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Awesome Hands - part 152 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – part 152

Marriage with captive women

March 31, 2019

As we saw in the previous study, laws concerning war were given to Israel to raise the bar on how Israel was to act and react as it pertains to various scenarios in war.

In this study, we are going to continue to look at another aspect of warfare which is often overlooked.

This aspect of warfare is how we, as the representative people of God, are to treat women when they are captured during the wartime periods Israel partook in.

In Awesome hands 151, we saw that were to approach some cities and nations and offer them peace. If they accepted this peace, then we were to treat them as tributaries to us. If a city or nation did not accept our offer of peace, but wanted war, then we were to go to war with them and utterly destroy all males.

For those nations whom we were going to war with, we were to slay all males, but we were to keep the women, children and cattle alive for the benefit of Israel.

Deu 20:12  And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
Deu 20:13  And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
Deu 20:14  But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

In this study, we are going to examine how it is we treat the women who we take captive AND also want to have certain relations with.

The Lord has given these “spoils of war” to the nation of Israel, so what do we (as men) do with those spoils of war which we also lust after?

The verse that we will cover today is found in Deuteronomy 21:10.

First, we will read some of the context:

Deu 21:10  When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,
Deu 21:11  And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;
Deu 21:12  Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
Deu 21:13  And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
Deu 21:14  And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

On the surface, this seems straight forward, but there is always much more lingering just under the surface which shows us how to apply what we read from the Word of God in a spiritual way for the new man to be nourished by.

The first thing that jumps out to me is that this is a very hard situation for the captive woman. She is now having her entire live upended, and now one of her captors wants to take her as his own wife.

Traditionally, a Hebrew man would need to go through certain motions to wed a woman, but in the case of a captive woman, these rules simply did not apply.

However, the Lord is establishing a law for Israel to follow which ups the bar on the behavior of Israelite men who wanted to wed and bed a captive woman.

The first thing to recognize in this newly established law of the Lord for the Israelites is that this would not be the most natural actions for men taking women captive in war.

In fact, the way some men have treated women during wartime is downright evil. I will not go into further detail than that in this study, but you all can imagine what men do to women who have no one to protect them. The evil in humanities deceitful heart truly knows no bounds.

With this new law, the Lord is establishing that it is not okay for the tendency of “powerful” men to make women a “tool of passion”.

This forms the groundwork for men to recognize nobility in women, especially a completely defenseless woman. These women were to be dealt with honorably.

Ultimately, this would welcome a “foreign” woman to part with the idea of being a slave due to war, partake in the covenant God had made with Israel (she is now a Jew once married), and she is now able to worship and love the God of Israel as a Jewish woman.

These women are not to be confused with the captives taken from Canaan. Indeed, there was no such thing as a “captive Canaanite woman” because you were to have no relationship at all with the enemies of the nations of whom you were promised as an inheritance.

Deu 20:15  Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
Deu 20:17  But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:
Deu 20:18  That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

Deu 7:1  When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
Deu 7:2  And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
Deu 7:3  Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
Deu 7:4  For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

Num 21:1  And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
Num 21:2  And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
Num 21:3  And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.

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.

The reason why I have taken the time to include these verses is to show that the Lord makes a difference between those nations whom are “a far off from thee” and those nations whom “are near to thee and would teach you to do after all their abominations”.

You may be asking yourself about right now why any of these old testament rules and laws have any bearing on how you are to be today as a Christian?

Being that we know all scripture can be used for edification, exhortation and comfort, how exactly do we apply this understanding to our Christian walk today?

Well, up until now we have concentrated on the physical aspects of these men and women. However, we know that in Christ there is neither male or female.

Gal 3:27  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

So, how do we reconcile these concepts?

We know that women “are to be in subjection to their own husbands”.

1Pe 3:1  Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
1Pe 3:5  For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

These deals with physical wives and husbands, but how are we to consider spiritual husbands and wives?

We know there is only ONE Husbandman.

Heb 2:8  Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

“Now we see not all things put under him,” tells us that there is still a lot of work to be done. Just as I emphasized in my last study, we are at war NOW.

In that previous study, I pointed out several ways we are at war and how to deal with the war we are in. This war is happening in my heavens and it is happening in your heavens. It is also happening in the heavens of others.

In Deuteronomy 21, we are reading about the law of how to treat women taken captive in war. Well, let’s extend that concept to those “women” who are NOT physical woman but SPIRITUAL WOMEN.

We all know there is a bride of Christ, the free woman and a harlot, the bondwoman.

1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Gen 21:10  Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
Gen 21:13  And also of the son of the bondwoman WILL I MAKE A NATION, because he is thy seed.

Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Notice that we are all born after the flesh. Wow, Steven what a revelation! Ha!

Also, notice that we are the children of promise, but we are also aware that not all things are YET SUBJECTED to our HUSBAND Jesus Christ.

Heb 2:8  Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

When we read in Deuteronomy 21:10 that we are to deal with CAPTIVE women a certain way, because they are of a certain TYPE of nation, then we need to take heed to what we are reading.

One type of nation is to be UTTERLY DESTROYED. However, the woman/women (also children and cattle) of another type of nation are to be “the spoil of war”.

How do we spiritual apply this to our heavens and the kingdom of heaven specifically?

As a mentioned in my previous study, there are always many details and variations to the encounters we have with people in our lives.

For some people, we know instantly that the Lord is not working with them yet because we do not hear the voice of the true shepherd AND they are combative i.e. we do not WANT your peace.

For others, they may simply not understand what we are talking about. They may not be able to chew the meat we are feeding them. They may only be able to handle milk. Heck, they may not even be able to handle the milk of the Word, but they are NOT combative and going to TEACH us the ERROR of our ways. When someone is combative and insists on teaching you the error of your doctrine, then you know they have another Jesus at that time.

Why and how can I know this is true?

Act 8:29  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

Act 8:30  And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

Act 8:31  And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

Act 8:32  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

The word used as guide in Acts 8:31 is also translated as “lead” other places.

G3594

hodēgeō

Total KJV Occurrences: 5

lead, 3

Mat_15:14, Luk_6:39, Rev_7:17

guide, 2

Joh_16:13, Act_8:31

Mat 15:14  Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Luk 6:39  And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

Rev 7:13  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

Rev 7:17  For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Indeed, there are those that lead the blind as blind leaders into the ditch which is OUTSIDE OF THE NARROW WAY, and there is the Lamb of God, our True Husband, who leads those arrayed in white robes to the fountains of living waters.

1Ti 6:3  If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

1Ti 6:4  He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

1Ti 6:5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

Why then is this all important to the context of Deuteronomy 21 that we have covered today?

Captive women are to be brought into your home and given a period of time to GRIEVE their losses. They CANNOT not simply just be taken and married as a wife and thrown into the full expectancies of a wife.

We are the BRIDE of Christ, the church of the living God. When we are used to CONQUER the NATIONS “afar off” IN OTHERS, via Jesus Christ in US, we are to do so in a respectable, honorable way which is befitting of the BRIDE OF CHRIST.

This applies both to how we, as members of the body already act, as well as how we WELCOME to members to the church of the living God.

Notice this is the spiritual concept we see here:

Deu 21:13  And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

Deu 21:14  And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

When your life is altered in such a way that you are on the WAY to TRUTH and LIFE, by way of DEATH, then you are going to need time to adjust.

The month mentioned here is a symbolic time period and is NOT literal in the physical sense. IT was certainly literal in the physical for the Israelites, but in the Spirit it is a type and shadow how the time we are to allow for those new members who have just been in a war in their heavens and are now come to the kingdom of God WITHIN THEMSELVES.

Lastly, if we find now delight in our newly married “captive wife”, we were not permitted to sell her as a slave or as merchandise. She was to be made free. This tells us that when are you are part of the body of Christ you truly are “of the free woman”.

I hope this study is beneficial to help us remember that war is a horrible thing, but there are also ways to deal with the results of war. For us, spiritual war is devastating to our old man and also to the old man in others.

However, when we are welcoming new members into this glorious kingdom of God, we are welcoming another child of God into the flock fold, and we must be diligent in making sure we treat others with respect while also giving them space to adjust to their new existence of Life via death.

We die daily, Amen.

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Awesome Hands - part 151 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – part 151

"Laws Concerning Warfare"

March 27, 2019

Warfare is always a nasty and horrible event that humans often endure. When Israel set out to become a nation, the Lord gave specific direction to how Israel was to handle themselves and their enemies.

For Christians today, we too are in war, but it is one which rages on until the day we are no longer in the flesh.

Our study today finds us examining how we should view the purpose of the war we have been plunged into, as well as, how we navigate this war to benefit from it here and now.

Laws Concerning Warfare

The first thing to note is that the Lord tells us not to be afraid.

Deu 20:1  When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

It is comforting to know that the Lord is with us, but when we are in the thick of battle it is often hard to focus on that point or any other point. What is a bit easier to focus on is that we are currently doing and where we currently are.

What I mean is if we are in a war and in the thick of battle, we are there because we have gotten past other obstacles which have brought us to war.

In the case of the topic today, the Lord reminds us that He has, “brought thee up out of the land of Egypt”.

When we are in doubt about what the future holds, the Lord wants us to remember where it is we have come from and what He has brought us through. He faithfully parted the red sea and allowed us to cross it, while also crushing our enemies, so He wants us to take courage in knowing He is still fighting on our side.

By being mindful of our past, we can stop worrying about what the future holds for us.

Deu 20:2  And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,

Deu 20:3  And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;

Deu 20:4  For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

First, we have the priests letting us know who it is we are being led by. We are also told to not let our hearts faint, do not fear, do not tremble and do not be terrified of “them”. We are told these things because the Lord knows we will do them, but we are reassured that everything happening is so that the Lord can fight for us to SAVE US.

Of course, it is the new man in us that is being saved because there is no hope for this flesh.

One of the important points mentioned above that the KJV does a terrible job of translating is “do not tremble”.

H2648

châphaz

Total KJV Occurrences: 9

haste, 5

1Sa_23:26, 2Sa_4:4, 2Ki_7:15, Psa_31:22, Psa_116:11

hasted, 2

Psa_48:5, Psa_104:7

hasteth, 1

Job_40:23

tremble, 1

Deu_20:3

There is only one time that this word is translated as “tremble”, and that is found in this verse. The other times it is translated, it is translated as “haste”. “Do not be hasty,” is a much better translation, and when we are dealing with issues that pertain to war, it is definitely not a time to be hasty.

Not being hasty is a good plan for all things in life, and when we know that we are constantly in a spiritual war, it is imperative that we do not rush to any particular conclusion before it’s time.

Deu 20:5  And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

Deu 20:6  And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.

Deu 20:7  And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.

These situations allowed exemptions to a man going to war. The officers were not officers as we think of them in our military branches today (by title), but these were the keepers of the books, so to speak, on the genealogical tables and who was appointed or exempted to go to war.

The only item mentioned above that doesn’t appear to be self-evident to me is the dedication of a house. Most likely there was some sort of festival or feast which accompanied getting a new home. A man that had purchased a home, but had not yet taken possession of it, was exempted to take ownership of this home.

Because these items were mentioned together, we know there is some commonality amongst them. One point that is mentioned about betrothing a wife is that this exemption was for 1 year only.

Deu 24:5  When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.

Additionally, if a man is fainthearted, he was told to stay home. The Lord just told the Israelites NOT to fear, but if there are men who did fear, they were NOT to be in the host of the army.

Deu 20:8  And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint (H4549) as well as his heart.

There are many reasons why you do not want someone to be in a war who is discouraging others. This same spirit infected the 12 spy’s who spied after crossing the Jordan, who then infected the people with their faintheartedness, and we know what happened with the whole camp of Israel after that.

Jos 7:5  And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted (H4549), and became as water.

Deu 1:26  Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God:

Deu 1:27  And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

Deu 1:28  Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged (H4549) our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

It is very important that we do not surround ourselves with people who constantly discourage us. If there are people around us like this, then we should attempt to separate ourselves from their company. However, if it is not possible to do this, then it is equally important to also have those around us who are ready to go to war with us.

In other words, we must not let negative thoughts dominate our though processes so much so that we are not willing to fight the good fight of faith. That is why those nations closest to us must be utterly destroyed and not compromised with.

Now, we see a third group of leaders who are appointed to lead the people in war.

Deu 20:9  And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

These are the same “captains of the armies” who were to lead the “bands or companies” mentioned in Numbers 31 and a few other places.

Num 31:14  And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.

As with any topic we study in the Word of God, there are many caveats to any given topic. One such caveat is how we approach and deal with a “city” which we intend to fight but also extend an olive branch of peace towards.

Deu 20:10  When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.

Deu 20:11  And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

There are many practical examples of why peace is preferred to war. Many of those examples are obvious. However, if after war, we have devastation, then the there is always a rebuilding that needs to take place. That is not even taking into account the human lives lost during this war.

So, if we are going to war with a city which we will conquer eventually, and that city recognizes this fate, then we are to take them in as tributaries to us. In other words, they will pay taxes and serve us.

However, there are those that would not want to make peace so we are to kill every male there.

Deu 20:12  And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:

Deu 20:13  And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

Deu 20:14  But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

These were the conditions for dealing with those nations whom were not given to us for an inheritance. These are nations which would not have been in the general area of Israel or surrounding Israel.

For these nations, we are permitted to partake of the spoils of war and to allow the women, children and cattle to stay alive as a reward from the Lord.

As for the nations of our inheritance, we are to deal with those nations quite differently.

Deu 20:15  Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

Deu 20:17  But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:

Deu 20:18  That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

Our verse today which brought us to this study is found in verse 20:13.

“The LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands,” is a very powerful statement. All that we have covered in this chapter tells us that the Lord is with us, fights for us to save us, and will deliver our enemies into our hands.

What is not so easily discernable is that the Lord tells us that there are always various situations which cause us to handle things differently depending on the details of the situation we are facing.

It may appear that I will be going to war with a nation, but after having some back and forth, it may be that a particular nation does NOT want to go to war with me. In this case, this nation then becomes a source of strength and nourishment for me.

Practically speaking, we are not talking about physical nations. We are talking about spiritual nations within ourselves and others.

For example, maybe I am discussing my beliefs on the trinity with someone.  During this discussion, I can tell they don’t agree with me on my beliefs, but they are willing to hear my beliefs on it anyways. They may declare that they do not believe in what I am saying, but they are interested in continuing the conversation about other topics.

This would be a situation where someone is simply not understanding or may be completely in disagreement with me, but the Lord has not fully closed the door in the conversation. It may just be that this particular topic cannot be breached until other workings happen within the heavens of the nation of the person I am speaking with. This allows me plant spiritual seeds which the Lord will water later.

If, however, they vehemently despise the truth that I do not believe in the trinity and will not speak with me further as a result, then I know that this enemy cannot be extended an olive branch of peace with me. They are to be conquered within me.

This is now a war which has been made clear to be a war of the old versus the new man, NOW, and must be dealt with accordingly i.e. I make no concessions to deal with this nation in any way, but it simply must be dealt with as an enemy.

Psa 18:34  He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

Psa 144:1  A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:

Psalms 18:34 and 144:1 tells us that it is the Lord who teaches our hands to war and our fingers to fight. So, when it is appropriate, the Lord wants us to FIGHT the good fight, no only within ourselves but within OTHERS as well.

Light goes forth from darkness, so when we are speaking to others in the warfare of words, we are calling forth light out of their blinding darkness from within themselves.

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

2Ti 4:7  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Ephesians 6 tells is how to fight ad protect ourselves.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

If we take the above verses and break them apart, we can have a system in place in our hearts and minds that helps us know how to deal with any situation the Lord places us in.

Our flesh is coming to an end at some point, but the spiritual new man in us all will prevail and continue on. So, keep the faith and know the Lord is with you. Faint not.

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Study Aired June 24, 2012

Job 20:1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Job 20:2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.
Job 20:3 I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.
Job 20:4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
Job 20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
Job 20:6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
Job 20:7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
Job 20:8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
Job 20:9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
Job 20:10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
Job 20:11 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
Job 20:12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
Job 20:13 Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:
Job 20:14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
Job 20:15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

Introduction

In our last study Job literally begged his friends for just a little compassion for what God had brought upon him:

Job 19:21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; For the hand of God hath touched me.

Job was defending himself against Bildad’s false accusations, while questioning and condemning his Creator and maintaining his own righteousness. He concluded his defense with this warning to his accusers:

Job 19:29 Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.

It seems incredible to Zophar that after he and his two friends have revealed to Job that he is a sinner above all men, that he would dare to insinuate that it is they who need to be “afraid of the sword”, and that it is they who need to understand that “there is a judgment”.
Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and even Job, know that God will destroy the wicked. To Job this is the basics at their most basic:

Job 12:3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

What none of these men know is that God performs His work of judgment within his elect first, while simultaneously physically blessing those He uses to accomplish that judgment of and destruction of our wicked old man.

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked [ Job, you and me] for the day of evil [ which includes having self- righteousness judged within us].

Job, as the type of God’s elect, is judged first with the fiery trials we read of in this book. Than as the Old Testament type of God’s elect, he is used as the channel through which his false accusers are saved, in type and in shadow.

Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
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?
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.
Job 42:8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

It is because God’s elect are the first to be judged that Job made this statement in His defense of Bildad’s assault upon him:

Job 12:4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.

It appears during the time of our fiery judgment as if God is actually on the side of our adversaries, and answers their prayers while laughing at us. In fact that is exactly what He is doing to our old sinful man.

Psa 37:13 The Lord shall laugh at him [ the old Job, our old man]: for he seeth that his day is coming.
Psa 59:8 But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.
Pro 1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

So Job, the type of God elect upon whom judgment must come first (1Pe 4:17), continues to endure the humiliation poured upon him from even his closest friends:

Job 20:1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Job 20:2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.

A hasty answer is most often a mistake. Wise men are “slow to speak, [ and] slow to wrath”:

Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Pro 14:29 He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
Pro 29:20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

But Zophar is young and of a hasty spirit, and neither he nor either of his two friends are “of great understanding”.

Job 20:3 I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.

Here is how this verse is translated in the ASV:

Job 20:3 I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame; And the spirit of my understanding answereth me.

“The spirit of [ Zophar’s] understanding” compels him to return to the same old “those on whom the tower of Siloam fell were sinners above all who were in Jerusalem”, self- righteous condemnation of other men who are being judged ahead of him.
The Hebrew word translated ‘spirit’ in this verse is ‘ruach’, the word which is so translated such throughout the Old Testament. So it is a certain spirit which is causing this response from immature and foolish Zophar. It is the ‘spirit’ and mindset which is natural to us all by birth.

Luk 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Job 20:4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

“Since man was placed upon the earth”, shows us that Zophar, his friends, and Job, all knew that man was “placed upon the earth” by his Creator.

Job 20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

Job and the men who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them were destroyed by God. Their “triumph… was short, [ their] joy [ was] but for a moment” and is now a thing of the past. For Zophar and our natural man, these things all speak for themselves. It is obvious that Job, the type of those who are being judged in this age, is “a sinner above all men”.

Job 20:6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
Job 20:7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar are the types of us while we are yet in Babylon. It was the King of Babylon to whom these words are addressed:

Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

It is a testament to the power of God to blind us by causing us to think we can see clearly. He accomplishes this by causing us to believe that “the wicked… and… the hypocrite” are not, and have never been within us.

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Just like Job, as long as we maintain that we and our “old man” are not, and have never been the object of God’s wrath, “our sin remains”.

That is the doctrine of Babylon which has spawned the false doctrine of the rapture in all of its variations. Whether it is the doctrine of a rapture out of and away from the wrath of God upon our old man, or the doctrine of a place of safety which shields us from God’s wrath upon our old man, or the twisting of 1Th 5:9, which is speaking of all who are “appointed to salvation” (1Co 15:22), all of these false doctrines deny these consistent truths of God’s word.

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.
1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

If we do not “keep the things written therein: for the time is at hand”, then we do not have the testimony of Jesus Christ, and will not have part in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”.

Rev 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God [ “keep the things written therein”], and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

When we say we have never been blind, we are blind, and when we say we have never been rebellious unbelievers, we continue to remain under the wrath of God.

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.

This is the very message of this entire book of Job, and yet is only natural to always place the wrath of God upon someone else while telling ourselves that we are “not like other men…” Consequently both Job and Zophar relegate these verses to the “old man” within “other men”.

Job 20:8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
Job 20:9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.

But “the wicked” is every man who has ever lived. Even Job confesses to having been wicked.

Job 13:26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.

King David confesses to having been wicked:

Psa 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.

The prophet Jeremiah informs us that he too, ‘bore the reproach of his youth’.

Jer 31:19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

In spite of all these Biblical confessions, “the man of sin”, the “beast” within us all, simply cannot internalize these words. Instead he just naturally sees himself as “righteous, [ and] not as other men”.

Mar 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

We all just naturally think ourselves to be righteous, while “the wicked” are always “other men”. So it is our own self- righteousness which nullifies every admonition in scripture which informs us of the fate of that old self- righteous man within us all.
For example, not one orthodox Christian would ever read Pro 16:4 and say, ‘Yes, it is my own “wicked” old man who God made for my own day of evil” within my own life’:

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

When we have the self- righteous spirit of Job and his friends, we apply nothing concerning evil to ourselves. The result is that we think we are well and do not need a physician.

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

Until we see ourselves as wicked sinners, “of whom I am chief”, to quote the apostle Paul, none of the admonitions which are given us to prepare us to become overcomers who will be qualified as a “merciful… priest and king who can rule with Christ, will have any personal application.

1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
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.

It was the spirit of self- righteousness which typifies us as our Lord’s murderers. A self- righteous spirit is our worst enemy because it is not “open… sin”, and because a self- righteous spirit wants to destroy those who would expose it for the murderous spirit it is. It is this self- righteous spirit which is in both Job and his miserable comforters, who are the Old Testament types of us all. This includes those who are predestined, as Job typifies, to be purged and judged first as “the house of God” (1Pe 4:17).
Those who are predestined to overcome sin in their lives in this age, must be the first to be exposed as wicked sinners who are the first to be judged and who are being judged now in this age. If we are blessed to be the first to be openly judged, we will also be the first to repent and “bring forth fruits [ which] are fit for repentance”:

1Ti 5:24 Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
1Ti 5:25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.
Mat 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Mat 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Act 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Act 26:21 For these causes the Jews [ with the spirit of self- righteousness] caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.

We think we live in enlightened times which would never permit the murder of God’s elect, but our ‘murder’ and our ‘crucifixion’ is not to be understood in a literal sense. We are to see ourselves as “a living sacrifice… crucified with Christ… yet [ living]” (Rom 12:1 and Gal 2:20).

Job 20:10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.

“His place shall be no more”, and “his children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods” because of the rapacious sins of their wicked fathers:

Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Ezekiel prophesied of the time when the sins of the Fathers would no longer afflict the children:

Eze 18:1 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
Eze 18:2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
Eze 18:3 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die” is simply Old Testament confirmation that “the wages of sin is death… for that all have sinned”, and all will die before they can begin to be judged.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

It is our own old man whose place is no more, who suffers from the sins of his father the devil, and whose destruction and death is inevitable. It is our new man who, through channel of the death of our old man, is not visited by the sins of the fathers, whose “place” is not removed, and who will never die.

Psa 37:9 For evildoers [ within us] shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Pro 10:25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked [“old man” within each of us] no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
Pro 10:30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.

“The righteous shall never be removed…” So much for the false doctrine of a secret rapture which claims the righteous will be removed from this earth.

Job 20:11 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
Job 20:12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
Job 20:13 Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:
Job 20:14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.

The lies of Babylon are “sweet in our mouths… yet… it is the gall of asps within” us, when we are brought to stand before our Judge where we all confess that it is we who must live by every word and where we will confess that all things are ours, the world, life, death, things present and things to come, all are ours.
“Though he spare it” refers to the wicked doctrine “in his mouth” of the previous verse. The word ‘spare’ means to retain it, and cling to his false doctrines as long as he can in the same sense as it is used in this verse in:

1Sa 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

God had commanded King Saul to destroy everything and spare nothing of the Amalekites, but King Saul, like Job, his friends, and each of us, thought he knew better than God how to worship and serve Him.

Job 20:15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

It is nothing less than spiritual ‘chronic adolescence’ which God sends to blind us and which keeps us “full of the sin of [ our] youth”, under the power of the passions of our fleshly youth, and all the lies of Babylon which always have and always will appeal to those who are spiritually immature.

1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Next week we will hear Zophar’s last words to Job, as they are recorded here in this story of Job. These are the words which describe the future of our “old man… the first man Adam” so long as “the wrath of God abideth upon him”. As Zophar so well stated:

Job 20:6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
Job 20:7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

We convince ourselves we have “ascended to heaven”, even as the wrath of God “abides on us”.

Eze 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
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.

Here is God’s own description of what His wrath performs upon our proud, self- righteous, old, first man Adam:

Job 20:16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.
Job 20:17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
Job 20:18 That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
Job 20:19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
Job 20:20 Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.
Job 20:21 There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.
Job 20:22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
Job 20:23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
Job 20:24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
Job 20:25 It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
Job 20:26 All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.
Job 20:27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
Job 20:28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
Job 20:29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.