vanishes away”, and we hold this “possession… [in] this present time” only as “the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of he purchased possession…” Indeed, “our adversaries have trodden down your sanctuary”, as we are plainly told they are given to do:

Rev 11:1  And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

“The holy city” which is “given unto the Gentiles [to] tread under foot” is the same city “where also our Lord was crucified” and that is where we, with Him “lie dead in [its] street”:

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

If we fail to see that the Lord’s ‘great city’ is within us, then we will place the blame for His crucifixion on the Jews, or on evil sinners, or anyone but ourselves, and the words of Revelation 11 will have no edifying effect upon us. The truth is that all the conflicts found throughout scripture, regardless of the numbers involved, are really nothing more or less that the pre-ordained conflict which the Lord is working within us between “the first man Adam [and] the last Adam”:

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
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.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Therefore whenever we read of plural pronouns and plural nouns, we will glean nothing from what is being said if we do not apply all those plural nouns and pronouns within ourselves singularly, and apply what is being said in every case to the outward first man Adam, which is each of us, and the inward last Adam, who is Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col 1:27). That is the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but is now made manifest to His saints:

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which [riches of the glory of this mystery] is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Let’s apply this principle to our last verse in this 63^rd chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 63:19  We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.

For this verse to have any personal application for me, I must read it like this… ‘Christ in me is your dwelling place. You never ruled over my old man because he is never called ‘Christ in you’. The Lord, from Genesis 1:1 never once, for one moment ever intended that corruptible flesh and blood inherit the kingdom of God.

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
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.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

If flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and if indeed we were “called in Christ before the world began”, then flesh and blood was never intended to inherit the kingdom of God:

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Our “first man, Adam” was “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin [and was] made to be taken and destroyed.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

If indeed the Lord is our Father in this present time, then we are His children and the sheep of His pasture, and we know His voice and we will flee for the voice of a stranger:

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

That is our study for today, and I hope it is clearer than ever that whether we err from the Lord’s ways or we fear to do so, both are His decision, and that decision was made “before the world began” (2Ti 1:9, Tit 1:2).

Here are the verses for our next study:

Isa 64:1  Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
Isa 64:2  As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
Isa 64:3  When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
Isa 64:4  For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
Isa 64:5  Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

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Eph 5:25 – Husbands Love Your Wives

[Study Aired June 14, 2020]

Our study today is being given because it has been requested by more than one person. Today’s subject will be addressed to us men as husbands, and tomorrow night’s study will be addressed to all of our wives. We are admonished to ‘love our wives’ because we just naturally fail to do so, as we are told in:

Mal 2:11  Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
Mal 2:12  The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.
Mal 2:13  And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Mal 2:14  Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
Mal 2:15  And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
Mal 2:16  For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
Mal 2:17  Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

It is foolish to even suggest that one sex is just naturally more righteous than the other when the scriptures teach clearly that “they… that… compare themselves among themselves are not wise [and that] all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”:

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

2Co 10:12  For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

Lord willing, we will never make the mistake of the feminists of this world who actually believe that women are just naturally superior to men. Women certainly are different from men, but men do not have a corner on sin, rebellion, or disobedience to the words of the Lord. Indeed “…all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.

One other point that must be made before we begin this study is that it is so critical that a couple “be of the same mind” – that mind being “the mind of Christ”, that marriage outside of the mind of Christ is forbidden if you are a single believer.

1Co 7:39  The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

Those with unbelieving spouses are given specific instructions on how to deal with that situation, but our talk today is addressed to husbands who are believers, with the understanding that a wife who has no use for scripture is an issue for another study.

Let’s begin our study by analyzing these first two verses:

Mal 2:11  Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
Mal 2:12  The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.

Of course, these words apply to us all, but today we are going to concentrate on their application to us as husbands of our physical wives whose physical treatment given to them by us as physical husbands actually reflects our spiritual treatment of Christ.

Ephesians 5 is called ‘the marriage chapter’, and most of Ephesians 5 is directed to us as husbands because we as husbands ought to be leaders and the one in the marriage to set the proper example  for our wives to follow:

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Just for the record, no man has proper Godly love for his own wife unless he is being faithful to these words:

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God [including and especially our physical wives], 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 [including Eph 5:28] are not grievous.

We will return to these verses of Ephesians 5, but here in Malachi 2 we are told that Judah, who is married to the Lord, stands accused of the “abomination… of… having married the daughter of a strange god.”

The Lord tells us He simply will not tolerate such abominable behavior and warns us that He will “cut off the man that does this. Inwardly we have all perpetrated this abomination by being joined to the great whore for so many years of our lives.

1Co 6:15  Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
1Co 6:16  What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

This study concerns another application of this indictment which is both inward and outward. As we continue to analyze the message in these verses of Malachi, we will be given some essential instructions for keeping our physical marriages intact and free from any abominable actions against our physical wives. In so doing we will be given the blessings of both the physical and the spiritual realms. We cannot be the spiritual bride of Christ while we are being unfaithful to our physical wives.

Christ made it abundantly clear that marital fidelity involves the spirit of our minds much more than just our physical actions. The two are inseparable because we are clearly told:

Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

This verse applies to our outward physical marriages as much as it applies within concerning our sins against Christ and His Father, and these verses here in Malachi will make that very clear:

Mal 2:13  And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.

The Lord is not accusing Judah of physical adultery here any more than Christ accused the scribes and Pharisees of physical adultery when they accused before Him the woman caught in physical adultery.

Joh 8:5  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
Joh 8:6  This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
Joh 8:7  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Joh 8:8  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
Joh 8:9  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
Joh 8:9  And Jesus bending back up, and having seen no one but the woman, He said to her, Woman, where are those, the accusers of you? Did not one give judgment against you?
Joh 8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

I am not giving this admonition today because anyone in our fellowship is physically cheating on his wife. I am hoping, however, that before this study is over, we husbands, myself included, will “be convicted by [our] own conscience” to be aware of how we have mistreated the ‘wife of [our] youth’.  We all know that “through Jesus Christ” we can do much better than what we have done in the past.

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

Now let’s continue here in Malachi 2, and I will repeat verse 13 to give verse 14 context:

Mal 2:13  And this have ye done again [dealt treacherously with our wives], covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Mal 2:14  Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

Physical adultery is not the only way to deal treacherously with our wives. A spirit of pride can drive the beast, which we are, to very coldly ignore the wife of our youth instead of humbling ourselves and seeking to talk about this evil spirit bound up in both sexes The Lord has sent that evil spirit to come between us and our wives to show us how carnal we husbands still are.

Speaking from personal, childish, carnal-babe-in-Christ experience, I would at one time have divorced my own faithful “wife of my youth” before I would have admitted that I had anything to do with our problems. She was at fault, and I was going to retain my integrity with my dying breath. I was Job personified, and at that time I had no clue why the Lord was treating a man who “loved God and eschewed evil” in the manner he was treating Job. I was, without realizing it, in such deep dark ignorance of my own self-righteousness that my self-righteousness reigned supreme. Had the Lord not been merciful and given my dear wife the humility to apologize for her little sins, which were nothing compared to my own self-righteousness, our marriage would not have survived.

Looking back over the first two years of our marriage it is a miracle the Lord kept us together. What strikes me looking back is how our worst conflicts as a couple were over the smallest matters. She would make a little insignificant decision without seeking my counsel, fail to be perfectly punctual, spend a little bit more on groceries than I thought prudent, fail to do exactly what I had asked… etc. etc.

Add to that dictatorial spirit, a totally unprovoked jealous spirit given me by the Lord, stemming from my own broken home as a 8-year-old third grader, and I must confess that I was indeed a treacherous husband whose works brought nothing to the table but condemnation and the certain need for the seven plagues of the wrath of God to wake me up from among the spiritually dead.

Now I want to share a personal experience which I pray will be used of the Lord to give you husbands some much-needed humility and wisdom. The one really memorable part of our various conflicts was the ‘making up’ when the Lord mercifully broke the ice and brought us back together. All married couples know exactly what I mean by that statement. Those memorable events in my case must be credited to my poor abused wife, because my own pride simply could not at that time be humbled. Any attempt at reconciliation from my wife was ignored day and night. I remember one time when not one word was exchanged between the two of us for three days. Such a spirit is in direct rebellion to this verse of scripture:

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

According to the word of God, a couple especially should never let the sun go down upon their wrath with each other. ‘Making up’ is not only extremely enjoyable, it is also pleasing to the Lord for this reason:

1Co 7:1  Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
1Co 7:2  Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
1Co 7:3  Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
1Co 7:4  The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
1Co 7:5  Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

These words were inspired by the holy spirit. These things happened to the church in Corinth as types of us, and they are 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.

We are not given the exact “things written unto [the apostle Paul]”, but we are given his ideal answer, as well as his practical answer, both of which make clear that “the things [they] wrote [to Paul] concerned sexual relations within the marriage union.

Paul had been gifted to remain celibate, and he makes that clear with these words… “It is good for a man not to touch a woman… [and] …For I would that all men were even as I myself…” However, Paul knew that the gift he had been given was not given to the average member of the Lord’s body. Therefore, he acknowledges… “But every man has his proper gift of God, one after this manner and another after that”. When the apostle Paul says “every man has his proper gift… he was well aware that most men and most women were never intended of their Maker to remain celibate. Now look at one of the reasons he gives for marriage within the body of Christ:

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

This verse is in complete accord with verse 5:

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

Many marriages have been destroyed by Satan tempting a couple for their “incontinency”. The intervening verses provide the solution:

1Co 7:3  Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
1Co 7:4  The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

If we husbands fail to acknowledge the Truth of those words, and we withhold ourselves from our wives sexually, we are inviting certain disaster, and the adversary, Satan, is having us for his lunch:

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

This is how the word ‘belly’ is used in the New Testament:

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

The adversary thrives on divisions. He “goes… upon [his] belly”, meaning he does what pleases him, and what pleases him most is being an adversary to every word of God. When we refuse to talk it out with our wives, we are “going upon [our] belly”, just as Peter who insisted that Christ did not need to die on the cross. Christ had just told Peter how blessed he was to be learning from the holy spirit:

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

Just like Peter we, too, can go so quickly from being taught of the holy spirit to being “of [our] father the devil” (Joh 8:44) and begin treating our wives with no respect at all. These are the Lord’s very next recorded words to this same ‘Simon Barjona’:

Mat 16:21  From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Mat 16:22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Mat 16:23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

‘Savoring the things that be of men” is another way of telling us that we are ‘going upon our belly and eating the cursed dust’ of the serpent’s lunch. In three short verses, Peter went from acknowledging Christ as the Son of God, to attempting to call the shots and attempting to be the head of the man he had just acknowledged as “the Christ the Son of the living God”. Peter could not get past the words ‘be killed’. In effect He could not hear the words, “…and be raised again the third day”. The words, “…be killed” made him lose all his respect for ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’.

Yes, Peter is a physical male, but we are all spiritual females in our relationship to Christ. In spirit every one of us, male and female, are being presented as a chaste virgin to one Husband, Christ. How we treat our wives is a direct reflection of how we are treating Christ, who tells us:

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Surely we should be considering our own spouse as more than “one of the least of these my brothers”. Yet it is expedient that the Lord must command us:

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

These words are expedient because it is as natural as breathing to take our wives for granted and to disrespect the wife of our youth.

I remember fondly dating my wife and thinking at the time that I simply could never take her for granted. What a disappointment I was to myself and no doubt to her also. It was an embarrassingly short time before I was guilty of treating the wife of my youth treacherously and giving her a cold shoulder for the least infraction. Now when any of us as husbands gets upset with our wives, I want every one of you husbands to ask yourself, “Who is it that I am really upset with??” Answer that question within yourself in a manner which accords with the Word of God. With whom are we really upset when we are disappointed with our wives??

When we acknowledge that it is the Lord who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will, and that all things work together for good to them who love God and are the called according to His [own] purpose”, it becomes obvious and indisputable that it is the Lord Himself we are dealing with, even if our wife is a treacherous wife (Rom 8:28, Eph 1:11). “All things” means “all things”; the good and righteous, as well as the wicked and evil:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

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

Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

Now let’s look at the very next verse here in Amos 3:

Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

What does that mean? The holy spirit goes on to tell us what that means, and it concludes with these words:

Amo 3:13  Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,
Amo 3:14  That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
Amo 3:15  And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.

What does all of this have to do with how we as husbands are dealing treacherously with our wives? It has everything in the world to do with how we treat our wives. Notice how similar these words to the Lord’s treacherous wife are to His words to us as treacherous husbands:

Mal 2:11  Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
Mal 2:12  The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.
Mal 2:13  And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Mal 2:14  Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
Mal 2:15  And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
Mal 2:16  For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
Mal 2:17  Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

I look back on how merciless I was to the most wonderful wife in the world, and it is humiliating just to remember those days. I have been guilty of covering violence with my garments of self-righteousness, by treating others with more respect than my own wife. You will have done the same every time you disrespect your wife. Every time you uncover her nakedness before others by talking down to her, or about her, and giving her a cold shoulder in the daytime and turning your back on her in bed, you have dealt treacherously with your wife.

When the Lord does make our wives to be against us (Gen 3:20, the word ‘to’ should be ‘against’), it is for the very purpose  of demonstrating to us just how self-righteous we are and how we rob Him of His glory and disobey His words to us telling us:

Mal 2:11  Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
Mal 2:12  The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.
Mal 2:13  And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Mal 2:14  Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

It is we who are treacherous husbands who “cover the altar  of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out” to the point that the Lord doesn’t even regard our crocodile tears or our hollow words because at this point He has sent to us the spirit of stubbornness and rebellion against the idea of having to submit to the fact that He is working all things, including our wives being against us (Gen 3:16), after the counsel of His own will, and that He has done so for the good of those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose. We put all our wife’s shortcomings upon her, and we leave God’s hand completely out of our thinking, and He will have no part of anyone denying that He makes all things for Himself, yes, even our own wickedness and the fact that it is He who has made our wives to be against us. He will have no part in us denying that it is He who “creates evil” and makes us and our wives to err from His ways and hardens our hearts from His fear:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

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

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

When we say we believe those words and still speak evil of and mistreat our wives, we are covering the altar of God with crocodile tears and fooling no one but ourselves. If we really believe that God Himself has made us to err from His ways and has hardened our hearts from His fear, then we will not act as if it is up to us or to our wives to change themselves.

It’s not the husband’s job to force his wife to change. We are all “His workmanship”, male or female, husband or wife (Ep 2:10). Christ sees what we will be and says “…yet she is [His] companion, and the wife of [His] Covenant”. Like our Lord we should seek to beautify our bride, always speak well of her and never uncover her nakedness before others.

Pro 10:12  Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

Pro 17:9  He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.

Of all the people in the world to whom those two verses of scripture should apply, our wives should be first and foremost. Shame on us when we ever speak evil of our own flesh, our own wives.

The New Testament reaffirms this principle. Christ calls His wife “a glorious church”:

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

That is how we should present our wives before others. We should never, ever talk down to or about our wives. We should always seek to cover their nakedness, as the Lord covers our sins:

Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

1Pe 4:8  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves [especially husbands towards their wives]: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Why would the Lord accuse us as husbands of shedding crocodile tears over the way we have treated the wife of our youth? It is because we can hide nothing from Him even to this extent:

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Now we can understand why King David said:

Psa 139:4  Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

What now should all of us who have wives get from knowing all this incredible knowledge? We should all repent of holding our wives responsible for their sins. Not one of us is responsible for anything in this life. We are accountable for nothing we do in this life, much less for what our spouse does in this life.

Yet the Lord can, and He will, cause every one of us to “give an accounting” for our deeds in our flesh:

Luk 16:2  And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

1Pe 4:4  Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
1Pe 4:5  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

An accountant “gives an account”, but an accountant is not accountable for the account he gives. So it is with us because “we are His workmanship” (Eph 2:10).

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

If we truly believe that we are all what we are “not of ourselves… for we are His workmanship” then we will begin to stop condemning our wives for their sins, and start asking, “What is the Lord telling me about myself?”

I had a very Godly sister tell me just this week that she was on the verge of divorcing her husband when she prayed and asked the Lord to please change her husband and give him a love of the Truth. Then she said she realized her husband was just as much a work of the hand of the Lord as she was, and that she did not need a new husband as much as her husband needed a new wife.

Those words struck me as very profound, but it was only after we had finished our conversation that I realized why those words were so powerful to me. The reason was that it was exactly my own experience. After years of attempting to make my wife into what I wanted her to be, the Lord was merciful and actually brought me to see that what my wife needed was a new husband, a new repentant me who, Lord willing, will never again be a treacherous husband.

“It was of the LORD to harden their hearts”

[Study Aired April 12, 2020]

There is nothing like human nature and not learning from history to then go on and repeat it. Our study today continues in chapter 11 of Joshua and the northern Canaanites want to have a go at Israel and Gibeon.

Jos 11:1  And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,
Jos 11:2  And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west,
Jos 11:3  And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
Jos 11:4  And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Jos 11:5  And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

I am not sure if you noticed it or not, but “even as the sand that is upon the seashore in multitude”, is biblical code for “a lot of people” .

These kings had to be out of their minds to gather themselves against the children of Israel after having “heard those things” and still going to fight against Israel and their God.

The truth is, they were indeed “out of their minds” because the Lord had given them a hardened heart that actually worked against their best interests of staying alive, and so it is to this day.

Today, the world celebrates the holiday of Easter while inserting some Christian concepts into this day of worship, yet it is not the “fault” of the world that they do what they do.

The Lord has hardened the hearts of Christians to follow the pagan traditions of those folks that have come before them while claiming to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I have no doubt there are sincere Christians who also focus mainly on the Christian traditions of this time of year, but still adhere to easter eggs and easter bunnies.

Before I go any further, know that I am not attempting to bash babes in Christ. That would be like trying to spank a baby for soiling themselves. It would make no sense, and I would be the one committing an evil in doing so.

All of these kings and priests had no choice in going to battle against Israel, just as the people today are being sacrificed for our lives.

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Heb 13:9  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that  have been occupied therein.
Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

Our hearts of been established with grace and not with anything that we have done, therefore, we can take no credit in it. However, just because we have been shown grace doesn’t mean that we should remain ignorant to what it all means for us and for them.

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

The “all things” that are for, to and through Him tells us the real story of why we all do whatever it is we are being caused to do, and that includes the story of Joshua and Israel going to battle with the northern Canaanites.

Just like the Christians today are enemies for our sakes concerning the gospel, the Canaanites were enemies for the sake of Israel, so that the land could be given to the people of God.

Think of all the building of buildings and cultivating of land that occurred before Israel came there just so that Israel could go in to possess a land flowing with milk and honey.

There is a direct correlation between these two events of Easter celebration today (or any holiday for that matter) and the northern Canaanites going to battle with Israel. Everyone is being driven by God to do their part in His plan of ultimate reconciliation.

Jos 11:6  And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.
Jos 11:7  So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.
Jos 11:8  And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephothmaim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.
Jos 11:9  And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

Given that I just said and showed that there are babes in Christ who are worshipping another Jesus, but that it is God who caused it, should we not consider them our enemies because God is working with them, too?

Of course not. They are the enemies of the cross without even knowing it, just like the northern Canaanites were enemies to Joshua and Israel even while it is the Lord that hardened their hearts to go to battle.

The truth is there is going to be death in this war the Lord has us in, and the death will either be them or us.

The Truth to understand is that the “them” is the old man in them and the “us” is the new man in us, the true bride of Christ. There are “many virgins” with some being wise and some being foolish.

Mat 25:1  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Mat 25:3  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
Mat 25:4  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Mat 25:5  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Mat 25:6  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Mat 25:7  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
Mat 25:8  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Mat 25:10  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Mat 25:13  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

I know I just read from a very famous parable. Yet, sometimes it is hard to see the Truth even when it is staring us in the face. All of the virgins slept and slumbered while the bridegroom tarried.

It was only the virgins that were awakened and had oil that were able to go on to the marriage. All the virgins were awakened from their sleep and slumber, but the difference is in who had oil to burn when the moment came.

See, the fire needs something to burn as fuel, and the physician comes only to those that need Him. Those that don’t need to prepare because they are “good to go” and are healthy won’t need to see the doctor when He is in town.

This parable teaches us that we are not to sacrifice ourselves for the foolishness of others if it means we, too, won’t be able to meet the bridegroom.

In logical practice, this means we do not join in the same excess of riot even while we know that others would think us strange for not doing so.

1Pe 4:4  Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

Or as is said in the “God’s Word” translation:

1Pe 4:3 You spent enough time in the past doing what unbelievers like to do. You were promiscuous, had sinful desires, got drunk, went to wild parties, and took part in the forbidden worship of false gods.
1Pe 4:4 Unbelievers insult you now because they are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of wild living.
1Pe 4:5 They will give an account to the one who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
1Pe 4:6 After all, the Good News was told to people like that, although they are now dead. It was told to them so that they could be judged like humans in their earthly lives and live like God in their spiritual lives.
1Pe 4:7 The end of everything is near. Therefore, practice self-control, and keep your minds clear so that you can pray.
1Pe 4:8 Above all, love each other warmly, because love covers many sins.

The oil that the five virgins had allowed them to “go out and meet” the bridegroom. This number five is a sign of grace. However, this number five is also a negative symbol of the lack of grace given to the other five virgins.

In other words, five of the virgins were sacrificed so that five virgins could become wives in marriage. Ultimately, this marriage is what is going to save everyone involved, including the virgins the Lord says He doesn’t know. Therefore, it is so important to do what the Lord says to do and not only whatever it is we think we can do to worship Him.

Mat 25:11  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

The only way for us to know the Lord is to do what He instructs us to do. One of the things He tells us to do is slaughter everything that breathes. They are a sacrifice to the Lord.

Jos 11:10  And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.
Jos 11:11  And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire.
Jos 11:12  And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded.
Jos 11:13  But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn.
Jos 11:14  And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.
Jos 11:15  As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.

For us today, the Lord doesn’t want us to compromise on things like Easter. As an example, for many of us, Easter traditions are hard to give up because we generally have pleasant memories of times we have spent with family during this celebration.

However, we know that the celebration is very much linked to worshiping pagan gods and throwing some Christian traditions in the mix.

I look at it from the practical standpoint of how it is we have gotten to this point as Christians. As an example, a long time ago Christians were threatened by the pagans that lived around them and had lived around them for a long, long time. When Christianity comes on the scene, there would have been much death and chaos as a result of pagans and Christians competing for the same resources and also for the minds and hearts of the people.

Adding in some pagan traditions with the Christian religion would have seemed like a good idea so that pagans could “get saved” because it would be very, very hard for pagans to give up their false gods.

If you doubt this, then look around you today because that is the same exact spirit we face with our Christian brothers and sisters today. Without the mind of God, you CANNOT please Him. You cannot do what He says to do. Why?

You can’t do what He says to do because He HAS HARDENED YOUR HEART, and God is NOT DIVIDED AGAINST HIMSELF! He is unified in His will.

Mar 3:24  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Mar 3:25  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Mar 3:26  And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

You might say to yourself that this is Jesus talking about Satan. He is talking about the kingdom of God, too! They were saying that what Jesus was doing was the work of Satan, but Jesus is telling them that the kingdom of God is NOT divided.

Therefore, our part in having the oil and power of God is to let the fire BURN brightly from it, “and he burnt Hazor with fire”.

Jos 11:16  So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
Jos 11:17  Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them.
Jos 11:18  Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
Jos 11:19  There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle.
Jos 11:20  For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.

“There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel”, tells us how the Lord sees the battle we have we the enemies of the gospel of the good news.

There simply will be no peace with someone that does not have the mind of Christ. They will never accept that you do not believe as they do.

There are always times when there is a perceived peace, but that is because there are seasons to all things, but there is never peace between the old and the new man.

Giants never make peace with grasshoppers.

Jos 11:21  And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.
Jos 11:22  There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.
Jos 11:23  So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

The giants in our lands are in the mountains, that is to say in type and shadow they are nearer to the heavens than those that we battle on the ground. Giants in the land can be eradicated if it be the Lord’s will, but there are always lots of battles with the inhabitants of the lands before we start to face the giants. Why is this?

Even David had to fight a lion and a bear, and do other things to “prove himself” before he was given faith and grace to go on to slaying Goliath.

With your family and loved ones, be patient when it comes to holidays, and today, Easter. Do not give in and do what they want by participating, because that would be the children ruling the house (babes in Christ), but also realize they are where they spiritually are for the benefit of the entire kingdom of God.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 38 Discussion

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Isa 8:5-10  The King ​o​f Assyia... Shall Pass Through Judah

Isa 8:5  The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,
Isa 8:6  Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
Isa 8:7  Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
Isa 8:8  And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
Isa 8:9  Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
Isa 8:10  Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

To understand the Lord's message to His creatures we must first understand the meaning of these words:

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

There is simply no way Ahaz, a type of us, can see an invisible God as more powerful than the threatening king of Assyria.

A good example of how our flesh cannot accept God's promises to protect us is this statement:

Job 12:22  He [the Lord] discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

Christ discovers the deep things, out of darkness, and "He brings out to light the shadow of death" because He is doing just that at this time only for His elect:

Isa 45:2  I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
Isa 45:3  And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Isa 45:4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: [Eph 2:2-5]
Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Which means:

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Christ's 'name' and His 'face' are His doctrines and His Words.

I am well aware that Isaiah 45:1-7 is addressed to Cyrus, the king of Persia. But that is just the outward, the letter, the earthly application of those words which actually speak to you and to me concerning what the Lord has in store for those who believe His Words in this age. He is 'going before us' to accomplish the very same things, only this time it is being done in a permanent and spiritual sense:

Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

The point is that it is Christ's own words by which He "...created the darkness, [and by which He] commands the light to shine out of darkness". But because our natural thoughts are not His thoughts, our "light [is] darkness [and] how great is that darkness"!

Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

That darkness is so great that we believe "the first man Adam", the deceived, rebellious, epitome of spiritual darkness, was in reality created in physical and spiritual perfection. We do not know that it was God's own hand which created Adam in that darkened state. It is in that darkened state, which we consider to be light, that the Word of God itself is twisted to maintain our false doctrine of a man who was created in physical and spiritual perfection because we are told:

Luk 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

And, after all, are we not also told:

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Yes, "the first man Adam is "the... very good... son of God" but that does not make him a physically and spiritually perfected Son of God. Satan himself is a son of God inasmuch as God is called "the father of spirits":

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

It is because of the false doctrine of the fall of man, which is considered to be 'the light' and the truth of scripture, that our so called 'light' has blinded our eyes so that we cannot see these clear statements of the Word of God:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked ["first man Adam"] for the day of evil.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Joh 12:40  He [God Himself] hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious ["very good"] had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

We cannot see that Pharaoh's hard heart is also a type of our own hardened heart which has been hardened and blinded by the words of Christ Himself:

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

Isaiah makes it clear that Pharaoh's hardened heart is just a type of what the Lord is doing in all of His people:

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

But all these truths are considered by the natural man to be lies and falsehoods, because at first our light is actually darkness, and we simply cannot see or understand how a just and loving God could possibly create evil or make wicked men for the day of evil. We simply cannot, as immature Christians, accept the Biblical doctrine which tells us:

Joh 12:40  He [God Himself] hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

We simply cannot see or understand how "Adam, the son of God" could possibly have had a relationship with His Father and at the same time be in total spiritual darkness. Neither can our immature "carnal... babes in Christ" minds understand that the ancient nation of Israel also had a relationship with God while being in total spiritual darkness.

Yet that is exactly what we have been shown in our studies in Isaiah. Chapter one sets the tone for this entire prophecy:

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

But wasn't Isaiah sent to Ahaz with comforting words concerning the destruction of the two kings who were seeking to destroy the house of Ahaz the son of David and the kingdom of Judah? The answer is, yes, he was, but God's physical blessings are used throughout scripture to blind us from seeing our impending judgment. It is Christ Himself who tells us:

Ecc 8:11  Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

That verse describes how we have all dealt with sin in our own lives in the past, and it also describes how King Ahaz reacted to God's blessing of mercy upon him and his rebellious kingdom. It tells us how we react to God's patience and His mercies upon us while we are in our sins. We tell a lie, and nothing happens. We steal something, and it seems we got by with it. We hate our brother, which makes us a murderer, and we seem to get along just fine (1Jo 3:15). "The waters of Shiloah... go softly..." and we rejoice when we see others who are 'reaping what they have sown'.

Isa 8:5  The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,
Isa 8:6  Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;

What Ahaz and Judah rejoiced in concerning Rezin and Remaliah's son was that they had fallen prey to the king of Assyria. Ahaz certainly was not rejoicing in what Rezin and Remaliah's son Pekah were attempting to do to him and to Judah. Isaiah 7 and the first four verses of Isaiah 8 are all concerned with how the Lord was about to judge the northern kingdom of Israel, also called 'Ephraim' after Israel's most populous tribe. Israel, which was also called Ephraim, is symbolized by "Pekah the son of Remaliah", its king, and Samaria as its capital. Pekah was allied with Rezin, the king of Syria, against Judah and Judah's king, Ahaz.

Isa 7:1  And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
Isa 7:2  And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his [Pekah's] heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.

"His heart was moved... as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind" means Ahaz and his people were 'shaking in their boots', to use a modern English idiom. But the Lord delivered Ahaz, and instead of repenting of his own apostasy and sins, he and his people gloated over the fall of Samaria to the extent that Ahaz went to Samaria to meet the Assyrian king who had destroyed his fellow Israelites.

Ahaz and we are commanded never to rejoice when the Lord chastens our enemies. These words had been scripture for many years before Ahaz came along:

Pro 24:17  Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Pro 24:18  Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Isaiah's admonition to Ahaz and the kingdom of Judah was not to rejoice in the fall of Samaria and Damascus, rather his admonition to Judah is to repent of their own sins and to obey God and place their trust in His gentle waters. But Ahaz, as a type of us, much preferred to put his trust in the rushing mighty waters of the kingdom of the Eurphrates, the king of Assyria, and he refused to trust in the invisible God of His Fathers.

Here is the story of Ahaz. Here is the story of your flesh and my flesh:

2Ch 28:1  Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:
2Ch 28:2  For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
2Ch 28:3  Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
2Ch 28:4 He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
2Ch 28:5  Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.
2Ch 28:6  For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.
2Ch 28:7  And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king.
2Ch 28:8  And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

Notice now the mercy and patience the Lord shows toward Ahaz and Judah:

2Ch 28:9  But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.
2Ch 28:10  And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God?
2Ch 28:11  Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.
2Ch 28:12  Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,
2Ch 28:13  And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.
2Ch 28:14  So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.
2Ch 28:15  And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.

This now is how Ahaz responds to this act of God's mercy toward him and his nation. This is how our flesh first responds to the mercy we are shown at this time in our "one event" (Ecc 9:2):

2Ch 28:16  At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him.
2Ch 28:17  For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.
2Ch 28:18  The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there.
2Ch 28:19  For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD.
2Ch 28:20  And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not.
2Ch 28:21  For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not.

"He made Judah naked" means that Ahaz removed all restraints in Judah, and set an example of lascivious living for the whole nation. All of God's patience and mercy is despised and taken for granted as weakness on the Lord's part. Our returning to our own vomit is the fruit of the false doctrine of substitutionary atonement. We accept His mercy as the healing of a very deadly wound, and we actually feel confirmed to continue serving the beast with whom we are convinced we cannot do battle and expect to win.

2Ch 28:22  And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz. [This is our own flesh]
2Ch 28:23  For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. [The whole world seems to be doing well, so I will just throw my lot in with the world, and avoid the shame of bearing the cross of Christ]
2Ch 28:24  And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
2Ch 28:25  And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers.
2Ch 28:26  Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
2Ch 28:27  And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

Ahaz, a type of you and me, was convinced that he could not withstand the power of the king of Assyia:

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? [Who can make war with the kings of Assyria and Babylon?]

In time Judah's king was carried away by the Assyrians into Babylon, just as the Lord had earlier done to Israel:

2Ch 33:11  Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

Isa 8:7  Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:

Under King Ahaz Judah is not yet being judged as severely as Samaria and Ephraim. Nevertheless, Christ is speaking to both Israel and Judah as we read in this same chapter:

Isa 8:13  Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Isa 8:14  And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

The Lord still sees Jerusalem as the capital of both nations, and He is intent upon judging both. In the sense that Judah is also rejecting Christ and His laws and His protection, she is also rejoicing in Rezin and in Remaliah's son. Both Israel and Judah "refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly", preferring instead the waters of the mighty Euphrates, preferring the doctrines and the protection of the king of Assyria over the protection of an invisible God who insists that Israel separate herself from all other nations by being obedient to Him and to His laws.

Isa 8:6  Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;

Since "both the houses of Israel... refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly... therefore...  the Lord brings upon [both of the houses of Israel] the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria," who will take them completely out of the land and place them in the cities of the Chaldeans, and the Babylonians.

Isa 8:8  And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

"O Immanuel" lets us know these words are for us. All of this has already been written in Ahaz's and Judah's books (Psa 139:16). Nevertheless, the Lord always uses our sins for the occasion He is seeking to destroy the kingdom of our old man and to humble and, through that humiliating destruction, bring forth a new man who is conformed to the image of Christ.

But before the total annihilation of our old man we will conspire against our very Creator in an effort to maintain our own will and to retain the kingdom of the beast within our hearts and minds. The wild beast, which we are by nature, is loathe to relinquish the throne he has held for so long. Nevertheless, fortunately for us, it will all be in vain, and all of our attempts to retain the ability for us to continue to satisfy the man of sin will all come to nought.

Isa 8:9  Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
Isa 8:10  Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

Outwardly we are determined to 'make America great again' while we remain in our sins as a nation. We think 'The Art of The Deal' will work by making the great red dragon our ally. But "it shall come to nought... and it shall not stand" because Christ Himself has "spoken the word", and "God is with us" who prefer "the waters of Shiloah that go softly'.

Our "covenant with death" will be annulled by Christ Himself at the appointed time:

Isa 28:15  Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Isa 28:16  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
Isa 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

All of our efforts to retain and rule our world for the rebellious wild beast who sits in the temple of God declaring himself to be God will also come to nought, and the kingdom of the beast within us will be completely destroyed by the brightness of His coming and the understanding of His doctrines.

2Th 2:6  And now you know what holds back, for him ["the abomination that makes desolate" Mat 24:15] to be revealed in his own time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of lawlessness is already working, only he is now holding back until it comes out of the midst.
2Th 2:8  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of His mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming, (MKJV)

This is all being done and is being accomplished through the process of being judged and dying daily to all these things of the flesh which are shown by the example of King Ahaz being within each of us in our own time:

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.

We bring nothing to the table. Our part in God's plan for mankind was written before we were born, and He was working our lives while He still had our hearts hardened and was still making us to err from His ways (Isa 63:17).

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Video Links

Awesome Hands – Part 47

“To know thy enemy”

To know one’s enemy is to love one’s enemy. If we can love our enemy as we are commanded, then we will truly understand the commandments of Jesus, but how is this accomplished?

Mar 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Are your listening ears on? Does the Lord have your attention? The Lord our God is one Lord.

Therefore, we are to love Him with all our heart, soul, strength and mind.

The second is like the first. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Who, then, is my neighbor? Is it possible that my neighbor is my enemy?

In the study today, we will be looking at Exodus 7 to see if we can glean any answers from the admonitions we have been given in the story of Moses and his being sent to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

The Pharaoh loves Egypt

Exo 7:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

We are going to see the start of the plagues being delivered to Pharaoh and Egypt. The very land over which Pharaoh is king and loves is the same land he is willing to destroy in order to make sure his will is accomplished.

This is all very revealing because it shows us what we are up against when the Lords brings His judgment into our lives. Indeed, things will be set right.

Just like Moses being made a god to Pharaoh and Joseph having all power except the throne itself, we are sent with the judgments of the Lord. That is what God does, and that is what His prophets do.

They have His testimony.

Exo 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
Exo 23:21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
Exo 23:22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
Exo 23:23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
Exo 23:24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
Exo 23:25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

Moses and Aaron are undertaking a task the Lord has sent them to do, and it is one they themselves have been judged to be worthy to undertake.

All messengers of God come in the name of the Lord, and that testimony is one which will always prophecy the judgments of the Lord.

We speak of things we know because the Lord works the same in us. We speak that which we have seen, but it is the Lord speaking through us.

Here’s is what Moses and Aaron are commanded to speak:

Exo 7:2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.
Exo 7:3 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
Exo 7:4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

If we look closely, we will see that we are told to speak all that is commanded of THEE, of US.

If we look even closer, we will see that the Lord does all that He does in blinding the blind and making the deaf, deaf so that He can BRING HIS PEOPLE out of the land of Egypt with GREAT JUDGMENTS.

The Egyptians, and all that happens to them due to their king’s hardened heart, is done for God’s PEOPLE, so that they may know the Lord, but this only comes through great judgments.

The enemies of Israel are their very own neighbors. Indeed, these same neighbors used to be their friends, their loved ones, their peers in labor, etc. They lived among one another and prospered one another.

It was not until the Lord chose to will it that the Pharaoh would notice the growth and accomplishments of the Israelites, that these two peoples became utter enemies.

This is all due to what the Pharaoh ordered be done to the Israelites, resulting in their relationships changing.

At some point in all of our lives, this same event has happened to us.

All of this is done by the Lord so He can BRING FORTH HIS ARMIES. His armies? The Israelites are going to make a beeline straight out of Egypt moving just ahead of the Egyptians who will soon be pursuing them.

Exo 7:5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
Exo 7:6 And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they.

When the Lord works the great miracle in our lives of calling us to Him, it will NOT be missed by those who are around us. In fact, they will KNOW that something and someone other than the Israelites have worked this work.

For Jesus Christ, they saw a carpenter’s son. They knew this carpenter’s son. For Steven Crook, my family knows MY works and deeds before God was in my life. They have a comparison to make against what is now happening in my life.

So, the Egyptians who are among us will know the Lord is the Lord because they will WITNESS the WORKS of Him in us. Of course, they will expect perfection instantly because we claim to know the Lord of whom we are witnessing.

It is because of their unbelief, the “hardening of their hearts”, that we are given to BELIEVE and follow the angel of the Lord which He sends to us.

Will they, too, believe one day? Here is what Romans 11 has to say (in the American Standard version)

Rom 11:21 for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee.
Rom 11:22 Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God’s goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Rom 11:23 And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
Rom 11:24 For if thou wast cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and wast grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree; how much more shall these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in;
Rom 11:26 and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 And this is my covenant unto them, When I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28 As touching the gospel, they are enemies for your sake: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake.
Rom 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of.
Rom 11:30 For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience,
Rom 11:31 even so have these also now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they also may now obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

The Deliverer

In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they are our enemies, but as for the election, so that it may stand and be accomplished, they ARE BELOVED.

Because God has hardened their hearts into unbelief, they become disobedient. However, it is in their very disobedience that He BRINGS FORTH His children in this age to show them mercy.

He is able to bring in those that come after them due to their unbelief. Said another way, the Egyptians are established first as a nation so that God can find them disobedient by judgment and bring out of that disobedience His people.

For us, God has established spiritual Egypt with the king of Pharaoh on the throne so that He can supplant Him with “Jacob”.

Rom 11:26 and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Isn’t Moses a deliverer? Aren’t we deliverers? How is that accomplished? It is due to the Head controlling the body. It is due to:

Exo 23:22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

The Lord witnesses to us in the very ages of Moses and Aaron, that there is a whole process to the Lord’s will and plan. He never changes, and this is the same for us.

Exo 7:7 And Moses was fourscore years old (2 x 10 x 4), and Aaron fourscore (2 x 10 x 4 + 3) and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
Exo 7:8 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Notice, it is Jehovah who instructs Moses and Aaron, and as we covered last study, this is the “second name” they learn the Lord is called. The fathers of Moses knew the Lord as “God almighty” but Moses, Aaron and the Israelites will know Him by “JEHOVAH”.

Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

Exo 6:5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
Exo 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:

We are redeemed completely with an outstretched arm of the Lord. The reaction of those who are around us will be quite different though, since the Lord Himself works the hardening of their hearts.

We simply are incapable of changing their hearts because it is the Lord Who has ordained it to be so.

Exo 7:9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
Exo 7:10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
Exo 7:11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
Exo 7:12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
Exo 7:13 And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

This is another moment we can easily miss. Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. What, I ask, is the source of their power? Has God Himself not caused the power they have be there so that this moment could happen?

The Pharaoh looks on this event and doesn’t see anything special about what Moses and Aaron do because his wise men, sorcerers and magicians can make their rods into serpents too.

Are the enchantments which are there to DECEIVE the Pharaoh there due to what the Lord has caused?

Let it be the Word which tells us yay or nay.

Exo 7:11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments (H3858).

H3858
lahat
lah’- hat
From H3857; a blaze; also (from the idea of enwrapping) magic (as covert): – flaming, enchantment.

H3858
lahat
BDB Definition:
1) flame (of an angelic sword)
Part of Speech: noun masculine
A Related Word by BDB/ Strong’s Number: from H3857
Same Word by TWOT Number:1081a

H3858
lahat
Total KJV Occurrences:2
enchantments, 1
Exo_7:11
flaming, 1
Gen_3:24

There are only two times that these enchantments are mentioned as such in the Old Testament. One is where we are reading, and the other is used here:

Gen 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
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 very things that have caused us all to be deceived are the same things that KEEP the Way of the Tree of Life. This has been so from the beginning!

“La- hat” comes from H3857.

As with all Words in scripture, JEHOVAH gives even Babylonian ministers the ability to “call fire down from heaven” to DECEIVE the masses of humanity who are not called and chosen in this age to remain Faithful until the end.

However, the true Fire of the Word is only given to those who are His flaming ministers!

H3857
la hat
Total KJV Occurrences:12
fire, 4
Deu_32:22, Psa_57:4, Psa_83:14, Isa_42:25
burned, 2
Joe_1:18-19(2)
burneth, 2
Joe_2:3(2)
burn, 1
Mal_4:1
flaming, 1
Psa_104:4
kindleth, 1
Job_41:21
setteth, 1
Psa_83:14

Deu 32:21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Deu 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Psa 57:4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

Psa 83:1 A Song or Psalm of Asaph. Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
Psa 83:2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
Psa 83:3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
Psa 83:4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

Which leads up to…

Psa 83:14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;

…and…

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.

One more example:

Psa 104:2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out (H5186) the heavens like a curtain:
Psa 104:3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
Psa 104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

What else is “stretched out?”

Exo 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out^(H5186) arm, and with great judgments:

Exo 7:5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch^(H5186) forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.

Here is our neighbor and our enemy.

Exo 7:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.

Our neighbor and our enemy is no different. They are one and the same, just as the Lord our God is ONE.

Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

The reason we are to love God first is because when we put Him first, we will realize that God Himself causes all things to be the way they are. ALL THINGS!!

The reason we are to love our neighbor as ourselves is because we are them, but they don’t KNOW it.

Because of the Gospel we carry, we are ENEMIES. Because of the ELECTION, they are BELOVED.

Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Luk 6:27 But I say unto you WHICH HEAR, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luk 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

The fire they carry is given to them by the Lord, but the ROD WE CARRY is given to us by JEHOVAH.

We come bearing His Name, His Glory and His marks in OUR BODY, and that is why when we FIRST come to them. We show them the POWER of the ROD placed in our hands from the Hand of the Lord.

Next week, Lord willing, we will finish up chapter 7 of Exodus and continue to see the admonishments we are given to bring the great judgments of God to Egypt and the Israelites alike.

1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

We will look at how this is done. As we know, Satan is the tempter and deceiver whom God created for that purpose (Mat 4:1, Luk 22:31, Gen 3:1-5, Act 5:1-11, Job 2:4-5, 1Th 3:5). He gets ‘an advantage of us’ all in the first Adam because initially we have no ability to resist his wiles or subtleness:

2Co 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices (Greek: noema = mind).

His “devices” relate to his mind, and naturally we share the same carnal mind as Satan. That is why our inherent lusts and pride are easily enticed by his approaches as Adam and Eve also revealed to us (1Jn 2:16, Rom 8:6). When Jesus was hungry after a fast of forty days and forty nights, He was tempted by this same tempter to turn the literal stones to bread, and this was Jesus’ defence:

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

We live by every word that comes from God’s mouth. By God’s mouth He speaks His word which created all things, even the darkness and the evil:

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.

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

This is so important to realize because even the evil is a creation of God by which we all shall live as it came from the mouth of God. When Jesus was tempted by Satan to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple in order to get His Father to send angels that He will not as much dash His foot, Jesus said these important words:

Mat 4:5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Mat 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Mat 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Those words of Jesus were quoted from the Old Testament:

Deu 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD [Hebrew: yehovah] your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

Here we see why God, the Father who is spirit, is never tempted with evil. The Hebrew refers to the name ‘yehovah’. We know that the ‘yehovah’ or ‘I am’ of the Old Testament is the LORD Jesus whom God, the Father, used to make all things in this creation. Jesus openly admits to His ‘I am’ status during His earthly ministry for which the Jews wanted to kill Him (refer to Rom 11:36, Joh 8:23-25, Joh 8:56-59, Mat 22:32-33, Mar 14:61-64):

1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Jesus is “the Lord your God” as appointed by God, the Father (Isa 9:6, Joh 1:1-4, Col 1:15-17, Heb 1:1-4). Naturally, we have the same mind of the serpent, and we also tempt ‘the Lord our God’ (Jesus) in many ways as we will see. In our last discussion we saw that Satan tempted Jesus to apply His words to physical things only and to place His will above that of the Father. The way physical Israel tempted the Lord at Massah helps us also to see how we tempt the Lord:

Exo 17:1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
Exo 17:2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
Exo 17:3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
Exo 17:4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
Exo 17:5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
Exo 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Exo 17:7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD [Hebrew: yehovah], saying, Is the LORD [Hebrew: yehovah] among us, or not?

“Is the LORD among us, or not?” This is what all carnal minds do – they cannot see the Lord Jesus as present in every aspect of the generation of the first Adam from the beginning. This was the same mindset that was in Adam and Eve before they ate of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They could not see that it was God who sent the serpent to tempt them. They were also ignorant of the truth that God was aware of every word they spoke to the serpent. God indeed understands our thoughts ‘afar off’ as He knows our words ‘altogether’:

Psa 139:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Psa 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psa 139:3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
Psa 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

There is no way we can get away from Him or think He is not ‘among’ us, meaning working all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11):

Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Psa 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Psa 139:10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
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.

Such truths are truly “too wonderful” to accept for the natural mind of all in the generation of the first man Adam (1Co 2:14, 1Co 1:27-29):

Psa 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

We, as Adam and Eve did, tempt God when we cannot see that His work in our lives was before we even took our first breath when we say, “God does not care for me.” He wrote all the things that happen in all our days in His book when none of those days were even there yet:

Psa 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psa 139:15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

God’s hand was not removed from us at any stage. He works the droughts in our lives, and He supplies the waters at His appointed time. We naturally cannot see this, and we choose to see God as a distant God from whom we can actually hide:

Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool [Hebrew: ruach = spirit] of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

“The days of His flesh” is now applicable to us as “members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones…. because as He is, so are we in this world” (Eph 5:30, 1Jn 4:17). God willing, we are now doing the enduring and resisting temptations, like Christ and by Christ living in us. Physical or carnal things are what this evil world is all about, and it cannot know God’s ways. That is referred to as a “hardened” heart. A carnal mind is a “hardened” heart which also refers to our time in ‘the wilderness’, even natural Eden, when we cannot obey God’s commandments:

Psa 95:8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Psa 95:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
Psa 95:10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Psa 95:11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

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Awesome Hands – part 44

“ They will not believe me”

In Exodus chapter 3, we looked at Moses being confronted with a burning bush which was not consumed.

An angel of the Lord spoke out of the flames and told Moses that Moses was going to be a deliverer of God’s people. Moses is told what to tell God’s people and is also given a covenant of how to recognize that God means what He says and says what He means.

As Moses learns what to tell the Israelites the Lord’s name is, we looked into how this admonishes us today about those who dwell in the fire of God’s Word and bring His true name to those who are placed in our paths.

As we ended the chapter we also saw that Moses is told that the Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go by a mighty hand but that God will make sure that when His own hand is placed in mix, then Pharaoh will let the children of Israel go.

This is all a shadow and type of what the Lord is doing with us today and as we look at chapter 4 of Exodus, we will see a continuation of the Lord explaining to us what He is sending us to do and how it will be accomplished.

“What is that in thine hand?”

 As we start of this chapter, we are going to start off with seeing Moses doubt the Lord and what he has been told. There were a lot of verses dedicated to the Lord stating to Moses what He was going to do through Moses, yet throughout this chapter Moses doubts what the Lord says.

This is exactly how we all start our spiritual walk with the Lord, with a lack of faith, because it has not been given of the Lord yet. In fact, the Lord tells Moses in chapter 3 that He will bring Moses back to this same mount as a token/ mark of what He is working with Moses.

Exo 3:12  And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token (H226) unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

Num 14:21  But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

Num 14:22  Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles (H226), which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

Deu 11:1  Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.

Deu 11:2  And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm,

Deu 11:3  And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land;

Deu 11:4  And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day;

Here is how we initially all answer the Lord when He starts working with us and tells us to count the cost.

Exo 4:1  And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

Exo 4:2  And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

Just has been illustrated from the start of Genesis, all that happens is under God’s complete control for He works all things out after the counsel of His own will.

As for Moses, Moses was and is brought to this circumstance because the Lord has caused it, yet even after Moses sees the miracle of the burning bush which is not consumed, he doubts what he is told.

The Lord is testifying to Moses that He will deliver the children of Israel and therefore will also deliver Moses; yet, a bullheaded and stiff- necked Moses doesn’t want to believe what the Lord tells him.

This is of course what we all must go through, and it foreshadows what the children of Israel do, showing us that we are all lumped together in this same pattern. Yet, the Lord will take what we have in our hand and work with it to bring about His will.

“And the Lord said to him, what is that in your hand?” A rod!

Just where did Moses even get the idea to pick up a rod at all so as to be prepared for what the Lord would be sending him to do?

Now, pay close attention to what transpires next as this is a direct telling of what we will do with the power of the Lord!

Exo 4:3  And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

Exo 4:4  And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

Exo 4:5  That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

First, the Lord tells us to take what is in our hand and cast it on the ground. It is when we do this that we realize that what has been in our hand all along has been a serpent and we flee from it!

In other spiritual words, the rod that represents the power of the Lord also represents all that the Lord has placed in our hands INCLUDES the serpent!

At our first realization of this, we flee from the devil. As you’ll notice though, the Lord tells us plainly to take the serpent by the tail.

So, what does this mean for us spiritually since unlike Moses we don’t have a physical serpent to take a hold of?

Psa 110:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Psa 110:2  The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:Isa 11:2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

Isa 11:3  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

Isa 11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

Isa 10:15  Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

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

If you are given sight to see and ears to hear it, hear what the Lord is speaking to you, “Moses in spirit!”

Before the Lord will send us to be delviers of His people, He first will deliver us from him that has the power of death and the FEAR it causes us to flee from.

Why else do we flee from a serpent? It is because it can strike us and kill us with its VENOM, the venom that comes from its MOUTH.

Notice, the Rod of thy strength is sent out of Zion in Psa 110:1-2. This is where Moses is right now in this story. This rod gives Moses the ability to RULE while in the middle of his enemies, which happen to be the Egyptians in this story.

Next in Isa 11 we see they that hold the Rod of the stem of Jesse, have the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, but what this all produces is JUDGMENT!

Where then is JUDGMENT to be?

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

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

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

Exo 4:3 says to “cast it on the ground.”

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.

Psa 2:6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Psa 2:10  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

Psa 2:11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Psa 2:12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Rev 2:23  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Rev 2:24  But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

Rev 2:25  But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

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.

Rev 2:28  And I will give him the morning star.

Rev 2:29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

It is when we are going through this process of judgment and death of the old man, that others wills see it and will KNOW and believe that the Lord is working with US!

Exo 4:5  That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

This will be a terrible and awesome sight to those who behold this work of the Lord in His chosen people in this age.

“But I am slow of speech”

 Continuing in verse 6 we see the next miracle given to Moses so that he could present it to the elders of Israel.

Exo 4:6  And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

Exo 4:7  And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

Exo 4:8  And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

There are two specific things mentioned here that are intricately connected together. Moses’ hand turns leprous instantly and this is due to it being place into his bosom.

Your heart is where your treasure is, so what we are being told about this leprous hand has to do with the things that are important to our flesh. With leprosy, the leprosy itself meant certain death in those days.

Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luk 12:33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

Luk 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luk 12:35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

Luk 12:36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Luk 12:37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

So, when you connect the idea that Moses is told to take the shoes off his feet, and now we have a change of heart from flesh to death and death to flesh, then we can start to see what pattern in being brought forth in this type and shadow.

If you don’t think these two ideas are connected, remember that the power given to Moses is ALSO to reach forth and grab the serpent by the tail.

When you stop a serpent by its tail, you are taking away its ability to move forward. You are literally stopping it in its tracks.

The reason these signs are given to Moses is to take it to the elders of Israel for signs so that they will believe that the Lord has indeed met with Moses.

However, there will always be some that will not care that the Lord has worked it into your life, that is, worked it into your hands to take hold on death so that it has no power over you and you’re not in bondage to it any longer.

Some will not care nor believe that the Lord has taken your sure leprous death and converted your heart of stone to that of a fleshy heart, so the Lord sends another witness to this proves in your life with the very witness of the blood of Christ!

The reason they don’t respond is no different than how we don’t initially respond favorably to the Lord. We always have excuses why we think what the Lord tells us to do just won’t work out.

Exo 4:9  And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

Exo 4:11  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

Exo 4:12  Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

Exo 4:13  And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

Moses, as we all do, actually protests to the Lord to send another instead of Moses! Oh how we want to give up so easily!

Exo 4:13(ESV)  But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”

Exo 4:14  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

Exo 4:15  And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

Exo 4:16  And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

Exo 4:17  And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

“I will harden his heart”

 At this point in our walk, the Lord sends us to his people and ot the Pharaoh sitting on the throne of their hearts and minds and God tells us that He will harden Pharaohs heart.

I am here to tell you that this all foreshadows what the Lord does with all of His people. For most, the king of Egypt/ Babylon sits on the throne and will not give up his ruler- ship because God Himself has caused this to be the case.

For others, the Lord will eventually unharden their hearts so that the Son of God, the Word of God, will take His rightful seat on that same throne. Even for these few, they MUST see the many signs in wonders, the plagues for which will befall Egypt!

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.

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Exo 4:18  And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

Exo 4:19  And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

Exo 4:20  And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

Exo 4:21  And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

For all who will have the Son of God placed on His throne, the Lord WILL NOT have fleshy carnally minded- ness remain. Your mind MUST be supplanted with the mind of Christ, by the renewing of the SAME!

This is all given to us in type and shadow of what Moses has to do with even his own son and household because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God!

Exo 4:22  And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

Exo 4:23  And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

Exo 4:24  And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

Exo 4:25  Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

Exo 4:26  So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

The same judgment that God passes on Pharaoh and his house is the same judgment that befalls our own house. The Lord will seek an occasion to get rid of the flesh and our HEART must be circumcised to serve the Lord alone or we aren’t serving Him.

The same process happens to all of God’s people, and we have been sent to our OWN HOUSE, our OWN PEOPLE, to deliver them by the workings of the awesome hands of our Lord as He works in our lives.

Exo 4:27  And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

Exo 4:28  And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

Exo 4:29  And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:

Exo 4:30  And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

Exo 4:31  And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

For those whom the Lord is working this in and to, they will be given Faith by all these signs, and by the SAME WORDS of God of which we are given to speak, some will have a heart which is hardened the more as each plague/ miracle is presented to them.

Such is the predestination of all of God’s chosen elect and Faithful.