The Two Works of Scripture: Part 2, The Work of God and Works Wrought in God

[Study Aired April 29, 2026]

Recap and Orientation

In Part 1 we established that Scripture recognizes two categories of works that no natural effort can produce — the one proceeding from the old man, the other from the indwelling Spirit. The natural man, proceeding from the living soul rather than the quickening spirit, produces only “dead works” — a category broad enough to include moral evil, works of the flesh, religious activity, and even the commanded ordinances of the Mosaic law, all of which fail to justify the man who performs them. Romans 7 disclosed the personal crisis: the will is present but the power is absent, and the cry of the chapter is for deliverance, not improvement.

Part 2 now turns to the resolution. If the old man cannot work the works of God, can the works of God be worked at all? The answer Scripture gives is both simple and staggering: yes — but only when the Worker Himself is received. The work of God is believing on the One whom God has sent. From that single act of receiving the Son, a new order of works begins — no longer originated by the natural man, no longer offered as the basis of our acceptance before God, but wrought in God through the indwelling Spirit.

The Hinge: What Is the Work of God?

The decisive question is asked in the sixth chapter of John. A multitude, having eaten of the loaves and sought Christ across the sea, approached Him with a question every natural man eventually asks: What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? (John 6:28). The question presupposes that God has works He desires performed, that men are capable of performing them, and that earnest labor is the path to God’s approval. It is the native religion of the sons of Adam, offered sincerely.

Christ’s answer dismantles the premise entirely: This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent (John 6:29). The singular — work, not works — arrests us. And the content — believing, not laboring — overturns the question’s assumption. The work God requires is not something man originates and offers to God, but something God does in man when man receives the Son. It is the moment the laborer ceases striving and receives the One in whom all of God’s working dwells.

Paul develops this same truth in Romans 4. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness (Rom 4:4-5). Two mutually exclusive categories: the one who works and earns debt, and the one who believes and receives righteousness. Abraham is the exhibit: For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness (Rom 4:2-3). Paul’s argument is not against works as such but against the works of the old man offered to God apart from faith in the One whom He has sent.

The same principle appears in Romans 9:30-32: What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. Israel labored; the Gentiles believed. Israel sought by works; the Gentiles received by faith. The paradox exposes the nature of the natural order’s labor: the more it is pursued as the basis of standing before God, the more it confirms the flesh’s inability to attain the spiritual.

Titus 3:5 places the same truth under the gospel’s own heading: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. The verse speaks twice — first to exclude what cannot save, then to name what does: not our righteous works, but the regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. The natural excluded; the spiritual introduced. And what the spiritual introduces is not less activity but differently sourced activity — for Paul declares in the same letter the very purpose of Christ’s purifying work: Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works (Titus 2:14). Christ did not ransom a people from the natural order’s bondage in order to leave them in idleness; He ransomed them in order to purify them into a people whose very character is zeal for works wrought in God. The regenerated man does not labor less; he labors differently — not by his own strength but according to the working of the One who works in him mightily (Col 1:29)

Hebrews 4: Ceasing from One’s Own Works

Before we can consider the works wrought in God, we must consider the cessation Scripture says must come first. Hebrews 4 develops the Sabbath typology in a way that directly applies to works. For we which have believed do enter into rest… There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his (Heb 4:3, 9-10).

The Greek word for “rest” in verse 9 is sabbatismos — a sabbath-keeping. The rest is a cessation, not an inactivity. It is the deliberate laying down of one’s own labor in order that another’s work may proceed. The pattern is Genesis 2. God finished His works; God rested; God’s rest was entered by all who participated in His finished work. Under the old covenant the weekly Sabbath commemorated this pattern as external sign — a natural shadow; under the new covenant the believer enters the reality the sign declared — the spiritual substance. Colossians 2:16-17 confirms the typology explicitly: Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. The weekly day was shadow; the rest in Christ is substance.

Observe the precise parallel in Hebrews 4:10: he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. The believer’s cessation is like God’s cessation. God did not cease working because He was tired; He ceased because His work was finished. Likewise the believer ceases not from all activity but from his own works — the self-originating labor of the old man offered as the basis of his standing before God.” What remains when that ceases is not idleness but a different order of labor — the works of Christ wrought through the believer by the Spirit.

This is why the writer issues the solemn exhortation: Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief (Heb 4:11). The only labor now appropriate is the labor of entering the rest. Every other labor, however sincere, returns the believer to the condition of the natural order from which Christ has delivered him. The Sabbath shadow ceased; the rest it signified remains, and the believer enters it by the cessation of his own works in order that the Worker may proceed unhindered.

This is the missing link between Part 1 and the spiritual works about to be considered. The works of the spiritual do not add themselves to the works of the natural; they proceed out of the cessation of the natural man’s labors. The old man must stop before the new Man can be seen. The burden of self-effort must be laid down before the yoke of Christ can be received, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11:28-30). The invitation to rest is the invitation to cease our dead works and receive the Worker whose labor is life.

Works Wrought in God

Our Lord draws the contrast in the third chapter of John with a single statement: But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God (John 3:21). The determining question concerning any deed is not what it looks like but where it was wrought. Two men may perform identical outward acts — one wrought in the flesh, the other wrought in God — and the first is dead while the second is living. Works wrought in God proceed from the quickening spirit rather than the living soul, manifesting the operation of the One who dwells within.

Jesus Himself, in the days of His flesh, modeled the pattern perfectly: The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works (John 14:10). Christ did not labor as the first Adam labored; He labored as the Last Adam, a quickening spirit, in whom the Father’s working was perfectly manifest. And He declared that the same pattern would extend to all who believe: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father (John 14:12).

The purpose of these works is not the believer’s own credit but the Father’s glory. Our Lord declared plainly: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matt 5:16). Works wrought in God are not performed for standing before God — that is already settled by faith. They are performed, or rather borne, so that the watching world sees not the believer’s effort but the Father’s life shining through him. The source of the work determines its direction: what proceeds from the old man points to the old man; what proceeds from the indwelling Worker points to the Father who sent Him.

The phrase “greater works” has stumbled many readers. The key is to let Christ interpret His own word. In Luke 7:28 He uses the same Greek term — meizon (G3187) — to declare that the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist, the greatest prophet born of women. This is not a comparison of individual ability; it is a declaration of order. The least of the spiritual surpasses the greatest of the natural, because the spiritual order is categorically greater than the natural. That same word governs John 14:12. The works believers do are greater not because they exceed Christ’s miracles in individual power — none has raised a Lazarus or stilled a sea — but because they belong to a higher order entirely. They are works wrought in God, proceeding from the indwelling Spirit rather than from the natural man, and what the Spirit produces belongs to the spiritual order. Christ’s ascension inaugurated the sending of the Spirit, who now works from within countless members of His body across every nation and age. The scope is greater; the order is greater; the source is the same indwelling Worker whose presence Pentecost multiplied into the members of His body. The “greater” is the greatness of the spiritual over the natural — the same greatness by which the least in the kingdom exceeds the greatest born of women.

God Working Within

Paul develops the indwelling Worker doctrine with a specific Greek verb that rewards careful attention. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Phil 2:12-13). The believer’s working out flows entirely from God’s working in. The verb rendered “worketh” is energeo (Strong’s G1754) — to operate effectively, to be at work within, to produce energy from within.

The same verb converges across the apostolic letters to establish the doctrine. God worketh all things after the counsel of his own will (Eph 1:11). The power that worketh in us (Eph 3:20) is the measure of what God can accomplish beyond what we ask or think. Paul labors according to his working, which worketh in me mightily (Col 1:29). The word of God effectually worketh also in you that believe (1 Thess 2:13). And the writer to the Hebrews brings it to its fullest statement: Now the God of peace…make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ (Heb 13:20-21). Six witnesses to the same operative reality: God at work within, producing through His people every good work that is wellpleasing in His sight. The consistent picture is not human effort directed toward God but God’s own energy operating within the vessel He has made.

Ephesians 2:10 supplies the capstone: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. The Greek word for “workmanship” is poiema — that which is made, a crafted thing. We are not the craftsmen but the craft. We are not self-constructed moral agents; we are His workmanship. We are created in Christ Jesus — a new creation, not a rehabilitated old one. The good works are before ordained — prepared by God before we walk in them, like garments laid out in advance. We do not originate these works; we walk in them.

As we saw in the Hebrew Foundation, Isaiah already declared this centuries before Paul: LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us (Isa 26:12). What the Old Testament anticipated, the New Testament now confirms in full. The acceptable works of God’s people are works God Himself has wrought in them. The Worker and the works are both His.

This transforms our relationship to labor entirely. The old man labored to become something; the new man labors because he has been made something. The old man sought acceptance through his works; the new man has acceptance and expresses it in works. The old man’s works burdened and wearied; the new man’s works flow from the Spirit’s energy and fulfill the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:2). I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal 2:20). The Worker has taken up residence; the works are His.

The Unity of Faith and Works: Two Kinds, One Doctrine

Once the works of the natural order and the works wrought in God are clearly distinguished, the supposed contradiction between Paul and James resolves completely. The apostles are not teaching competing doctrines about the same category of works; they are addressing two different kinds of works.

Paul writes to the Romans: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (Rom 3:28). The works Paul excludes from justification are the works of the natural order — the labor of the old man offered to God as the basis of standing before Him. Such works cannot justify because they cannot produce what God requires. This exclusion is absolute.

James writes to the twelve tribes scattered abroad: Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (James 2:24). The works James requires for the vindication of faith are works wrought in God — the living activity of faith that has entered into operation, the fruit that proves the tree, the evidence that Christ has taken up residence. James is not adding something else to stand on alongside what Paul establishes; James is insisting that faith itself must be alive, and living faith necessarily produces living works. What Paul calls “works” in the justification debate is a different category from what James calls “works” in the vindication debate. Same vocabulary; different referents; no contradiction.

Both apostles appeal to Abraham, and together they reveal the harmony. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness (Gen 15:6, quoted both in Rom 4:3 and James 2:23). Yet James asks, Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21). The believing was Genesis 15; the offering was Genesis 22 — separated by years. The first was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness; the second vindicated it as genuine. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? (James 2:22). The works did not create the faith; they completed it, manifested it, proved it real.

Paul himself affirms the identical reality from his own vocabulary: For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love (Gal 5:6). Faith that works by love — the very phrase joins what human theology so often separates. The same apostle who denies that works of the law justify affirms that faith, to be genuine, must work by love. The work is not an addition to faith; it is the activity of faith, wrought in God through the indwelling Spirit. Paul writes of the Thessalonians, Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess 1:3). Paul has no quarrel with James; he uses James’s language.

So the apostolic witness is unified. Paul and James speak of two kinds of works — the works of the natural order (which cannot justify) and works wrought in God (which manifest the faith that already justifies). What we stand on before God is faith in Christ alone; the necessary evidence is works that faith produces through the Spirit. No one is justified by the first; no one who is justified remains without the second.

The Work is His

In Part 2 we have seen that the work of God is believing on the One whom God has sent, that faith enters the Sabbath rest by ceasing from one’s own works as God did from His, that the works which follow are wrought in God rather than in the flesh, that energeo reveals the indwelling operative power of God producing what no natural strength could, and that the apparent conflict between Paul and James dissolves when we see two kinds of works rather than two competing bases of salvation. The Worker has taken up residence in the believer; the works that now appear are His.

One final dimension remains. Scripture teaches a universal judgment of works — a day when every work will be manifested, tested by fire, and either rewarded or burned. In Part 3 we will consider that judgment, the testing of believers’ works according to 1 Corinthians 3, the devastating warning of Matthew 7 concerning religious works performed in Christ’s name, the sheep-and-goats scene of Matthew 25, and the final vindication of the apostolic pattern when the Worker is glorified in His works through His people.

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

Proverbs 26 “To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” Part 4  

(Pro 26:13-16)

[Study Aired March 5, 2026]

Pro 26:13  The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
Pro 26:14  As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.
Pro 26:15  The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
Pro 26:16  The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.

In this study of (Pro 26:13-16) we’ll review how Christ who is our wisdom (1Co 1:30) works within our hearts and minds (Jer 17:9) to lead us unto repentance (Rom 2:4) by the power of God’s holy spirit. God’s words which are spirit (Joh 6:63) become a lamp unto our path (Psa 119:105), that helps us discern His will that takes us out of a direction of spiritual slothfulness into a liberty in Christ, that produces a zealousness to do what is right in the temple of God that is being cleansed as we are “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (Rom 8:14-17, 2Co 7:9-11 ,  2Co 3:17-18).

2Co 7:11  For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Paul beseeches us (Rom 12:1-3) to present our lives a living sacrifice in order to overcome this slothful spirit, and John also explains the same message of not loving the world or being conformed to it so that we can discern the will of God (1Jn 2:15-17) which, when accomplished by God’s holy spirit within us (Zec 4:6, 2Co 3:17), will lead us into the glorious liberty of the children of God, even now (Joh 2:17, Rom 8:21, 1Jn 3:1).

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (Joh 17:3)

Joh 2:17  And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. (1Co 3:16, Php 2:12-13)

Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

In order “to know the love of Christ that passes knowledge”(Joh 17:3), we must be granted to see all these negative traits found in these proverbs, within our own heavens first (Pro 16:4), and continue to overcome them by the goodness of God that is expressed in “the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering” (Rom 2:4) traits of our heavenly Father that are used to continue to receive his children in this age (Heb 12:6, Tit 2:12-13).

Pro 26:13  The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.

This verse can be seen as referring to Christ who is the lion of the tribe of David who is the way, the narrow way in the streets, meaning in life, where God willing we are being consumed by His zealous spirit that is working within us both to will and to do of our Father’s good pleasure (Rev 5:4-5, Mat 7:13-14, Php 2:12-13).

Adam and Eve hid themselves in the garden and did not want to be judged by Christ who is the lion in the streets (Gen 3:8). God’s elect are being dragged to the altar which is the cross, where we die daily (Joh 6:44, 1Co 15:31) for the purpose of being cleansed by that light that is Christ within us, our hope of glory who is able to cleanse the temple from all sin (1Jn 1:6-10, 1Jn 3:1-3).

1Jn 1:6  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:(Heb 10:25)
1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.(Col 1:27, Rom 8:9)

The lion in the street can also be taken as meaning Satan who is the god of this world going to and fro seeking who he may devour in the streets (Job 1:7, 1Pe 5:6-8).

Job 1:7  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

The solution to overcoming the second lion is found by drawing close to Christ who is greater than him who is in the world (Jas 4:7-10, Luk 18:1, 1Pe 5:6-7, Php 4:6-7, Luk 22:31-32, 1Jn 4:4).

Jas 4:9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Luk 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:(Luk 18:1, 1Jn 4:17) and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Pro 26:14  As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.

There is a negative and positive use of a door and a bed, and the negative door is the one that “the door turneth upon his hinges” like “the slothful upon his bed”.

Pro 26:14  Lazy people turn over in bed. They get no farther than a door swinging on its hinges. (GNB)

Positively, the “bed” is undefiled in Christ because our labours in Him are holy and undefiled, and predestined from the foundation of the world (Heb 4:3, Eph 1:3-5, Heb 6:1).

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed [Joh 6:28-29] do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest [a predestined work] to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest [Php 2:12-13], he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest [Php 2:12-13], lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

[not acknowledging Christ doing the work within us is equated with slothful unbelief, and doing the work is equated with the faith of Christ “we which have believed [Joh 6:28-29] do enter into rest”].

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, [Luk 12:32, Luk 17:21]

Those works are being accomplished not by might or power but by God’s holy spirit, via the “door” (Php 2:12-13) who makes a way for us to bring forth much fruit through that door, that vine that Christ is to us.

If we contrast Jonah (Jon 1:4-6) with Christ (Mar 4:38-41) who are both asleep in ships in these stories it will help us understand how we are to enter into Christ’s rest through labouring in the word (Heb 3:18, Heb 4:11)

Jon 1:4  And the Lord sent out a great wind on to the sea and there was a violent storm in the sea, so that the ship seemed in danger of being broken.
Jon 1:5  Then the sailors were full of fear, every man crying to his god; and the goods in the ship were dropped out into the sea to make the weight less. But Jonah had gone down into the inmost part of the ship where he was stretched out in a deep sleep.

[We all start off as the foolish virgin as typified by Jonah in this story, and if we are God’s elect He deals with our spiritual inattentiveness, or slothfulness (Mat 25:5, Mat 26:40-41)]

Jon 1:6  And the ship’s captain came to him and said to him, What are you doing sleeping? Up! say a prayer to your God, if by chance God will give a thought to us, so that we may not come to destruction.

[trim your lamp by chance your God will give a thought to us]

Mar 4:37  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
Mar 4:38  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
Mar 4:39  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

[Christ (Mat 25:4) our hope of glory within (Col 1:27), is in the hinder part of the ship G4403, the area where the stern is, which is critical for the navigation of the ship Psa 107:13, Psa 107:19, Php 2:12-13]

Mar 4:40  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

[Christ’s rhetorical question because no faith had yet been given]

Mar 4:41  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

[they were still focused on the outward miracle and not able to answer Christ as to why they have no faith. This all representing us before we were given the faith of Christ that makes it possible for us to enter into Christ’s rest]

Heb 3:18  And to whom did he make an oath that they might not come into his rest? was it not to those who went against his orders?
Heb 3:19  So we see that they were not able to go in because they had no belief. (1Jn 5:4)

Pro 26:15  The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.

A strong illustration of (Pro 26:15) is found in the Parable of the Talents in (Mat 25:24-30). The servant who received one talent hid it in the ground, did nothing with it, and excused his inaction. This mirrors the proverb well: the sluggard hides his hand, and the servant hides his talent in the earth, earth, earth that we are (Jer 22:29). Both avoid exertion, and both suffer loss because of their unwillingness to act. It takes God’s process of judgements in our earth, earth, earth for us to become a special people who are zealous of good works (Tit 2:14).

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

The servant was not asked to do something extreme—only to use what he had been given—yet even that felt like too much. His inactivity is a parable telling us what Christ told us, that we could of our own selves do nothing without him (Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5).

Joh 5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me

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

Those works, are works which are being done in the earth where the talent was buried. This is the point of the proverb and that parable of Christ, that the world does not understand and neither do God’s elect until were given to see that it is only Christ who can do those works through us as we continue to abide in the vine (Joh 15:5).

If we don’t acknowledge that it is Christ, and that we don’t have free will, those works are yet talents in the earth, symbolized by the unaccepted wheat offering of Cain that was not upon a burnt offering as his brother Abel’s was (Gen 4:3-7).

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

A similar pattern appears in the account of the foolish virgins in (Mat 25:1-13). They brought lamps but failed to bring oil. They began the process but did not prepare fully. Like the sluggard who will not finish lifting food to his mouth, they started but did not follow through, and their lack of readiness cost them dearly and is an admonition that by God’s grace and the faith of Christ (Eph 2:8-9), God’s elect will take heed in this age and be made ready and scarcely be saved through a process of judgement (1Pe 4:17-18).

This again is another parable that admonishes God’s elect and reminds us that we are being received of God to burn this spirit of the sluggard out of us (Heb 12:6, Tit 2:11-12), so that ultimately we can glorify God with the predestined works that He has called the body of Christ unto.

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.

In our appointed time we are the first to say ‘haven’t I done many wonderful works, haven’t I trimmed my lamp’, etc. The truth is that once that man of perdition is destroyed from the temple of our hearts where we boast in our flesh,  then all such boasting is done away by the brightness of Christ’s coming into our heavens that tries our faith, so that it becomes precious in God’s sight (2Th 2:3-8,  Rom 3:27, 1Pe 1:7).

It is Christ’s tried faith that puts an end to that boastful spirit and then we begin to no longer hide our talent in the earth but rather lay up treasure in heaven through Christ (Mat 6:20). The only works that are accepted of God are those that are accompanied with a burnt offering that symbolizes our acknowledging that Christ is the one doing the work through us. The many who come up in the great white throne, lake of fire judgement, second resurrection, are the majority of humanity who did not have God’s spirit within them, and like the rich young ruler whom Christ loved (Mar 10:21), cannot follow Christ in this age, and will come up in the second resurrection claiming they have done many wonderful works, not knowing that those works were all hidden in the earth, like the talent that was buried in the earth (Mat 19:23, Mat 25:18).

Mat 19:23  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 25:18  But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

Another vivid example is the neglected field described in (Pro 24:30-34). The field is overgrown with thorns, the wall broken down, and everything deteriorated through neglect. The owner likely once intended to tend it, but repeated small acts of avoidance that led to ruin. This captures the “it grieveth him” mindset—where even necessary effort feels burdensome. In each case, what was needed was not extraordinary strength, but simple, faithful action that was continually put off.

Once again the story was written for God’s elect today to remind us that if we are faithful in little we will be faithful in lots (Luk 16:10), and that faithfulness will stem from our being given to not neglect so great a salvation, as God drags us to Christ, who permits us to bring forth much fruit to His glory in whom we first trusted (Heb 6:3, Eph 1:12). In other words we bring nothing to the table, and despite ourselves what God has started in us He will finish through the author and finisher of our faith, not by our might, or power, but by God’s holy spirit (Zec 4:6).

Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Pro 26:16  The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.

It takes a miracle for us to finally confess that we ‘are the man’ (2Sa 12:7) and that all our wise indictments of others’ bad behaviour is pointless and hypocritical if we don’t see ourselves as the chief of sinners in need of going through much tribulation, all the seals, trumpets, and vials, in order to enter into His rest. We can’t naturally do this in our flesh which does not have the power or might to open those seals without Christ giving us the power to do so. A process of judgement is being granted to the body of Christ in this age that can only be accomplished through Christ (Rev 13:4, Rev 5:1-5, 1Pe 4:17-18).

2Sa 12:7  And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

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?

Rev 5:1  And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
Rev 5:2  And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Rev 5:3  And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:4  And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.(Col 1:27)

The sluggard who is wise in his own conceits is each one of us, who can’t hear  “seven men that can render a reason” because of that conceit in our hearts that needs to be burnt out by the seals, the trumpets and the vials of God so that we can enter into the temple of God (Rev 15:8).

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

The seven men represent the complete counsel of the church which the spiritual sluggard in me cannot receive until that spirit is burnt out of me through judgement. We are confident in our flesh that we can do what God asks of us, but in reality it is only Christ in us as, our hope of glory who can make a way where there seems to be none so that we can drink the cup that we are called unto (Mat 20:22-23).

Mat 20:22  But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
Mat 20:23  And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

Ezekiel 34:1–16 The Shepherds of Israel

[Study Aired October 14, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

Today, our study concerns the shepherds of the people of Israel and their works of evil. These shepherds were the leaders of the people of Israel. The people of Israel represent the physical churches of this world or Babylon and the shepherds are the leaders in Babylon and therefore are the apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists and teachers parading in the corridors of the church system of this world. Today’s study therefore shows us the deplorable condition in the churches of this world, of which we were part of, until the Lord came with the spirit of His mouth and with His brightness to deliver us. In studying His words today, we shall also be more equipped to be able to test the spirit of many men and women of God who parade as the Lord’s messengers but are not.

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

As the Lord’s elect, we are being trained by the Lord to grow in spiritual stature such that we can lead the Lord’s people in this age and also to become rulers or leaders of the nations of this world in an age to come when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. All of us are therefore required by the Lord to mature spiritually as we grow in His grace. What we are studying today is therefore applicable to each one of us.

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

To kick start our study for today, we need to know who a good shepherd is. This will make it easier to know what is wrong with these shepherds of Israel. We know that Jesus Christ is the good shepherd or leader of the Lord’s people and He has shown us what He does for us. Let’s take a look at Psalm 23:

Psa 23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psa 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

A shepherd takes care of the needs of the flock such that they do not lack. That is to say that we do not want. The reason we do not lack or want is because He makes us to lie down in green pastures and also leads us beside the still waters. The green pastures and the still waters all refer to the truth of the word of the Lord, which, when we are privileged to know, we have access to everything we need in this life. The green pastures and the still waters also signify our physical needs. That means that the Lord provides both our spiritual and physical needs.

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

2Co 9:8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Lying down in green pastures and being led besides the still waters all imply that we rest in Him, that is, become content with our situation as we look up to Him who does the work. Unfortunately, the shepherds we had in Babylon taught us that everything depends on us as the Lord has given us our free will, thus, causing us to be pierced with many sorrows in our attempt to become self-sufficient.

1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1Ti 6:7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
1Ti 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

As stated in Psalm 23:3, it is the Lord who restores our soul and leads us in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake. Our righteousness is not of ourselves. It is the work of the Lord. Our souls being restored means that we were initially marred in the hand of the Potter and therefore He makes us into another vessel fit for His purpose. This restoration process is through the Lord’s judgement. A good shepherd therefore points us to Christ to do the work and not to ourselves.

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.

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

The valley of the shadow of death refers to our judgement in Psalm 23:4, which we are destined to encounter if we are called and chosen by the Lord. Here the Lord is assuring us that He will take care of us and that we should not fear even when everything seem to be against us. This is because He is always with us and will not leave us alone. In the final analysis, the Lord’s rod and staff will comfort us and not destroy us. Our shepherds in Babylon did not warn us of the Lord’s judgement as they made us aware that we are not to suffer.

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

‘Preparing a table before us in the presence of our enemies’ means that our leaders must feed us with the Lord’s words, while the flesh or old man who is powered by the devil, our enemy, is still active in our lives. It is through His words that we overcome the flesh. ‘Our heads being anointed with oil’ means being given the privilege of understanding the spiritual significance of His words. In other words, being given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom. ‘Our cups running over’ means that when we are filled with His words, our lives shall overflow with His words. That is to say that our walk shall be dictated by the word of the Lord. All of this is to show us what a good shepherd does. That is, to help us walk according to the dictates of the word of the Lord.

Finally, the Lord is telling us in Psalm 23:6 that ‘His goodness and mercies shall always follow us’. Unfortunately, our leaders in Babylon taught us that the Lord’s mercies end when we die. It is as if they have not read the following:

Psa 118:1  O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth forever.
Psa 118:2  Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth forever.
Psa 118:3  Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth forever.
Psa 118:4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth forever.

Our Lord Jesus, in His life here on earth, told us that a good shepherd lays down His life for us and as we are aware, the Lord laid down His life for us. We are all to lay down our lives for one another. That means to sacrifice our lives in serving one another.

Joh 10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Joh 10:12  But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
Joh 10:13  The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Joh 10:14  I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Joh 10:15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the shepherds of the people of Israel and what they do.

The Shepherds of Israel Feed Themselves

Eze 34:1  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 34:2  Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 
Eze 34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 

As indicated in the previous studies, the word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel signifies the Lord coming to His elect with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. What this means is that the Lord coming to His elect is to judge them for the destruction of their flesh. The coming of the Lord is also to illuminate His words so that we can understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

It is when Christ comes to us with His brightness that we are able to see who the shepherds of Israel really are. These shepherds are the leaders of the physical churches of this world or Babylon. The first thing the Lord wants us to note about these shepherds is that they feed themselves instead of the Lord’s flock. The opulence displayed by these shepherds is obvious for everyone to see, even the people of the world, that these people feed themselves instead of the Lord’s flock. The word of the Lord says that since we have received freely from the Lord, we must also give freely His words. Tell me, is this what we see in the churches of this world? There is nothing wrong when we share freely what we have with those who minister to us. However, that is not what we see in Babylon. The leaders have put a yoke of tithing and offering on the shoulders of the flock and at the end of the day, they are the beneficiaries of these tithes and offerings.

Mat 23:4  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
Mat 23:5  But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
Mat 23:6  And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
Mat 23:7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

In the Old Testament, the fat of a sacrificial animal belongs to the Lord, as shown in the following:

Lev 3:16  And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD’S.
Lev 3:17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.

In verse 3, therefore, the shepherds eating the fat means that they appropriate for themselves that which belongs to the Lord. To understand what this means, let’s take a look of what happened to David, a symbol of the Lord’s elect, who was a good leader of the Lord’s people.

2Sa 23:12  But he (David) stood in the middle of the field and defended it by killing Philistines. So the LORD won an impressive victory.
2Sa 23:13  At harvest time three of the thirty leading men came to David at the cave of Adullam when a troop from the Philistine army was camping in the valley of Rephaim.
2Sa 23:14  While David was in the fortified camp, Philistine troops were at Bethlehem.
2Sa 23:15  When David became thirsty, he said, “I wish I could have a drink of water from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem.”
2Sa 23:16  So the three fighting men burst into the Philistine camp and drew water from the well. They brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as an offering to the LORD and said,
2Sa 23:17 “It’s unthinkable that I would do this, LORD. This is the blood of men who risked their lives!” So, he refused to drink it. These are the things which the three fighting men did. (GWV)

David felt that it was not right to appropriate that which belongs to the Lord. In other words, David regarded the risk that these three men could have lost their lives for him in deciding to fetch water for him, as something that should be done only for our Lord Jesus Christ. That was why He did not take the water, but offered it to the Lord. On the other hand, the shepherds of Babylon appropriate that which belongs to the Lord (eat the fat) as they are worshipped by the flock and they make people sacrifice their lives for them instead of pointing them to Christ as David did.

Verse 3 shows us that these shepherds clothe themselves with wool. The Lord’s righteousness is represented by fine linen, not wool.

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

These shepherds being clothed in wool, therefore, means that they create their own righteousness.

Rom 10:3  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Verse 3 also indicates that these shepherds kill the flock that are fed. Who are the flock that are fed? They are those who come with joy into the assembly of the churches after hearing the word of the Lord, thinking that their relationship with the Lord shall be deepened. However, these shepherd put them to spiritual death by teaching them the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. In preaching the wisdom of man, we throw away the truth of the word of the Lord which is able to save us and deny the Lord’s people of the word of the Lord which is required to help them to grow spiritually.

Eze 34:4  The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 

The “diseased” are those who are weak in faith and need to be taken care of. This is the admonition of one of the good shepherds (Paul) of the Lord’s house concerning what we should do with the weak in our midst:

Rom 14:1  As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
Rom 14:2  One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.
Rom 14:3  Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
Rom 14:4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.  (ESV)

As the body of Christ, we must carry everybody along. Unfortunately, that is not what the shepherds of Babylon do. They are interested in what will benefit them. The sick are those who are oppressed by the devil. That is to say that they are dominated by the flesh which is empowered by the devil.

Mar 1:34  And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

Mat 8:16  When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:

Verse 4 also indicates that the shepherds do not care about those who are lost. The lost are those who do not seem to know the way of salvation. The Lord showed us who a good shepherd is by telling us the following:

Mat 18:10  Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 18:11  For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Mat 18:12  How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
Mat 18:13  And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
Mat 18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Eze 34:5  And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 
Eze 34:6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. 

To be scattered by the Lord implies being cast off by the Lord. Here in verse 5, the Lord is saying that where there is no leadership, the people of the Lord get scattered as they seek their own interest.

Psa 60:1  To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.

Jer 10:21  For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

Jer 23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

It is the vision of a people that keeps them together and where there is no vision, the people seek their own interests and therefore perish or are scattered.  This vision is what the Lord has revealed of His words to His people.

Pro 29:18  Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

In verse 5, it is stated that where there is no shepherd, the people of the Lord become meat to all the beasts of the field. That is to say that we become dominated by the flesh or our old man who is empowered by the devil.

Being scattered means that we wander through ‘all the mountains and upon every high hill’, as shown in verse 6. This means that we go from one place of worship to another and all that we find is ‘another Jesus’ who becomes the idol of our hearts. Jesus told us that He is the good shepherd who goes after one sheep that strays from the hundred sheep under His leadership. However, the leaders in Babylon do not care about the spiritual well-being of the people the Lord has given to them. All that they are interested in is having a large congregation which means more tithes and offerings.

Mat 18:12  How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
Mat 18:13  And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
Mat 18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

The Lord is Against the Shepherds

Eze 34:7  Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 
Eze 34:8  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 
Eze 34:9  Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 
Eze 34:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. 

We were the flock that became ‘a prey and meat to every beast of the field’. Here in these verses, the Lord assured us of our deliverance from the shepherds of Israel or Babylon. In verse 10, we are also promised by the Lord that He will deliver us from the mouth of these shepherds such that they can no longer feed us false doctrines. We thank the Lord that He came to us to deliver us when we were overcome by the flesh and were carried away by every wind of doctrine during our time in Babylon. Indeed, ‘the Lord has turned again our (Zion) captivity’.

Psa 126:1  A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
Psa 126:2  Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. 
Psa 126:3  The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.
Psa 126:4  Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.
Psa 126:5  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Psa 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Eze 34:11  For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 
Eze 34:12  As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 
Eze 34:13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 

These verses confirm the Lord’s promise of leaving the ninety-nine sheep to come and look for us, His elect. We are therefore privileged that the Lord came to us and is gathering us from various countries, to the praise of His glory. Now, we have come into Mount Zion, the city of the living God.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

Eze 34:14  I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 
Eze 34:15  I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 
Eze 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. 

These verses continue the Lord’s promise to us that He will ‘feed us upon the mountains of Israel’, ‘by the rivers’ of verse 13. By the Lord’s grace, the Lord is feeding us with the truth of His words. Verse 14 shows us that the Lord’s elect shall be fed on ‘a good pasture’ and have their fold ‘upon the high mountains of Israel’. The ‘good fold’ refers to the assembly of the Lord’s elect where every joint supplies what is needed by the body.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Causing us to lie down in verse 15 signifies the rest that we find in Christ. We were those who were first preached to. However, because of our unbelief, we did not find rest. By the mercies of the Lord, we have been brought into the assembly of His elect where we have found rest as we cease from our own strivings.

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Verse 16 shows us what the Lord is doing on our behalf. He has found us and brought us out of Babylon to be established in Him such that we shall not be driven away again. He is healing our broken-hearted and delivering us from our diseases or sickness, which relates to the oppression of the evil one. He does this through the destruction of the fat and the strong which signifies our flesh or the old man as we go through His judgement.

Psa 103:1  A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Psa 103:2  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psa 103:3  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psa 103:4  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  

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 forever. Amen.

Dan 12:1-13  O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end

[Study Aired June 13, 2024]

Dan 12:1  And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 
Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 
Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 
Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. 
Dan 12:5  Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. 
Dan 12:6  And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 
Dan 12:7  And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 
Dan 12:8  And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
Dan 12:9  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 
Dan 12:10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 
Dan 12:11  And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 
Dan 12:12  Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 
Dan 12:13  But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. 

Daniel, like all the prophets of old, were used by God to “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end”, and it was for the elect’s sake that God ordained it to be so (1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11, 2Co 4:15-16). 

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 

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 [the process of judgment upon all the sins of the world that are within us and must be ruled over through Christ (Joh 1:29) in order to fulfill God’s will  (1Jn 2:16-17)] .

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish [1Co 15:31], yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

In order for us to faint not, our outward man must perish and “the inward man is [be] renewed day by day” as we die daily (1Co 15:31). God is accomplishing this in the lives of “every one that shall be found written in the book” (Dan 12:1) by the faith of Christ (Php 2:12-13) which is given to the church that must be tried in fiery trials (Col 1:24, Act 14:22) in order to perfect that faith of Christ within us (Luk 22:32,  1Pe 1:7). We are immeasurably blessed to learn and know that the trials God gives us build up the church and not tear it down as He brings us to our safe haven (Psa 107:30). When we feel sore pressed on every side through judgment, God will intervene and deliver us after we are brought to our wits’ end, and then with the comfort He provides through the trial we will be able to comfort others, building up the body of Christ (Mat 16:18, 2Co 1:4, Joh 8:36, Rom 8:35-39).

2Co 1:4  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

It is through Christ and Christ alone that those seals of judgment can be opened and endured by those who are called to this narrow and strait way (Mat 7:13-14) that brings with it the strength of Christ (Php 4:13) and the promises of God that tell us we won’t faint in the day of adversity (Pro 24:10, Php 4:13), because God is faithful to hear and deliver His people (Luk 18:1, Luk 18:8, 1Pe 4:19, Rev 5:5, Php 1:6).

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it [Mat 22:14].

Rev 5:5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof [Php 2:12-13].

God wants us to focus on all these exceedingly great and precious promises that He’s given us which speak of our hope of glory within (Col 1:27, Rom 8:24). Christ is making a way for us to obtain the extra oil of God’s word, supplied through the church, through the trials of our faith, through the adversities of life God has promised will not prevail against the church, but rather will be the means (Rom 8:28) by which we will be able to go onto perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32, Luk 7:22, Heb 6:1, Mat 17:23).

Being confident of these promises and the work of grace through faith we’re experiencing through Christ unto salvation (Eph 2:8) is very much what this last chapter of Daniel is all about, starting with the first verse that sets the stage for these final prophecies of Daniel that are filled with  promise and hope for the body of Christ.

Dan 12:1  And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 

Michael standing up (Psa 24:3, Mal 3:2, Rev 6:17) represents the angels or messengers of God who experience God being mindful of them (Psa 8:3-4, Psa 111:5, Heb 2:6) by way of the holy spirit, the comforter that will strengthen them and see them through “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time” (Mat 24:20-22). Michael therefore represents our hope of glory within Jesus Christ (Col 1:27, Rom 8:9).

Mal 3:2  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Psa 8:3  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 
Psa 8:4  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  

We are being told “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered“, and this thought parallels Christ’s own words in Matthew 24:20-22. It is simply because God is mindful of His children that they will be able to endure through whatever God has ordained for them to endure through in this life (Mat 20:23, 1Co 10:13).

Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

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

It is because God is mindful of His workmanship (Eph 2:10), the church, the little flock, that “at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Rev 20:12, Rev 20:4-6).

Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened the books. And another Book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged by the things having been written in the books, according to their works.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

All men will hear His voice in the order which God has ordained (1Co 15:22-25), and it can only be in one of two resurrections; “unto the resurrection of life” or “unto the resurrection of damnation.” This is precisely what, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt”  is a prophecy of.

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Figuratively speaking, we are Christ’s feet that are first washed (Eph 5:30, Joh 13:8-10, 1Co 15:22-25) before the rest of the world, and so we read, “he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet” (1Co 15:25). This is the order of how all men will be saved, Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming, Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power [during the thousand year reign of the saints and right into the lake of fire, great white throne judgment] For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet [His feet being “the general assembly and church of the firstborn” who will be God’s threshing tool (Heb 12:23-24, Isa 41:14-16)].

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 

Joh 13:8  Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. [the elect are washed first so we can have a part in God’s plan of salvation (Oba 1:21)]
Joh 13:9  Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 
Joh 13:10  Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

Isa 41:14  Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 41:15  Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
Isa 41:16  Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

It is those who were granted to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour (2Pe 3:18) who will shine “as the brightness of the firmament.” The firmament represents the mind of Christ we have now within our hearts and minds, because of our heavens being cleansed (1Co 2:16, Joh 17:17, Heb 9:23). With that mind of Christ we will be able to save ourselves and those who hear us (1Ti 4:16).

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

1Ti 4:16  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

In time, all mankind will hear the manifest knowledge of God made known through the church who are likened to “the stars for ever and ever” (Rev 1:20) who will be used to “turn many to righteousness“, meaning all of humanity to righteousness (Oba 1:21).

Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. 

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S. 

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. 

Daniel is not given to know the truth of these prophecies, and so his book is closed as opposed to, “and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” of Danil 12:1. The seals of the book are open now for God’s elect which describe the detailed process of judgment God’s people must go through in order to make the bride ready (Act 14:22, Rev 21:2, Rev 19:7).

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

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

“Thy people are delivered” because God will send His word and heal the elect in this age, so that we in turn will be sent as Christ was sent to us to heal the nations (Psa 107:20-22, Joh 20:21-22, Joh 3:16-17, Oba 1:21).

Psa 107:20  He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. 

Psa 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 
Psa 107:22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. 

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 

Joh 20:22  And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S. 

The “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” represents the many called (Mat 22:14), ever searching but not able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2Ti 3:7). Part of the increase of physical knowledge is the increase in understanding historical events of history via the anti-types of Christ. However, by not connecting that reality of the spiritual anti-types to the spiritual type in Christ, leaves the searcher of truth ever searching and not able to come to the knowledge of truth (2Ti 2:24-26). This is a key to the kingdom that keeps the masses that are searching for Christ, blinded (Act 26:15-18), and as Christ said, it’s not that the many called don’t want to know these truths, it’s simply that it has not been given to them to know the truth, but it is given to God’s children whose eyes and ears have been blessed to be opened first (Mat 13:17-19).

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth [Mat 13:13].

2Ti 2:24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 
2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; [Joh 6:44]
2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, [Daniel in particular as we’re learning] and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Mat 13:18  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Dan 12:5  Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. 
Dan 12:6  And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 
Dan 12:7  And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Dan 12:8  And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
Dan 12:9  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 

Daniel then sees two men standing on either side of the river and a man clothed in linen upon the waters. The “man clothed in linen” represents Christ who is in our midst as we live and move and have our being within Him (Act 17:28). The word one is not in the original text of Daniel 12:6 so it is Daniel who asks the question, “And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” The two men on either side of the bank of the river represent the two witnesses who represent the elect, and the man on the water typifies Christ being clothed in linen, and His answer to Daniel about the wonders he is seeing describes for God’s elect who have ears to hear, that it is by Christ’s relationship with our Father, and our relationship with them both, that these wonders can be understood (Joh 14:20). The man on the water “held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever” because it is Christ who must intercede for us to be able to then fulfill what is said next “that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” This “time, times, and an half” is the time of our ministry on this earth which is Christ’s ministry being performed through the elect (Rev 11:1-3, Php 2:12-13). Daniel heard the words, but he did not understand, “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” Again we are reminded of how blessed we are to have eyes that see and ears that hear what Christ is saying in the midst of the church (Eph 3:10). Daniel’s time will come when he will know and understand, but at this point he was prophesying for us and was told “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.“

Dan 12:10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 

Dan 12:10  Till a number are tested and make themselves clean; and the evil-doers will do evil; for not one of the evil-doers will have knowledge; but all will be made clear to those who are wise. (BBE)

‘Many’ can both be seen as a larger or smaller number of people. We know there is an innumerable multitude spoken of in the book of Revelation, and that would be “many”, but the symbolic number of 144,000 which can be numbered, and represents the elect, is still ‘many’ throughout the ages who have been called and chosen and remained faithful to the end. In other words, “Till a number are tested” (Dan 12:10 BBE) or “many shall be purified” (Rev 17:14).

Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Going through a process of judgment in order to “be purified, and made white, and tried” is what those who are “called, and chosen, and faithful” of Revelation 17:14 will experience in this life. It is those trials that will help us learn obedience in this life and help us understand the will of God that transforms our thinking and brings our thoughts into subjection to Christ (2Ti 2:12, Tit 2:12). Those who despise God’s chastening are spoken of with these words, “but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand.“

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; [Heb 12:6]

Dan 12:11  And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 
Dan 12:12  Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 

The abomination of desolation being set up in the temple of God for 1290 days represents the man of perdition or beast on the throne of every man’s heart, and the number 12 represents our fleshly foundation in this case, which must be judged (9). The way this judgment is accomplished is by God’s hand (1), and our flesh is made manifest and witnessed against for what it is (2), through His judgment (9), the knowledge of sin being made known by the law that judges us (Rom 3:20).

Those who endure to the end will be saved in this life (Mat 24:13) and what we must be blessed to endure is the complete judgment of God’s wrath poured out upon us (Rev 15:8). Enduring through His wrath against our old man is symbolized by those who “waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” These are those who not only fall on the stone and are broken but also, “on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder” of Matthew 21:44.

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

Mat 21:44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

The 45 days beyond 1290 days that take us to 1335 reveals symbolic numbers that herald back to the point that God’s elect must go through a process of judgment, in order to “be purified, and made white, and tried.” Starting with number 45, we see it is the whole (4) of the elect who will be saved by grace through faith (5) and the numbers 4+5 add up to 9 which is the number that represents the judgment which we must endure to the end. 

These judgments are what are needed to form the patience and faith of the saints, by which we can possess our souls (Luk 21:19). The number 1335 represents the means by which God’s workmanship will be completed within those who have been predestined to that work in this life. The (1) represents God who is doing the work in us through Christ, the two (3)’s are a witness that it is Christ who is carrying out the process of judgment within us (Php 2:12-13) that will enable us to be saved by grace through faith, the number (5).

Dan 12:13  But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Daniel had to be a patient man (Jas 5:10) being given all this knowledge and wisdom and prophecy and yet was told  “go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.“

Jas 5:10  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

To “stand in thy lot at the end of the days” is coming up in the second resurrection, great white throne judgment. The prophets patiently enduring through so many trials in this life is the reason why they will have fewer stripes in the lake of fire, but every man’s works, including Daniel’s and John the baptist’s, and all of humanity, must be tried with fire (1Co 3:13-15, Mar 9:49-50)

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Mar 9:49  For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.
Mar 9:50  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

The Law of Moses Versus the Law of the Spirit – Part 15

We concluded our last study on the third phrase which was “that which is abolished”. We will continue our study today on Paul’s fourth phrase:

Phrase #4 – Blotting Out the Handwriting of Ordinances (Col 2:14)

Col 2:14  Blotting out [G1813: ‘exaleifo’] the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.

The Greek word here is exaleifo – Strong’s #1813. This is the only place it appears in Paul’s writings. This Greek word does appear four more times elsewhere in the New Testament, however:

• Act 3:19 – “Repent…that your sins may be blotted out [G1813, ‘exaleifo’] when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
• Rev 3:5 – “He that overcometh…I will not blot out  [G1813, ‘exaleifo’] his name out of the book of life.”
• Rev 7:17 – “… And God shall wipe away  [G1813, ‘exaleifo’] all tears from their eyes.”
• Rev 21:4 – “And God shall wipe away  [G1813, ‘exaleifo’] all tears from their eyes.”

It is translated “blotted out” three times and “wipe away” twice. Once again the “handwriting of ordinances… written and engraven in stone” has the same fate as sin. Sin is destroyed (katargeo – Rom 6:6), and here the “handwriting of ordinances” is exaleifo – “blotted out [and] done away” (Col 2:14, 2Co 3:7).

We really need to know what the “handwriting of ordinances” is. The Greek word for “handwriting” is cheirographon – Strong’s G5498. It is a compound of G5495 cheir, the Greek word for hand and G1125 grapho, to grave or write. This just happens to be the exact description given of the Lord writing the two tables of the old covenant:

Deu 4:13  And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote [H3789: kathab, to engrave] them upon two tables of stone.

How were they “written” or “engraven”?

Exo 31:18  And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written [H3789: ‘kathab’] with the finger of God [“handwriting of ordinances” (Col 2:14)].

How about the word “ordinances”? The Greek here is dogma, Strong’s G1378. Strong defines it as “a law (civil; ceremonial or ecclesiastical) a decree, ordinance.”

The most prominent handwritten “dogma” in the history of mankind is the old covenant, ten commandments, written with the “finger of God.” Every commandment begins with “Thou shalt” or “thou shalt not”. That is about as ‘dogmatic’ as you can get.

We have demonstrated that the carnal mind can be subject to the law of Moses. After hearing Christ quote the ten commandments, the rich young ruler answers “all these have I kept from my youth up” (Mat 19:20).  Yet there was “one thing” he was lacking:

Luk 18:21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
Luk 18:22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

“Touching the righteousness which is in the law, [I was] blameless” declares Paul of himself before his conversion (Php 3:6).

Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Christ teaches us that righteousness which is in the law is yet “lacking”. Outward obedience to the ten “carnal commandments” does nothing to cleanse the inner man, any more than outward circumcision would give one a circumcised heart. “Cleanse first that which is within…” (Mat 23:26). This admonition can never be performed by obeying the ten commandments and the law of Moses.

How can we say this? There is no change of heart or spirit because the commandments which were written and engraven in stone are “carnal commandments” for “lawless” carnal men, and “the law is not made for a righteous man but for the lawless and the disobedient…” (1Ti 1:9).

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Notice this very clear statement in:

Heb 7:16  Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. [The Words of a resurrected Christ]

In verse 11, Paul points out that the people “received the law” under the Levitical priesthood. He maintains that the priesthood now, under Christ, has reverted back to the priestly system in place before Levi or Aaron, a priesthood “after the order of Melichisedec.”

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

Why change the law? Here is why the law had to be changed:

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Rom 7:6  But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

“For by the law is the knowledge of sin… the law is not for a righteous man but for the lawless and disobedient” (1Ti 1:9).

Rom 3:20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is [simply] the knowledge of sin.

Both “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and “the law… the law of Moses” do nothing more than make us know and see that we are “exceeding sinful.”

Rom 7:13  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

“By the commandment” certainly includes the ten commandments, which did nothing more than make sin “become exceeding sinful.” The ‘law’ and ‘the commandment’ do nothing to change the hearts and minds of men. All the law does is to serve as a mirror into which we can look and perceive just how filthy and unclean we are. No mirror yet has ever washed anyone clean as does the blood and doctrine of Christ:

Jas 1:23  Because if any man is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this resembles a man observing his natural face in a mirror [The helpless, unmerciful and hopeless law of Moses].
Jas 1:24  For he observes himself, and goes away, and straightaway forgets what kind of man he was.

The reason we “forget what kind of man [we] are” is that we actually believe that being a good person according to the law makes us deserving of life eternal because “[our] righteousness which was in the law [made us] blameless”:

Php 3:4  Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Paul reveals that the righteousness which is of the law is nothing more than self-righteouness:

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Paul contrasts “mine own righteousness which is of the law” with the righteousness which is of “the gift of the faith of Jesus Christ” and he tells us that “gift of faith” is not of himself:

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

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.

Paul teaches that ‘[our] own righteousness is of the law’ of Moses and is therefore nothing more than the filthy rags of self-righteousness.

Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our [own] righteousnesses [of the law] are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

This is therefore his conclusion concerning the law of Moses:

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

We are told clearly “for the law made nothing perfect…” (Heb 7:19). “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: FOR BY THE LAW IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN” (Rom 3:20).

This is the reason given for changing the law. This statement brings us to our fifth phrase.

Phrase #5- A “Carnal Commandment Has Been Disannulled”

Heb 7:16  Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
Heb 7:17  For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Heb 7:18  For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.

Christ is made [a priest] not after the law of a CARNAL commandment, but after the power of an endless life” (vs 16). “For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the WEAKNESS AND UNPROFITABLENESS thereof” (Heb 7:18)

This verse doesn’t say the law “was weak through the flesh”. “The weakness and unprofitableness thereof” is a verbal description of the subject preceding it which is…  “the commandment”. Which commandment?

Matthew 5 mentions only two of the ten commandments; the two against murder and adultery. How did Christ demonstrate their weakness? Christ chose these two commandments to demonstrate to us that outward obedience to any law does nothing for the inner man. What has a man gained if he abstains from murder and yet hates his brother?  He is still a murderer:

1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

What spiritual profit is it to abstain from adultery while lusting after a woman in our hearts?

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.

The law of Moses, all 613 laws, are so spiritually weak that it tells you to hate your enemy. It is so spiritually weak that it favors the concept of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Paul says “the law is good, if a man use it lawfully” (1Ti 1:8-9). How does one use the law lawfully? By “knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient…”

Here is the only lawful use of the law of Moses:

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

Many a sermon has been preached quoting “All thy commandments are righteousness” (Psa 119:172) and “sin is the transgression of the law” (1Jn 3:4) as if Christ had never said ‘But I say unto you… love your enemy’ contrary to the law of Moses; as if he never told a man to pick up his bed on the Sabbath, contrary to the law; as if his teachings on divorce and remarriage were not contrary to the law of Moses, which is so spiritually weak that it teaches us that if we find no pleasure in our wife, then just write her a bill of divorcement, and send her on her way:

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.

Christ is our spotless and blameless Savior but not because he kept the law of Moses. If he had done so, he would not be spotless. You do “… by the letter…transgress the law [of the spirit of life” (Rom 8:1-2).

Rom 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?

How can that be? How can one keep the letter and break the law? If you can’t answer that question, then Matthew 5 means nothing to you. The letter is the problem. The letter of the law of Moses is signified by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; “I had not known sin but by the law” (Rom 7:7). “… The law is NOT made for a righteous man but for the lawless and disobedient” (1Ti 1:9). “The letter killeth” (2Co 3:6). It was “the letter” that killed Christ, and by breaking the letter Christ kept His “law of love” (Rom 13:10).

Rom 13:10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love [keeping the law of Christ (1Jo 5:2-3)] is the fulfilling of the law.

Let us at this point give a couple of examples of how a person “by the letter…dost transgress the law” (Rom 2:27). These examples will also demonstrate the “weakness and unprofitableness thereof” (Heb 7:18).

We will examine the two most distinguishing parts of the old covenant in the days of Christ and Paul – Sabbath keeping and circumcision.

One could be a Gentile in those days and honor parents, abstain from murder, adultery, lying, stealing, etc. but if that person were not circumcised, he was still not distinguished as a keeper of the law. On the other hand, if a Jew simply kept the Sabbaths and practiced circumcision, in those days, one was definitely recognized as a “son of the covenant” whether he honored his parents or not. He could be like Jacob and lie, cheat, and steal, and he was still considered to be a son of the covenant with Abraham.

Outward Sabbath Keeping

How did Christ feel about the Sabbath? As demonstrated above, He broke the Sabbath regulations repeatedly, admitted it and defended it: “David…did…[that] which was not lawful…” and “the priests…profane the Sabbath, and are blameless” (Mat 12:4-5). That sounds like a confession to me.

Yet Christ called himself “the guiltless.” “If you had known what this meaneth I will have mercy [on those breaking the outward Sabbath] and not sacrifice; ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Mat 12:7). What was Christ’s purpose in doing what He admits was “unlawful” and “profane”? His purpose was to “enter into [the real] rest”:

Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Physically resting has no more to do with ceasing from our own self-righteous works than the lamb slaughtered on the altar of the temple was the real sacrifice for sin. The real Sabbath has everything to do with ceasing from our works, not one day in seven, but twenty-four hours a day seven days a week! That attitude of “Not my will, but thine be done” is the true sabbath:

Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

According to Strong, ‘hitherto’ (G2193: heos) is “a conjunction, preposition and adverb of continuance.” What Christ is telling the self-righteous Pharisees, and us, is that… “My Father is on the job seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, and so am I.”

As mentioned earlier in this series of studies, creating this world had not tired our Creator. He simply ceased from working on His physical creation on the sixth day. The very fact that He ceased His work on the sixth day signifies that His work was not yet finished. It was not yet completed. Here is the link to the meaning of the number six:

Numbers – The Number Six

The Lord is in the process of completing His creation. The Hebrew is in the ‘Qal stem’ which tells us that a process is taking place, and the Lord has not yet completed the spiritual creature which will be in His image and likeness. The fact God hallowed the seventh day and made it holy makes it no more permanently holy than the holy ground in Arabia where Moses was told to take off his shoes. The only reason that ground was ‘holy’ was the fact that Moses was in the presence of Christ. The only thing making the seventh day Sabbath ‘holy’ was that Christ had commanded Moses to cease from work on that day. The seventh-day sabbath was given to ancient Israel as a type and shadow of Christ, “the Lord of the sabbath” (Mat 12:1-8).

“For we which have believed do enter into [Christ, our] rest…there remaineth therefore a Sabbath [Christ in us] to the people of God. [Because] he that is entered into his rest hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His” (Heb 4:3, 9-10). This “ceasing from our own works” is the Sabbath that “remaineth”. Entering into Christ is not a one-in-seven Sabbath.

How does observance of the weekly Sabbath break the law of the new covenant? Keeping the weekly sabbath when Christ broke it (Joh 5:18) is clinging to a “carnal… ordinance” (outwardly entering into rest) imposed on them only until “the time of reformation” (Heb 9:10). When we observe a weekly sabbath, we are confessing that we are reserving six days of the week for our own works just as surely as the scribes and Pharisees were bearing witness against themselves by “garnishing the sepulchers of the righteous” whom their fathers had killed.

Mat 23:29  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Mat 23:30  And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Mat 23:31  Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

Had Christ kept the seventh-day Sabbath, He would have been bearing witness against Himself that six days in seven He was doing His work, not the work of His Father.

The Law and circumcision are All or None at All

If Christ’s righteousness was in the law of Moses, then He would also have been required to keep the whole law.

Gal 3:10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Gal 5:3  For I testify again [Paul had been down this road before] to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

James agrees with Paul. After encouraging us to “fulfill the royal law [not torah] according to the scripture”, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”, he then makes the same point about the law that Paul makes. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all…So speak ye and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. [Because] he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (Jas 2:8, 10-13).

Jas 2:8  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Jas 2:9  But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
Jas 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Jas 2:11  For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Jas 2:12  So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Jas 2:13  For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

This “law of liberty” of James 2:12 is the same “liberty” Paul speaks of in Galatians 5:1 and which Paul also calls “the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). Of this “law of libery” James goes on to tell us it is a law of mercy, and he tells us that the law he has in mind shows mercy, and “mercy rejoices against judgment”.

Gal 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

There was no “mercy” in the law of Moses:

Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Therefore, James and Paul are in complete accord with each other. We are indeed saved by chastening grace without our own self-righteous works of the law… because we are HIS workmanship, created unto good works which He hath before ordained that we should walk in them:

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that [faith] not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of [our own] 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. [“Faith without works is dead”]

Jas 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Jas 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811: Paideuo, chasten] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Grace… chastens us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust and to live righteously…” Paul obviously agrees with James that “faith without works is dead”. When Paul says “Not of works”, his very next words demonstrate he is referring to works of our own:

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 [our own] 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 [“Faith without works is dead”].

Jas 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Jas 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Our works are not of ourselves. It is the Lord Himself who performs what He has “before ordained that we should walk in”:

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

Modern Theology

Those who think that the law of Moses is to be kept by all who are in Christ will tell you “the only thing nailed to the cross (besides an innocent man) was the animal sacrifices and the blood offering and the rituals surrounding them. All the other laws of God are still in effect today…” [Was Jesus a Racist? by Glen Myers]

While most professing Christians are not willing to go as far as Mr. Myers, saying “all the other laws are still in effect”, they do agree with him in varying degrees. Most professing Christians think more in line with Mr. Frank Brown quoted earlier in the studies. The common reasoning is that the ten commandments are not part of “the law of commandments contained in ordinances”, “abolished” in Ephesians 2:15, and “blotted out and nailed to his cross” in Colossians 2:14.

That the phrase “the law”, when standing alone, is always intended to include the ten commandments is demonstrated by the scriptures:

Gal 5:3  For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Gal 5:4  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from [chastening] grace.

This means the whole law, not just the ten commandments. In other words, if one believes that Torah (the law) will help to save him, then he is required by Torah to keep it all: “Cursed is everyone that continueth not in ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW to do them” (Gal 3:10 which quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26 and Jeremiah 11:3):

Deu 27:26  Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Gal 3:10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

 The words “written and graven in stone” (2Co 3:7), the ten commandments, are in the “book of the law” in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. That “the book of the law” includes the ten commandments is unquestionable: “… I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet” (Rom 7:7).

“The law” is a single package. Any attempt to dissect or parse it so as to preserve some part of it will bring the curse of these verses down on those who do so. Our salvation is in ‘the faith of Jesus Christ’:

Rom 3:22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Gal 2:16  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Circumcision

Why does Paul mention circumcision so often? If the whole law is meant by the phrase ‘the old covenant’, why does he make it so clear that circumcision is no longer required? Why, for example, did he not say “I testify again to every man that keeps the Sabbath that he is a debtor to keep the whole law”?

The answer is that the Sabbath, important as it was to the old covenant, was only a sign, a token (Hebrew – owth; Strong’s H226) of the covenant. “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep for a sign between me and you throughout your generations” (Exo 31:3).

Circumcision, on the other hand, is called “the covenant of circumcision.” “And he [God] gave him [Abraham] the covenant of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed to them also” (Rom 4:11).

Circumcision is the original sign of the old covenant and is used by Paul as a single word to express the thought of being a physical Israelite and considering that physical pedigree to be of some consequence to God: “And they of the circumcision which believe were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Act 10:45).

Act 10:45  And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

It’s obvious from this scripture that even Jews who believed in Christ at the time of Peter’s visit to Cornelius’s house still had quite a high degree of “confidence in the flesh”:

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Php 3:4  Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

Luke’s use of the phrase “of the circumcision” encompassed both the “confidence in the flesh” and the confidence in “works of the law”; circumcision being “the sign” of the old covenant.

God’s “Tabernacle” and His “Rest” are the Same in Scripture

With this in mind, let’s continue the thought in Hebrews 9: “Carnal ordinance[s] [were] imposed on them [only] until the TIME OF REFORMATION. But Christ being come an high priest of GOOD THINGS TO COME by a GREATER AND MORE PERFECT TABERNACLE, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this [stone and mortar] building” (Heb 9:10 and 11). And what is that “greater and more perfect tabernacle? It just happens to be the same as His real rest:

Psa 132:13  For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
Psa 132:14  This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

 The Lord’s dwelling IS His rest, and our dwelling is our rest. “The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them… who have entered into His rest” (Rev 21:3). It is those who are “in Christ” who are the Zion of Psalm 132:13-14 and are also the “…bride adorned for her husband”, the “holy city New Jerusalem” of Revelation 21:2.

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

Christ is our rest, and we in Christ are His rest: “On that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (Joh 14:20). If we are in Christ, then He is in us and we are all in God through Christ.

If we insist on observing the seventh day Sabbath and all the holy days, why are we not still offering sacrifices? If we don’t offer sacrifices because the type is fulfilled in Christ, why are we still observing all the other types which Christ has fulfilled? His own words are “it is finished” (Joh 19:30). “For we which have believed do enter into rest…” (Heb 4:3). Christ IS our Sabbath every day. Is he not also our Passover every day, living his life in us, is he not also our days of unleavened bread every day? Is he not the Spirit coming to us, our Pentecost, every day?

In Christ we “lift up our voice like a trumpet and show God’s people their transgressions” (Isa 58:1). Therefore Christ is our festival of trumpets every day.

Being “seated with him in heavenly places” (Eph 2:6) are we not at one with God? Is he not therefore our day of Atonement?

Knowing that we will reign with Him a thousand years, is He not our feast of Tabernacle?

Knowing that “as in Adam all die SO in Christ shall ALL be made alive” (1Co 15:22), is he not also our “last great day”?

Joh 7:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Yes, Christ is our last great day of the feast! All of the festivals God gave Israel were all a celebration of Christ and who He is. They were a celebration of Him fulfilling every “day, month, time, and year” mentioned in all the Old Testament festivals of ancient Israel.

Exodus 31:1-18  Bezaleel and Aholiab; and the Sabbath

[Study Aired January 2, 2022]

Exo 31:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 31:2  See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 
Exo 31:3  And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 
Exo 31:4  To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 
Exo 31:5  And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. 
Exo 31:6  And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; 
Exo 31:7  The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, 
Exo 31:8  And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
Exo 31:9  And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot, 
Exo 31:10  And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office, 
Exo 31:11  And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do. 
Exo 31:12  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 31:13  Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. 
Exo 31:14  Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 
Exo 31:15  Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 
Exo 31:16  Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 
Exo 31:17  It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 
Exo 31:18  And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

This chapter shows us how the Lord equips His children to make them useful in building and making His tabernacle functional. It also focuses on the sabbath which represents our rest in Him. In Ephesians 4:8-16 we are shown how the Lord equips His people to make them effective in building the body of Christ. These verses in Ephesians therefore summarize the first 11 verses of Exodus chapter 31, which is today’s subject under review.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 
Eph 4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 
Eph 4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 
Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

As we can see in Ephesians 4:13, the purpose of our work in building the body of Christ is for us to measure up to the stature of the fullness of Christ. This is done through bringing His elect together in the unity of the faith through the knowledge of Jesus Christ which is what every joint supplies. Unity of the faith means that we are all of one mind, speaking the same thing and having the same judgment.

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

This chapter also shows us that a prerequisite to being effective in the service of the Lord is finding rest in Him, which is symbolized by the need to keep the sabbath. Resting in Christ means that we cease from our own strivings. In other words, we come to realize that everything is from the Lord, and therefore we depend on Him wholly to do His work through us. In Exodus 11:12-18 we are given details on how we can observe the sabbath. These verses therefore throw more light on how we can effectively rest in Christ. 

Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Exo 31:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 31:2  See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:

In these verses, the Lord wanted Moses to know how He had prepared Bezaleel to carry out the building of the tabernacle. According to Strong’s Dictionary, the name “Bezaleel” means “in the shadow of God.” If we are called and chosen, then the Lord will prepare us under the shadow of His wings, which is the secret place of the Most High. In other words, the Lord prepares us in secret, from the eyes of everyone.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Psa 17:8  Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

Apostle Paul gives us an example of how the Lord trains us in secret.

Gal 1:11  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
Gal 1:12  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Gal 1:15  But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, 
Gal 1:16  To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

This does not mean that we do not need men to assist us in our spiritual growth since it is the Lord’s elect who will guide us into the truth. What Paul is referring to is that we depend on the Holy Spirit to unveil the truth to us.

Exo 31:3  And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,

The Lord equips us for the work of the ministry by filling us with the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Him. This verse is the same as saying the following:

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

As He is, so are we. Our Lord Jesus was equipped with the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of God. We, too, are being filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Him just as the Lord did to Bezaleel.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

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 11:5  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Here in Isaiah, we are given to know what happens to us when the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of the Lord comes on us. Firstly, this spirit of wisdom causes us to fear the Lord. This is affirmed by the fact that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  The fear of the Lord causes us to walk in righteousness as the sun of righteousness rises upon us with healing in his wings. In addition, the fear of the Lord grants us the power to trample on the wicked. The wicked here is our flesh or our old man. In other words, we overcome the flesh.

Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mal 4:3  And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Isa 11:5  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Secondly, the spirit of wisdom comes with the judgment of our old man as the Lord will judge us (the poor) as He smites our old man with the rod of His mouth which is the word of the Lord. We are the earth in Isaiah 11:4 which the Lord shall smite with His words.

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.

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

Exo 31:4  To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
Exo 31:5  And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.

Here, we are given what the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of the Lord will do in our lives. It is to help us work in gold, silver brass, the cutting of stones and the carving of timber. If we can remember, our works that please the Lord are classified as gold, silver and precious stones as against the works of the flesh which include wood, hay and stubble. The work in gold, silver and stones therefore entails the fiery trials we go through to build upon the foundation the Lord has laid in our lives in building the temple of God within us. This means that the giving of a spirit of wisdom in our lives comes with tribulation and persecutions in our lives to refine us as we learn righteousness. The carving of timber in verse 6 refers to our works in wood or the works of the flesh that must be destroyed by fire in order to build a habitation for the Lord to dwell.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

The Hebrew word for brass is copper which is a base metal. We know from the scriptures that the key to understanding spiritual reality is through the things that are made. This is true of base metals which are taken from the earth and refined through fire to remove all earthen matter. 

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:

The work to be carried out in our temple includes brass or copper which is to remind us of our carnal state in Christ. The work in brass is therefore to show us that we were in our carnal state when the Lord came to us to give us the spirit of wisdom. The cunning work in brass therefore is the Lord’s work within our temple (our hearts and mind) to transform us from our carnal state to become a habitation for the Lord to dwell (become mature). Remember that this involves our being judged to learn righteousness.

Exo 31:6  And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; 

The Lord had given Aholiab and the hearts of all that are wise hearted to Bezaleel to help him with the work of the tabernacle. Aholiab means ‘tent of his father’. Our bodies are the earthly tent of our Father, Jesus. Aholiab, therefore, represents the body of Christ, or the Lord’s elect, as we are given to work with the Lord (Bezaleel) in the building of the New Jerusalem for our Lord to dwell. This is affirmed by the fact that God has given Aholiab and all those who are wise hearted to work with Bezaleel. Both Aholiab and the wise-hearted are the elect.

2Co 5:1  Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings that someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever. (CEV)

We are therefore co-workers with the Lord as we work together as a unit to achieve what God desires. That is, by building the church of God which is the Lord’s body.  God has really honored us to be enlisted as co-workers in his great work of salvation. 

1Co 3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. 
1Co 3:10  According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Being co-workers with Jesus, we are required not to receive in vain the grace the Lord has given us. As Paul indicated, the spirit of wisdom and understanding of the knowledge of the Lord which comes to us to qualify us as co-workers with Christ is accompanied with judgment of our old man to ensure that we do not receive the Lord’s grace in vain.

2Co 6:1  We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
2Co 6:2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
2Co 6:3  Giving no offence in anything, that the ministry be not blamed:
2Co 6:4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
2Co 6:5  In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
2Co 6:6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
2Co 6:7  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
2Co 6:8  By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
2Co 6:9  As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 
2Co 6:10  As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Exo 31:7  The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, 
Exo 31:8  And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
Exo 31:9  And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
Exo 31:10  And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office,
Exo 31:11  And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

These items show us the work of the Lord (Bezaleel) within us to prepare our temple, including the temple articles for the Lord to dwell in. These items to be made constitute the vessels of gold, silver, wood and of earth which the Lord is making in His great house as He purges us to become vessels of honor, fit for the master’s use and prepared for every good work.

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.
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.

The preparation of the priestly garments to clothe us refers to putting on the righteousness of Christ, which is the work of the Lord (Bezaleel). This is achieved through the fiery trials through which the Lord takes us in order to learn righteousness.

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

The anointing oil is made through a process which speaks of our fiery trials and persecutions which causes us to bear a sweet odor of oil as we ready ourselves for our union with Christ. In other words, we become anointed of the Lord through a process which is alluded to in the following scriptures as beaten oil:

Exo 29:40  And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

Num 28:5  And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil.

The anointing oil is the work of a perfumer, who is our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through Him we are judged to become anointed of the Lord. In a similar vein, all the items that are used for the incense must be crushed, broken or heated in the preparation of incense. We are these items that are used for the preparation of incense. As we have stated earlier, incense represents the prayers of the saints. This means that our prayer as a sweet aroma before the Lord is through the fiery trials we encounter in this life. 

Rom 5:3  And not only so, but we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh stedfastness;
Rom 5:4  and stedfastness, approvedness; and approvedness, hope:
Rom 5:5  and hope putteth not to shame; because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us.

Through our trials, as we learn righteousness, we become steadfast and approved, which makes us and our prayers like a sweet odor of incense before the Lord.

2Co 2:14  But thanks be unto God, who always leadeth us in triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest through us the savor of his knowledge in every place.
2Co 2:15  For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that are saved, and in them that perish; 
2Co 2:16  to the one a savor from death unto death; to the other a savor from life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Exo 31:12  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 31:13  Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

These verses admonish us to keep the sabbath. It is through keeping the sabbath that we get to know that it is the Lord who sanctifies us. What we need to know therefore is the spiritual significance of keeping the sabbath. Sabbath comes from the word “Shabbat” which means “a day of rest.”

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 
Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Keeping the sabbath means entering into the Lord’s rest and therefore ceasing from our own strivings. In other words, we come to realize that we can of ourselves do nothing and therefore depend on the Lord wholly to do everything on our behalf. Knowing this is what will cause us to recognize that it is the Lord who sanctifies us.

Exo 31:14  Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

In verse 14, we are warned that if we do not keep the sabbath, we shall be put to death or cut off from among the Lord’s people. In Hebrews 4:6-7, we are given a reason why many will not be able to keep the sabbath – because of unbelief. The reason many do not believe is that their hearts have been hardened by the idols of the heart, which say that we are responsible for our own actions as a result of having our own will. Believing in this false doctrine prevents us from surrendering everything to the Lord. Let’s look at the example of our Lord Jesus who rested in God to do the works in the following scripture: 

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

The death resulting from failing to observe the sabbath is a spiritual one. In other words, we continue in our spiritual blindness and are therefore cut off from the elect.

Exo 31:15  Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
Exo 31:16  Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 
Exo 31:17  It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 

As we are aware, the number six is the number of mankind. The six days during which we must work spiritually refers to our works before the Lord here on earth.  The seventh day is when we become complete in Christ as we are caught up with the Lord and shall rest from our labor here on earth as the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. 

Col 1:29  Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. 

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. 

Exo 31:18  And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

What the Lord gave to Moses is what we call the law of Moses or simply the law. The Lord gave the law to expose our sinful nature as He knew that man is not capable of obeying His law, unless He works Himself into him.

Mal 4:4  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

Rom 7:7  What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 
Rom 7:8  But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.
Rom 7:9  I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.
Rom 7:10  The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 
Rom 7:11  For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 
Rom 7:12  So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 
Rom 7:13  Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

The law was therefore our schoolmaster until faith came.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

It is significant to know that the law was written on tables of stones. This was to show us the stony nature of our hearts and minds. As a result of our stony hearts, the word of the Lord could not penetrate and therefore we were not able to obey His law. It is after we have come to know our spiritual poverty that we are granted a heart of flesh and can therefore obey. 

Deu 5:29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever! 

Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 
Eze 36:27  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

May the Lord be merciful to us as He continues to pour on us His spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Him as the day approaches!! Amen!!

2Ki 11:1-21  “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col 3:3)

[Study Aired November 17, 2022]

2Ki 11:1  And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 
2Ki 11:2  But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. 
2Ki 11:3  And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. 
2Ki 11:4  And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king’s son. 
2Ki 11:5  And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house; 
2Ki 11:6  And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.
2Ki 11:7  And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
2Ki 11:8  And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. 
2Ki 11:9  And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 
2Ki 11:10  And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD. 
2Ki 11:11  And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. 
2Ki 11:12  And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. 
2Ki 11:13  And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD. 
2Ki 11:14  And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason. 
2Ki 11:15  But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD. 
2Ki 11:16  And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king’s house: and there was she slain. 
2Ki 11:17  And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the king also and the people. 
2Ki 11:18  And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. 
2Ki 11:19  And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 
2Ki 11:20  And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house. 
2Ki 11:21  Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.

King Jehoash was only seven years old when he began to reign over Judah, and he reigned forty years. This youngest king to ever rule over Judah is a symbol of the manchild we read of in Revelation 12:5 and 13, which child is a symbol of the elect who are kind of first fruits (Jas 1:18) whose reign while we are on the earth will be over all the kingdoms of this world (Rev 11:15).

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Rev 12:13  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 

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

The forty-year reign of King Jehoash is a symbol of that time of rulership during the symbolic thousand-year reign of the saints who will rule over the whole [whole 4 x  flesh 10=40] of humanity (Rev 20:6), and at the end of that physical reign all flesh will be destroyed. Another part of the significance of the number forty is connected to trials, which God uses to put off our carnal fleshly thinking [“The Number of Trials“] (Eze 29:12, Heb 3:17).

Eze 29:12  And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 

Heb 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

Chapter twelve of Revelation parallels very well with King Jehoash who typifies the manchild. The comparisons are many, and they all point to the reality that those who “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev 12:17) are also those who were begotten “of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (Jas 1:18). One very strikingly obvious comparison with King Jehoash and the elect bride of Christ is how he was hidden as we are hidden in the Lord (Col 3:3), only to be revealed when the seventh trump sounds and we are all changed in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye. The young King began his reign at seven years old,which is a symbol of the arrival of God’s kings and priests on this earth who have been hidden from the world until this time (1Th 4:16-17, Rev 10:7, Rev 11:15).

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.

Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. 

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

2Ki 11:1 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 

In this first verse we see Athaliah taking vengeance on “all the seed royal” for the death of her son, which symbolizes for us the wrath of Satan through Babylon and the churches of this world against the body of Christ (Act 4:26-29). Another story in God’s word that parallel’s this wrath against the manchild is found in Matthew 2:16 where Herod killed all the children two years and younger. However, Christ was protected by Joseph and Mary (Mat 2:11-15). Moses was also hidden, also typical of the elect as was “Joash” (Heb 11:23). “All the seed royal” (Rom 11:16) represents the many called and not the chosen of the royal seed typified by Joash, a type of the elect (Mat 22:14).

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. 
Act 4:29  And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

Mat 2:16  Then Herod, [typifying Satan’s spirit] when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, [typifying God’s elect (Mat 7:24, Rev 1:3)] was exceeding wroth (Rev 12:12), and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Heb 11:23  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. 

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Moses being hid for three months is a parallel thought to Joash being hid for six years “And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years” (2Ki 11:3). Three months represents the time of the elect’s judgment while in these vessels of clay (1Pe 4:17), and the “six years” is also a witness to this same point that we must be hid in the Lord for six years [number of man] and be revealed on the seventh year as the manchild of God who is brought forth to rule. When we die daily in the Lord (1Co 15:31), we are telling that fox “Herod” within our deceitful and desperately wicked hearts (Jer 17:9), that we must go onto perfection, or completion [7], on the third day through Christ (2x3=6 Joash hidden, 3 months Moses as a child hidden) after we have been judged in this life (Luk 13:32). When we read the passages about this soon-to-be-boy-king, it is most encouraging to see how protected he was prior to his anointing and after it as well, demonstrating God’s love and care for the elect, from the foundation of the world (Luk 12:32, Rom 8:35, Eph 1:4).

1Co 15:30  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? 
1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

2Ki 11:2  But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.
2Ki 11:3  And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.

It is Jehosheba, who is the aunt of Joash, God used to hide Joash from Ahaziah. This event is described with these words: “and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain” showing us that “Jehosheba”^{H3089 = ‘Jehovah’s oath’} is a type of the church which is the bride and the body of Christ (Col 1:24) who comes upon us like a thief in the night and whom God has promised or sworn that He will use to save His elect first in this life (1Th 5:2,  Joh 18:9). 

2Ch 22:11  But Jehoshabeath^{H3089 = ‘Jehovah’s oath’}, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. [Exo 12:22-23]

H3089 yehôsheba‛ yeh-ho-sheh’-bah  From H3068 and H7650; Jehovah-sworn; Jehosheba, an Israelitess: – Jehosheba. Compare H3090.

H7650 A primitive root; properly to be complete, but used only as a denominative from H7651; to seven oneself, that is, swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times): – adjure, charge (by an oath, with an oath), feed to the full [by mistake for H7646], take an oath, X straitly, (cause to, make to) swear.

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: 

1Th 5:2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 

Joh 18:9  That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.

It is in her bedchamber [Jehosheba’s] where Joash and his nurse are hidden so that he is not slain. The bedchamber represents where we rest in the Lord and are protected, “him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain“, even while we are in the midst of Babylon, in the world but not of it (Joh 17:16, 1Co 5:9-11). 

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

1Co 5:9  I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 
1Co 5:10  Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 
1Co 5:11  But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

The “nurse” who accompanies Joash can also be seen as a type of the church where every nurturing joint contributes in the forming of the life of Christ in each other (Eph 4:16). The nurse protects and cares for the child as we do for each other. This love and care we have for each other is what strengthens us as we bear each other’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ that witnesses to our discipleship in Him (Gal 6:2, Joh 13:35). If not for our coming together often (Heb 10:25), where we partake of our communion in the Lord (1Co 10:16) [symbolized by the blood that is struck on the lintel (“strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason”)] (1Co 10:16), we would be “slain” of the devil and sifted like wheat (Luk 22:31). It is through the faith of Christ working in the faith-filled prayers of His saints that are fervent and continual that we will be able to overcome the wicked one and keep ourselves unspotted from this world, enduring to the end (Jas 5:16, Jas 1:27, Mat 24:13).

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

Jas 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. 

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

It is by God’s power and might that this work of faith in His little flock, who are “hid in the house of the LORD six years“, will be finished. This is all happening throughout our lives while Satan continues to be the god of this world ruling over mankind, symbolized by Athaliah who “did reign over the land” for those six years which is the number for mankind. Christ uses Athaliah, who is a woman, as a type of Satan who rules over the flesh of mankind for six years. During God’s reign over flesh during the thousand-year reign, Christ is the head, and the body of Christ is the woman directed by the head.

2Ki 11:4  And the seventh year Jehoiada^{H3077=”Jehovah knows” (PNB)} sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king’s son. 
2Ki 11:5  And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house; 
2Ki 11:6  And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. 
2Ki 11:7  And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.

This very influential priest of Judah by the name of Jehoiada typifies Christ who, at the appointed time of God, “sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king’s son.” This part of the story is a parable of how Christ builds His church (Mat 16:18) using those who are sent (Joh 20:21) to do this work that began on Pentecost (Eph 4:10-13). The “apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” of Ephesians 4:13 is what is required for us to grow and mature and be shown “the king’s son” who, when we see Him face to face, we know Him as a result of coming into the unity of the faith. It is what Christ does through us that will bring about “the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”, and the commands that Jehoiada gives to the “keepers of the watch of the king’s house” is symbolic language telling us of the progression of judgment (the ‘thirds’) we must go through in order to come to this unity of faith, this mature mind of Christ.

It is “a third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house”, the ‘third part’ symbolizing the judgment upon the house of God which leads to maturity in Him, in his house, in His temple that we are (1Co 3:16).  Also, there is “a third part…at the gate of Sur^{H5495 = “degenerate”, “turn aside”, “deteriorated”}; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down”. These thirds being spoken of remind us that our judgment is going to be progressive and ongoing so that the house “be not broken down” (Act 14:22). These areas represent points of entry where sin can enter into our life. Yet through Christ we will be more than conquerors and rule over sin that will no longer have dominion over us (Gen 4:7, Rom 6:14).

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

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

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

All members of the whole body of Christ are called to do our part as shepherds who look well to His little flock at the “gate of Sur” and “at the gate behind the guard” (Act 20:28), as God teaches us through these captains and guards who were “rulers over hundreds” what is required of us to overcome our carnal, fleshly nature typified by the “hundreds“. The whole world is in covenant with God, but it is only those who are being judged (Heb 9:27) by the Lord today who will benefit from the “rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard” that represent the judgment which brings us “into the house of the LORD“. There, through Christ, we are able to experience this new covenant agreement or oath with Him that makes it possible for us to be shown “the king’s son” in each other (1Co 11:1).

Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

1Co 11:1  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

“And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king” also represents the elect who go forth “on the sabbath” meaning in Christ who is our Sabbath rest and the true witness within us, “two parts“, Who gives us the power and ability to “keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king” “both to will and to do” (Php 2:12-13). He teaches us to make war against our number one enemy who we see in the mirror every day (Psa 18:34-36, 1Ti 6:12). Finally, those different positions that keep guard of the house of the LORD (the three ‘thirds’ above plus this ‘two parts’) add up to five telling us that it is by grace through faith [#5] that we will be saved and able to endure until the end of this life.

Psa 18:34  He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 
Psa 18:35  Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.

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. 

2Ki 11:8  And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. 
2Ki 11:9  And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 
2Ki 11:10  And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD. 
2Ki 11:11  And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.

Jehoiada represents Christ, our high priest, who gives us our commands in this life as we go about wrestling, not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities and the rulers of the darkness of this age (Eph 6:12). This section of kings shows us what is required to battle for the life of Christ within us (Col 1:27) typified by Joash. This section also demonstrates how we must always be ready to do battle against sin when it is near the gate, which we know it always is (Gen 4:7). What we are being shown in these verses is what the body of Christ must do to protect Christ in each other, and the story of Gideon also reminds us of this readiness of mind which is a gift from God and has nothing to do with our own might or power (Jdg 7:7, Zec 4:6). 

Jdg 7:7  And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place (from the 32,000 originally called – see verse 3).

Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. 

So what must we do to protect our crown of life (Rev 3:11) is what is in discussion here, King Joash representing our hope of glory within, “And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.” Any false doctrine that comes “within the ranges, let him be slain” because a little leaven will leaven the whole lump, the whole body (1Co 4:5-6, Gal 5:9). Our love for each other is demonstrated by our obedience to God’s commands which tells us to go to your brother alone and tell him his fault between you and him. That is another way in which we protect our many members, represented by king “Joash” (Mat 18:15-17).

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

1Co 4:5  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. 
1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

Obedience to the commandments of God is the second point being stressed regarding overcoming, and it took all the captains over the hundreds to accomplish what “Jehoiada the priest” commanded. The words coming in “on the sabbath with them that should go out on the sabbath” is again typical of how it is only through Christ, who is our sabbath rest (Psa 121:5-8, Heb 4:8-10), that we can be obediently directed through this whole life and be subject to one another as unto Christ who is typified by Jehoiada (Eph 5:21-28).

Psa 121:5 Yahweh is your Guardian; Yahweh is your Protecting Shade at your right hand.
Psa 121:6  By day the sun shall not smite you, Nor the moon by night.”
Psa 121:7  Yahweh Himself shall guard you from all peril; He shall guard your soul.
Psa 121:8 Yahweh Himself shall guard your going forth and your coming in, Henceforth and unto the eon.”(CLV)

Heb 4:8  For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 
Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 

Eph 5:21  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. 
Eph 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 
Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 
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.

These two verses (2Ki 11:10-11) also have to do with protecting Christ’s spirit, not quenching it, but rather stirring it up and being on alert always as the body of Christ (1Th 5:19, Luk 21:36). We protect the body together with the Word on which we all stand and use to defend any that would come up against us; this being a spiritual statement for God’s elect today but a literal readiness which was required of “the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD“. The spears (Hab 3:11-13, 1Sa 17:47) and shield (Eph 6:16) both represent the word of God (Eph 6:10-11). The shield is for defense, and the spear is for when we need to overcome an enemy within or without (2Co 10:4-5) that would come up against the “temple of the LORD” which temple we all are (because of Baal worship at Peor we read of these acts of Phinehas which stayed the plague on Israel – Num 25:7-8, Heb 12:15).

Hab 3:11  The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
Hab 3:12  Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.
Hab 3:13  Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. 

1Sa 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

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 6:10  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. 

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 

Verse eleven explains when we “Fight the good fight of faith, [and] lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called”, we do it together as the body of Christ (Rom 12:5, 1Ti 6:12), and every man must have his spiritual “weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.” Our best place of protection and power is among the body, in the temple (Heb 10:25), “round about the king“, which symbolizes our being round about Christ having been raised in heavenly places together (Eph 2:6). The right corner and the left corner are referencing the power of Christ [right] and His Christ [left–positive use of left given to those who have been given power (Psa 110:1, Rev 11:3)] who is the cornerstone in our life who keeps us strong and bound to the altar, which is the cross (Mat 21:42, Psa 118:27). The cornerstones are “by the altar and the temple” where we present ourselves a living sacrifice unto God and partake of Christ’s life (Rom 12:1-2).

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

2Ki 11:12  And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. 

The “testimony” was given to “the king’s son” and they “put the crown upon him“, both of which are symbols of what must happen to God’s elect if we are to be made kings and priests. We are “anointed” when we are blessed to read, hear and keep the sayings of the prophecy of His words (Rev 1:3), and that is what this testimony, along with the crown upon him, represents. It also typifies the unction or anointing that God’s elect have been given to know the truth, to have eyes to see and ears to hear these mysteries that are hidden from the world today in Christ (1Jn 2:20-21, Mat 13:16, Col 3:2-3).

1Jn 2:20  But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 
1Jn 2:21  I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

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

Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 
Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

After this coronation the people “clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.” Our joy cannot be taken from us if God is saving the king as His workmanship in this age which we believe (Joh 6:30) we are (1Pe 2:9, Joh 16:22, Eph 2:10). We will suffer through this life (2Ti 2:12), and be able to endure that suffering through Christ (Php 4:13), and in the morning there will be great rejoicing, inexpressible joy (1Pe 1:7-9, Psa 30:5), which is being expressed with this sentence, “[they] clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.” Yes, please, God save the king within each of us!

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 

Joh 16:22  And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

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:
1Pe 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, [Joh 6:30] ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 

Psa 30:5  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

2Ki 11:13  And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD. 
2Ki 11:14  And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.

At the return of Christ, “the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains” and say “to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand” (Rev 6:15-17)?  Athaliah will be coming into this realization of who she is and who is really standing and able to stand in the Lord symbolized by the pillars – “the king stood by a pillar.” Standing by the pillars symbolizes our safety in the church as we look to the leadership God ordains to keep us strong and standing in the Lord (1Ti 3:15, Rev 3:12).

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. 

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

She heard the noise of the guard of the people, and she came to the people into the temple of the LORD to witness what God had started and finished during her evil six-year reign over the kingdom of Judah. What she saw, “And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets” and what she did  “and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.” The question that comes to mind is “who shall be able to stand” when Christ returns? The answer of course is that it will be those who have inwardly heard “the trumpeters by the king” and have rent their hearts and not their garments (Joe 2:13) having been crushed under the stone that was rejected by the builders (Act 4:11).

Joe 2:13  And rend your heart [crushed by Christ by judgment (Mat 21:44)], and not your garments [crushed but not changed inwardly through that experience (Rev 6:16)], and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 

Act 4:11  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

These verses in Revelation 6:15-17 represent the time when the world will begin to understand the great gulf that is between Christ’s Christ and themselves (Luk 16:26). God’s elect will have already been crushed under those rocks that represent His judgment and wrath that have already been poured out upon our old man (Mat 21:44, Rev 15:8).

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

Mat 21:44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

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

2Ki 11:15  But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.

Vengeance is God’s (Rom 12:19) and it is being executed through Jehoiada, who is a type of Christ who will command his people during the thousand-year reign to rule with a rod of iron, expressed in this sentence: “Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.”

“For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD” typifies the elect during the thousand-year reign who know that any death during this period will not be in the Lord, and therefore in this story it reads “Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD” which is where the prophets of God would die, symbolizing our baptism into Christ’s death that cannot happen until the lake of fire for the rest of humanity (Luk 13:33-34, Rom 6:3).

Luk 13:33  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
Luk 13:34  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

2Ki 11:16  And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king’s house: and there was she slain. 

This verse tells us that God is going to clear the land of all evil first within His people who will only learn to run with horses (Jer 12:5) after the land is cleansed of all its idolatry and corruption (Gen 49:16-17). Athaliah “went by the way by the which the horses came into the king’s house“, meaning she was operating in her flesh being controlled by powers and principalities in the heaven, which is where we all start, not able to run with horses, not able to have dominion over those powers and principalities. The Lord will take vengeance on Babylon, and that will come by way of judgment when the world begins to come “into the king’s house“. This is where our old man is slain by the Lord “and there was she slain“.

Jer 12:5  If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? 

Gen 49:16  Dan^{H1835 = judge}  shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 
Gen 49:17  Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

2Ki 11:17  And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the king also and the people. 
2Ki 11:18  And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. 
2Ki 11:19  And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 
2Ki 11:20  And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house. 
2Ki 11:21  Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.

Everything is done by the church which is the body of Christ (Eph 3:10), and Jehoiada making a covenant “between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the king also and the people” is symbolic of this relationship which the Lord will accomplish with all the world “by the church”.

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

The end result of this relationship is then described for us in detail as it typifies the world putting an end to all the idol worship that fills the earth today: “And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.“

Jehoiada taking “the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land” symbolizes Christ overcoming within us first, all the giants of the land removed so that Christ sits on the throne of our hearts (Jer 3:17, Rev 3:21), and secondly it also symbolizes Christ taking the church to accomplish His purpose during the thousand-year reign, which will be to come in the name of the Lord to speak of our great King and fill the earth full of His knowledge and judgments so men can learn righteousness, “and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings” (Isa 26:9, 1Ch 16:14).

Jer 3:17  At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

1Ch 16:14  He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 

The fruit of having Christ rule and reign through His elect during the thousand-year reign will be undeniably great, symbolized by this sentence “And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house.” There is an acknowledging going on of all the wrongs Babylon has done, and her time of falling is coming and great will be the fall of it, typified by the death of Athaliah “with the sword beside the king’s house“. Take the word ‘beside‘ out and the picture becomes clear that Athaliah and all of Babylon’s wicked ways will be purged and destroyed “with the sword the king’s house“. In other words, we are God’s sword, His threshing instrument, and the king’s house, His inheritance that will be used to judge the world. Nothing that is hidden will not be revealed (Luk 8:17-18), both negatively and positively. The world will come to see God’s workmanship in full force and how Christ was hidden from them, just as the elect will expose all the lies and hidden evils of this world, which purging will culminate in the lake of fire. We are blessed to be hidden in Christ now and to know that His judgment upon us is the great blessing we are receiving today (Rom 2:4) that will make the bride ready (Rev 19:7) and able to judge the rest of the world in great white throne judgment.

Luk 8:17  For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. 
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.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

[Study Aired July 11, 2022]

Exo 16:19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 
Exo 16:20  Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 
Exo 16:21  And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. 
Exo 16:22  And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 
Exo 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 
Exo 16:24  And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 
Exo 16:25  And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. 
Exo 16:26  Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 
Exo 16:27  And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 
Exo 16:28  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
Exo 16:29  See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
Exo 16:30  So the people rested on the seventh day. 
Exo 16:31  And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 
Exo 16:32  And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 
Exo 16:33  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. 
Exo 16:34  As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 
Exo 16:35  And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. 
Exo 16:36  Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

In this session, we will continue to learn more details about manna sent from heaven to the people of Israel to eat. The focus of Exodus chapter 16 is the eating of manna. In last week’s study, we dealt with certain aspects of the eating of manna. Today’s study continues the discourse on instructions about the eating of manna. Chapter 16 does not focus on behavior or conduct; it deals only with eating – how we must take in the word of the Lord. Eating is a key underlying concept in the word of the Lord as it reflects on our relationship with the Lord. In Genesis 2:16-17, eating was first mentioned in the scriptures. Thus, it governs the meaning throughout the scriptures.

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 
Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The Lord’s intention is for man to eat the tree of life, which is Christ. We know that Christ and His words are synonymous. Thus, God wants us to take in His words in order to live. The manna also represents Christ who is the bread from heaven. However, on a negative note, manna represents physical food which nourishes only the flesh, which when we eat, we end up dying. 

Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Deu 8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

In this age, it is only the Lord’s elect who are given to eat of the tree of life. However, in the fullness of time, all humanity will also be eating the tree of life. In Revelation 22:2 we see that on either side of the river, which flows from the throne of God and the Lamb, is the tree of life or Christ who is the manna, which is for the healing of the nations.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.   

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Exo 16:19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Exo 16:20  Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

Not being able to eat all the manna gathered in the morning causes the left-over manna to breed worms and stink by the next morning. Not being able to eat all the manna means not living by every word of the Lord. That is the same as taking away from the word of the Lord.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The consequence of not living by every word of the Lord is that the word of the Lord becomes polluted, as signified by the worms and foul smell of the manna the next day. This polluted word of the Lord causes us to become spiritually dead. As shown in the verses below, worms and foul smell are closely related to death.

Job 21:26  They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.

Isa 14:11  Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

Joh 11:39  Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

Exo 16:21  And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

We are to spend time daily, denoted by every morning, studying (gathering) the word of the Lord. Our spiritual experience yesterday may not be adequate to meet the challenges of another day. We therefore need to feed daily on Christ as His mercies are new every morning to help us at our point of need.

Lam 3:22  It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 
Lam 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

The gathering of the manna is done by every man according to his eating. In other words, we have been given different capacities to absorb the words of the Lord. As we mature in Christ through His judgment of our old man, we are able to take in more of the word of the Lord (manna).

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.
Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 

In verse 21, we are told that when the sun becomes hot, the manna melts. This means that we do not wait until we have trials or tribulations (sun waxing hot) before we seek the Lord. If we do that, we will end up empty handed (manna melts). What we have gathered in the morning is what takes us through our fiery trials.

Exo 16:22  And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

While we are in this flesh, signified by the sixth day, we, the elect, are the witnesses of Christ (two omers), and to do that, we need to gather twice as much bread. That means we must study the word to show ourselves approved as a workman who rightly divides the word of truth.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Exo 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 
Exo 16:24  And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 

The sabbath is the day of rest for God’s people after laboring for six days. Spiritually, it signifies the period in our walk where we come to see that it is the Lord who does the work and therefore, we cease from our own strivings and depend on the Lord totally for everything for the rest of our walk in Him.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

What we need to understand is that this sabbath rest will be fully realized externally, in the elect in the next age when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The baking and the seething of manna on the sixth day refer to the processing of the word of the Lord to make it easier for us to assimilate in this age. The baking and seething are the works of our brothers and sisters who labor in the word of the Lord on our behalf, to make it understandable (eat). This all takes place in the camp of the Israelites. What this means is that it is within the body of the elect that the Lord has gifted His people to enlighten our understanding of the word of the Lord through what every joint supplies.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

In verse 23, we are also told that whatever is left of the manna on the sixth day must be kept for the morning. In the morning of the seventh day, none of the left-over manna stank or got infected with worms. When we come to find rest in Christ, we shall eat the leftover manna which refers to the word of the Lord that we did not understand. Eating here means we shall understand and apply it to our walk with Christ. Externally, the morning here refers to the dawn of a new age which starts with the first resurrection. At the first resurrection, we shall be made perfect!! Whatever we did not understand of the word of the Lord (the left-over of the manna) will be made plain to us. Paul puts it this way: That in this age, we are seeing through a glass, but in the fullness of time, we shall know fully!!

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Exo 16:25  And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: today ye shall not find it in the field. 
Exo 16:26  Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 
Exo 16:27  And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
Exo 16:28  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 

On the seventh day, which is the sabbath, we are to eat all the left-over manna. This left-over manna shall complete our understanding of the word of the Lord in the next age. Verses 25 and 27 also reveal to us that in the next age (the sabbath), manna shall not be found in the world. That is to say that the truth of the word of the Lord shall not be found in the world (field). What this means is that there shall be no salvation for mankind during the next age when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Internally, Verse 27 means that if we do not find rest in the Lord and we try to use our own effort or strength to serve the Lord, we shall not find Christ who is the manna in this life. The false doctrine of man having his own will, which we learned in Babylon and the world, will never give us the rest we need. We will try to use every effort to know Christ but will not find Him.

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

Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 
Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 

Verse 28 shows us that refusing to rest in Him constitutes breaking of the Lord’s commandment and therefore sin. During our time in Babylon, we were taught that as long as we are not engaging in overt sins, we are righteous. The very fact that we consider ourselves as righteous through our own effort is iniquity before the Lord!!

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

Exo 16:29  See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
Exo 16:30  So the people rested on the seventh day.

As indicated, the seventh day is the time in our walk where we come to rest in the Lord. We cease from our own strivings and depend wholly on the Lord for everything. If we ignore this rest by trying to use our own effort in this walk with Christ, we shall end up not abiding in our place. The place referred to in this verse is our family which is the body of Christ or the church of the firstborn. Some of the departures of our brothers and sisters are because they have not found rest in Christ. This was what happened to the Galatian church which Paul talked about.

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 
Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh(our own works)? 
Gal 3:4  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Exo 16:31  And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

Here we are given further characteristics of Manna. A key characteristic of manna is that it was a mystery. In fact, the word manna means, “What is it?” None of the children of Israel knew what manna was. In the scriptures, manna is described by likening it to several things. This is because manna is mysterious. It was in the New Testament that we came to see that manna is actually Christ who came down from heaven as bread to feed the people of God. As the real manna, Christ is mysterious. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. In this life, we are limited by the flesh to understand Christ fully. That is why Paul stated that in this age, we see Christ through a dark glass. However, in the age to come, we shall see Him as He is.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Manna is like coriander seed. This means that as seed, the words of Christ are full of life. In other words, Christ or His words come as seed which is small but full of life. The word or Christ being a seed, has the potential to grow within us. This means that our lives in Christ is a process which takes time for Christ to fully grow within us. The smallness of the seed means that if we are looking for the spectacular, in terms of signs and wonders, we shall surely miss the truth or the words of the Lord. That was what had led all of us astray during our time in Babylon. We were taught that as long as we were seeing the signs and the wonders, the Lord was in our midst. However, we did not know that the glory of the Lord had departed – Ichabod!! There are many Christians who are expecting a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit to bring about revival all over the world.

Unfortunately, this will never happen. We are not going to experience any Pentecostal movement. Christ is moving mightily in His people, the elect, but in a small way such that we can easily overlook His presence. 

1Sa 4:21  And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.

Another characteristic of manna is that it is white. The color white on a positive note signifies the light of the truth or righteousness as shown in the following verses:

Mat 17:2  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 

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

Ecc 9:8  Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

The whiteness of manna signifies that the word of Christ leads us to righteousness. It also serves as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. In other words, the word of the Lord gives us direction or guides our walk in this life.

Psa 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The manna tasted like wafers made with honey. Honey is sweet, and in the scriptures, the description of the way we receive the word of the Lord when we are enlightened is sweetness. The sweetness relates to how we see the whole plan of the Lord unfold in our lives; His mercies toward His elect and what is in store for us as His elect in this age and the powers of the world to come.

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.

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

In Numbers 11:8, the taste of processed manna was compared to that of fresh oil or of oil cake. The processed manna is the word of the Lord broken down in such a way for us to understand. As we are aware, oil signifies the Holy Spirit. When we eat Christ as manna, we taste of the spirit of the Lord. In other words, Christ comes within us as spirit as we feed on Him, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. We are no longer in bondage to sin.

Num 11:8  And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 

Exo 16:32  And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 
Exo 16:33  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. 
Exo 16:34  As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 

These verses are the commandment of the Lord given to the people of Israel when the Lord fed them with manna. The manna was to be kept as a memorial before the Lord for the coming generations. The Lord commanded Moses to keep an omer of manna in a pot before the Lord for future generations. Later, the manna was placed in a golden pot and put in the ark along with the tables of the covenant and Aaron’s rod, with the ark before the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. 

Heb 9:4  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

As we are aware, the ark was placed in the Holy of Holies and was therefore out of sight from the people of Israel including the Levites, except the priest appointed for service in the Holy of Holies (the elect). This manna in the pot is therefore the hidden manna spoken of as a reward for those who overcome.

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

In verse 33, we are told that this hidden manna is to be kept for future generations. These future generations refer to the elect who are given access to manna which is now hidden. As we have indicated, the manna is Christ and His words. The hidden manna represents the truth of the words of the Lord which are hidden and only available to the elect in this life. In the fullness of time, when we are blessed to be part of the first resurrection, we shall have full access to this hidden manna as we now see only in part.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 

Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 
Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Verse 33 says that the omer full of manna was placed in a pot. The manna represents Christ and His words. Therefore, the omer full of manna placed in a pot signifies the treasure of Christ in our earthen vessels.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 
2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 
2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 
2Co 4:11  For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

We are told in verse 34 that Aaron laid up the pot, with the omer of manna before the presence of the Testimony, to be kept. The Testimony refers to the law of God, the ten commandments. The Testimony, therefore, represents Christ. Those who have access to this hidden manna, the elect, are always before the presence of the Lord where there is the fullness of joy and times of refreshing. In addition, His hand leads us and upholds us!!

Psa 16:11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Act 3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 

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.

Exo 16:35  And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. 

As we have indicated, the manna has both a positive and a negative meaning. Jesus showed us the positive and the negative aspect of manna as follows:

Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.

The manna represents Christ and the truth of His words. It also represents the polluted word of the Lord that we were eating in Babylon. We had spent significant time of our lives in this journey of faith in Babylon eating manna which brought us to death. The time that we spent in Babylon is signified by the number forty. Forty signifies the period in our lives in Babylon where the Lord tries us and finds us wanting. It is the time that we come to see that we are a people who are always erring and have not known the ways of the Lord. Immediately, we become aware of this, and we leave the wilderness of Babylon to enter the church of the first born (signified by Canaan), the physical manna which brings death when we eat, ceases.

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: 

Exo 16:36  Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah. 

An ephah is an ancient Hebrew unit of dry volume measure, equal to approximately one bushel which is roughly equal to about 35 liters. As stated in verse 36, an omer is a tenth of an ephah. In Numbers 18:26, it can be seen that the tenth part denotes a special portion that is reserved for the priesthood. This indicates that the hidden manna was not for the congregation in general (Babylon and the world at large), but for the priests exclusively. 

Num 18:26  Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.

May the Lord grant us the grace to continue feeding on Him (Manna) and to be obedient to Him as we see the day approaching!! Amen!!

Exo 5:1-23 Let My People go, that They may Hold a Feast unto Me in the Wilderness

[Study Aired April 11, 2022]

Exo 5:1  And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 
Exo 5:2  And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. 
Exo 5:3  And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. 
Exo 5:4  And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. 
Exo 5:5  And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. 
Exo 5:6  And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, 
Exo 5:7  Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. 
Exo 5:8  And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. 
Exo 5:9  Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words. 
Exo 5:10  And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. 
Exo 5:11  Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished. 
Exo 5:12  So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. 
Exo 5:13  And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. 
Exo 5:14  And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore? 
Exo 5:15  Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? 
Exo 5:16  There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. 
Exo 5:17  But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD. 
Exo 5:18  Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. 
Exo 5:19  And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task. 
Exo 5:20  And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: 
Exo 5:21  And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. 
Exo 5:22  And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? 
Exo 5:23  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all. 

This chapter deals with the first encounter of Moses and Aaron with Pharaoh and the consequence of this encounter. It shows us our initial struggles with the man of sin or the old man in our lives and what happens to us as a result. The chapter also shows us how we are marred in the hands of our Lord, the potter.

Jer 18:1  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2  Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
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.

Exo 5:1  And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 

In this verse, an important title of God is mentioned: Jehovah, God of Israel. Jehovah is the unique self-existing one. He is the one who was, who is, and who will be. Only of Him can the verb “to be” be applied in an absolute sense. The title given to the Lord in this verse is the God of Israel. The title “the God of Israel” indicates that God is the God of a transformed people. Jacob was the name of a natural man, but when he was transformed, he became Israel. Israel, according to Strong, means “He will rule as God”. This name implies victory and kingship. In other words, the transformed people are victors and are also kings. Just imagine the situation that Israel endured in Egypt and the Lord calling them as a transformed people who will become victors over the flesh (Pharaoh) and will reign as kings with Christ. It is beyond comprehension!!

Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

The same principle applies to the way our Lord sees us today!! In the eyes of the Lord, we are victors and kings!! However, if our eyes are set on our spiritual condition, we may regard ourselves as being pitiful just like the Israelites in Egypt. Let’s not be short-sighted and limited in our vision by our present situation or predicament.

God does not regard you as one still in bondage under Pharaoh. Do you dare believe that you are such an Israelite, such a victor and king? Believe the word of the Lord, and if God says that you are an Israelite, then you are an Israelite, whether you feel this way about yourself or not.

When the Lord comes to us with His brightness, which is His words, that is when we begin to confront the beast or the old man within us, symbolized by Pharaoh. Here, Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go to hold a feast to the Lord in the wilderness. The word ‘feast’ also means to celebrate. It is during celebrations that we offer sacrifices and thanks to the Lord. So, what we are being told here is that in order to celebrate our Lord in this world (wilderness), or to offer a pleasing offering and sacrifice to the Lord, we must overcome or not be under the influence of the flesh or the old man within. Celebration also has to do with eating and drinking. As we are aware, eating and drinking has to do with the word of the Lord. This means that our understanding of the word of the Lord and the power to do according to word of the Lord increases as the power of the beast within diminishes as a result of the Lord’s judgment of the beast.

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

Exo 5:2  And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. 

What Pharaoh is saying in this verse is to let us know the nature of the beast within. That is, the beast or the old man resists or opposes Christ. This is the antichrist spoken of in the scriptures. Once we are under the dominion of the beast or the old man, then we become deceivers.

1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

1Jn 2:22  Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Exo 5:3  And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

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

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

In verse 3 above, we are also told that Pharaoh’s refusal to let the people go on this three-day journey means that the Lord will visit the people with pestilence or with the sword. There are therefore two categories of people – those who through the mighty acts of the Lord are able to break free from the shackles of Pharaoh (the old man) to offer a living sacrifice to the Lord in this life, and those who are not able to break free from Pharaoh’s dominion. Those who are able to break free from Pharaoh’s dominion are the elect, and those who are not able to do so represent Babylon and the people of the world. As we are aware, pestilence and the sword are part of the Lord’s four sore judgments. Those who break free from Pharaoh’s grip go through a three-day journey which means that they mature through judgment. Those who are not able to do so and remain under Pharaoh’s rule will also be judged through pestilence or the sword in the fullness of time.

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

Exo 5:4  And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.
Exo 5:5  And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

On a positive note, what the king of Egypt said about Moses and Aaron making the people of Israel rest from their burdens is true. It is only when we are free from the dominion of the beast within that we are free from the burden of sin. That is when we find rest. Without dealing with the source of sin in our lives (the old man), all our effort to stop sinning will be in vain.

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 

Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

In other words, getting rest in the Lord is through the process of the death of our old man. With the old man still alive in us, finding rest becomes an illusion. The objective of the old man is to keep us busy with our own works, but Moses, representing Christ, has come into our lives so that we might have rest!!

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 
Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Exo 5:6  And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, 
Exo 5:7  Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. 
Exo 5:8  And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. 
Exo 5:9  Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

It is when we desire to free ourselves of the influence of the beast within that we come to see how powerless we are before the beast. We become worse off, and in the process, we lose hope of becoming free from the beast’s influence. This is all the work of the Lord so that we do not think we have something to offer our Lord regarding His plan of deliverance (salvation) for us.

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

In verse 9, Pharaoh did not want God’s people to regard vain words. These “vain words” however, were actually the word of God. The same is true today. Those who are dominated by the beast within (the people of the world and our brothers and sisters in Babylon) regard what we are learning of the word of the Lord as being nothing more than vain words. What we are doing in our gatherings may be idle in the eyes of worldly people including Babylon, but what they are doing is vanity in the eyes of the Lord. Egypt (the world) is filled with busyness. Everyone still under bondage in Egypt is very busy.

Exo 5:10  And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. 
Exo 5:11  Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished. 
Exo 5:12  So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

The Egyptians, under the instructions of their king, increased the burden of the Israelites by asking them to get straw themselves as input to their daily work. The taskmasters here represent the beast or the old man within us from whose influence we desire to free ourselves. Verse 12 says that the Israelites were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather straw. The straw here represents our works or deeds which do not please the Lord. These must be burnt with unquenchable fire.

Luk 3:17  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

Straw also symbolizes us, as we are blown by every wind of doctrine in this world before our Lord comes to us to deliver us from the old man.

Job 21:18  They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.

Psa 1:4  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Exo 5:13  And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. 
Exo 5:14  And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore? 

At a certain point of our walk with the Lord, we are basically held captive by sin as the beast within or the old man (taskmasters) dominates us in fulfilling the things of the flesh. The prophet Joel spoke about our condition under the control of the beast within as follows:

Joe 1:2  Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? 
Joe 1:3  Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 
Joe 1:4  That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. 
Joe 1:5  Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 
Joe 1:6  For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 
Joe 1:7  He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

Exo 5:15  Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? 
Exo 5:16  There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.

Pharaoh, or the taskmasters, can externally be likened to our leaders in Babylon. We must remember that Egypt can also represent Babylon. Our leaders themselves do not have the keys to the kingdom of heaven during our time in Babylon, but they require us to live a life that pleases the Lord. The burden they put on us is heavy because trying to please God with our effort or strength is such an onerous task that brings frustration. Our Lord Jesus talked about this as follows:

Mat 23:1  Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Mat 23:2  Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
Mat 23:3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 
Mat 23:4  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

Mat 23:13  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Exo 5:17  But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.

Our natural or worldly mentality powered by the beast within, or the flesh, is that anything in which we do not exert our energies we should regard as laziness or being idle. Right from the very onset of our walk with Christ, we were admonished that we are responsible for our actions and that we are supposed to work out our own salvation. This mentality was the basis of our walk while in Egypt and later in Babylon. It is therefore, no surprise that Pharaoh, representing the beast or the old man, should reprimand the Israelites (the elect) that they are idle and do not want to work. However, the truth about the words of the Lord is that He does everything for us. All we need to do is believe, and even this belief is of Christ. Therefore, we bring nothing to the table of our salvation!! All is of the Lord. To the natural man, this is laziness or idleness!!

Isa 59:16  And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him (us); and his righteousness, it sustained him (us).

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

Exo 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 
Exo 14:14  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

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

Exo 5:18  Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.
Exo 5:19  And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

Instead of letting Israel go, Pharaoh actually increased their labor with rigor by commanding that they be given no more straw. This is the same with our experience. When the Lord is about to rescue us from the world, the evil one is allowed to take away our “straw”, that is, he deprives us of the supply from the world. This forces us to work with more rigor to make a living and may become a trap to take us away from the Lord. The Lord’s salvation is to rescue us out of our busyness in this world and to bring us into ‘idleness’ (our gathering together and what every joint supplies). Many people today are too busy caring for the things of this life such that they have no time to feast with the Lord. We need to be delivered from this busyness in order to have more time for “idleness”.

Our living and our existence depend on the provision from the heavenly source, not on the supply from the world. We need this vision to be our guiding principle as we exercise our faith that He is able to take care of all our needs!! Moses was a man of great faith to lead two million people out of Egypt into the wilderness, where there was no earthly supply for their human existence. May the Lord help us, to walk by faith and not by sight!!

2Co 5:7  For we walk by faith, not by sight:

Exo 5:20  And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
Exo 5:21  And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

Moses and Aaron signify the elect and Israel under bondage in Egypt, and Egypt here represents Babylon. Our brothers and sisters in Babylon think that we are dead spiritually and that the message of salvation through judgment is not what they are hoping for but a doomsday message that puts a sword in the hand of their enemies to slay them. This is all of the Lord as their eyes have not been opened, and their ears are dull of hearing.

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. 

Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Exo 5:22  And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
Exo 5:23  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

Verses 22 and 23 indicate that Moses was bothered and discouraged. Moses even asked the Lord why He had sent him. Furthermore, Moses said to the Lord, “Neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.” Many of us have had similar experiences. The more we think we are getting closer to the Lord through the enlightenment of His words, the more we go through certain circumstances of suffering that discourage us. This caused us to become troubled and discouraged just like Moses. Do not think, however, that increased suffering is a negative sign. Our suffering is a sign that God is in the process of delivering us from our enemy within – the old man or the beast.

Php 1:12  But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 

2Co 1:8  For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
2Co 1:9  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 
2Co 1:10  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 

2Co 4:16  So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 
2Co 4:17  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 
2Co 4:18  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

[Study Aired November 11, 2021]

1Ki 7:1  But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. 
1Ki 7:2  He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
1Ki 7:3  And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row.
1Ki 7:4  And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.
1Ki 7:5  And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks.
1Ki 7:6  And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.
1Ki 7:7  Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.
1Ki 7:8  And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch.
1Ki 7:9  All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.
1Ki 7:10  And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
1Ki 7:11  And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.
1Ki 7:12  And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.

Our title in this section of Kings is the key to unlocking why we are even looking at all this precise workmanship that is taking place with Solomon’s “building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house“.

We all start off building our own house not knowing the significance of all our experiences which we experience in Christ where we live and move and have our being (Act 17:28) until a process of judgment comes upon us that brings us to look back and start to interpret those experiences for what they were meant to teach us today as a member of the body of Christ (1Pe 4:17). What those thirteen years of building Solomon’s house represent is our years of rebellion in our flesh when we measure things by our own strength and not by the power of God (Mat 22:29, 1Co 1:18, 1Co 1:24).

1Co 1:24  But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

Joseph was seventeen when sold in slavery and then came to power under Pharaoh when he was thirty years old, which is a thirteen year period (Gen 37:2 [17 years old], Gen 41:46 [30 years old]). Joseph experienced these thirteen signified years so that at “thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt” he was ready to stand before Pharaoh, which is symbolic language meaning we take unto us “the whole armour of God [typified by Pharaoh in the positive sense when we are able to stand before God], that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” by overcoming the devil [typified by Pharaoh in the negative sense when we are able to overcome the devil] because we are now standing in the temple of God with “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” that makes it possible for us to overcome and be more than conquerors through Christ (Gen 41:46, Eph 6:13).

Solomon preparing his house for thirteen years (1Ki 7:1) is a shadow of Joseph’s thirteen years of preparation that made him ready to overcome, spiritually, in type and shadow. Solomon’s house is a type and shadow prophesy of what must occur in each of the elect’s lives in order to be made ready as a member of Christ’s body to bring forth much fruit that has been ordained for us from the foundation of the world (Joh 15:16-17). The rebellious life in the flesh must be lived out first and made manifest to us, in order that our life in Christ becomes possible in this present age (Gal 1:4, Rom 8:18-21).

The thirteen years building the house and the thirteen years of Joseph’s journey which brought him before Pharoah can also be understood by saying the eighth is of the seven, when we consider that seven in this case is negative and represents the thirteen years of rebellion we were in when we built our own house in Babylon by doing our own works without acknowledging the Lord as doing the work of building the temple (Psa 127:1, Amo 6:13, Rev 17:11).

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Amo 6:13  Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

1Ki 7:1  But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.

Solomon “finished all his house” is another prophesy that was not for his sake but for ours (1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11) to remind us that what God has started in us through Christ is going to be finished (Php 1:6).

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

A quick comparison of the dimensions of Solomon’s Temple versus the Palace shows us the difference, in type and shadow, between our own religious works versus the work of Christ in us that builds the temple which we are.

Solomon’s Temple versus the Palace

1Ki 7:2  He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, (Rev 3:12) with cedar beams upon the  pillars (Rev 3:12).

This verse is saying the same thing as the first verse if we know that trees are symbolic of ‘men’, “the forest of Lebanon” in God’s word (Mar 8:24). What these trees or men are built upon is now described for us in a manner that reveals what is needed to happen to God’s elect in order to understand the length, the breadth and the height of Christ Who is being formed within our new heavens as the new man is created and made fit for the master’s use (2Ti 2:21). It is the whole body of Christ “upon four rows of cedar pillars”  that the world, symbolized by “cedar beams“, will find their rest “upon the pillars“.

Mar 8:24  And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

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.

These numbers described in 1Kings 7:2 signify the spiritual purging process we must go through in order to have “Christ who is being formed within our new heavens and new man being created and made fit for the masters use.” The hundred cubits length represents the time in our carnal flesh [10] which is where God is witnessing [2] to the world His workmanship that we are (10X10) that is going onto perfection through Christ on the third day through the true witness who makes this possible (Rev 3:14, Heb 9:23).

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

Perfection won’t come about without the grace of God that chastens us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lust, which grace [5X10] must be administered via a process of judgement that is represented by the thirty cubits: “the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits“. The height being ‘thirty’ tells us that God knows our lofty hearts have to be brought down and crushed in this life in order to become as the lamb of God. If we suffer we will rule with Him and will be saviours who take away the sins of the world with Christ (Joh 1:29, 1Jn 4:17, Oba 1:21).

Joh 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

The “four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars” reminds us that God’s plan has been laid out so that it will take all the pillars [4 rows] of God’s church to accomplish this feat of being God’s foundational government, and the world symbolized by the “cedar beams” will rest upon the “cedar pillars” showing us that God’s elect are part of that foundational build which represents Christ in us upon whom the world will rest as we rest today on “the head of the corner” – Christ (1Pe 2:7, Mat 16:18).

1Pe 2:7  Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

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.

1Ki 7:3  And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row.

Judgment is the one event that is common to all men, and so the “forty five pillars” represent the judgment [4+5=9] that God’s elect, who will be the foundation of God’s government [the four rows mentioned earlier], will administer with a rod of iron during the thousand-year reign and in the great white throne judgment having been judged already (1Pe 4:17, Rev 2:27, Rev 19:15, Rev 20:6).

There are “fifteen in a row” of the beams that rest upon the “forty five” pillars that represent the elect. What this tells us is that those beams which represent all of mankind who are “covered with cedar” must rest upon the elect in order to be judged (Heb 4:11). Consequently, 45 divided by 15=3 showing the process of that judgment. Also it is mankind [6×10] that must be judged, represented by the 4 rows of 15 beams [4X15=60] that sit upon the 45 pillars.

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

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

It is noteworthy that ‘cedar’ is first mentioned in the bible as part of the levitical practices of purification that, spiritually speaking, we are living now, dying daily today, and that the rest of the world will also experience in the lake of fire process, “to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy” (Lev 14:57).

• The law of the leper in the day of his cleansing

Lev 14:4   Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
Lev 14:5  And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:
Lev 14:6  As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
Lev 14:7  And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

• The law for all manner of plague of leprosy

Lev 14:48  And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.
Lev 14:49  And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
Lev 14:50  And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:
Lev 14:51  And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:
Lev 14:52  And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:
Lev 14:53  But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.

1Ki 7:4 And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.

Again “three rows” of windows, and “light was against light in three ranks“, is telling us the same message of the sanctification process (Joh 17:17) we go through as Christ increases as we decrease, which is one that takes time as we learn to possess our souls patiently, going from glory to glory (2Co 3:18). As the body of Christ we do all things decently and in order as the word of God which is light (Joh 1:9, Mat 5:14) is rightly divided and received in our hearts which are prepared and made ready through judgment that is required in order to put off our flesh (Rom 8:13).

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Notice the difference in the manner that the windows are described between the temple and the palace, showing us that “narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it.”

1Ki 7:4  And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks [palace].

1Ki 6:4  And for the house he made windows of narrow lights [temple].

(GNB)  1Ki 6:4  The walls of the Temple had openings in them, narrower on the outside than on the inside.

(CEV)  1Ki 6:4  The windows were narrow on the outside but wide on the inside.

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14   Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life [“narrower on the outside”], and few there be that find it.

It is “wide on the inside” because when God grants us eyes to see and ears to hear, then we begin to see how unsearchable are His ways and past finding out (Rom 11:33). In the negative sense of something being broad, broad is the path that leads to destruction, “wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” (Mat 7:13).

1Ki 7:5  And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks.

Regarding the shape of the windows being “square, with the windows” and “light was against light inthree ranks“, we are being told that it takes all four sides of the body of Christ to bring “light was against light in three ranks” (every joint supplies Eph 4:16). The light represents the judgment that comes into our world when the light of Christ enters into our heavens or into our temple (Joh 2:15) and as the light of the world bound to the altar, we are enabled to ‘drive them all out’ (Exo 27:1, Mat 5:14).

Joh 2:15  And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;

Exo 27:1  And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

1Ki 7:6  And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.

It’s easy to identify these numbers in the house for what they represent to the body of Christ today: “a porch of pillars (Rev 3:12) the length thereof was fifty cubits (grace = Eph 2:8), and the breadth thereof thirty cubits (Tit 2:12, Luk 13:32).” The house of God must reflect these measurements in order for the costly stones to be laid down that we are going to read about later. This building of Solomon’s house has spiritual lessons for us that speak of things that are not as though they were. Solomon is like the rich young ruler of (Mar 10:20-21) building his own spiritual house with diligence, that took thirteen years representing his own works, his own rebellion.

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

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Mar 10:20  And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth [Php 3:9].
Mar 10:21  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mar 10:22  And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

The “porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them” witnesses to the fact that we labour where others have already gone before us (Joh 4:38), and it is upon the prophets and apostles that we mature and grow into one healthy body with Christ who is “the head stone of the corner” (Psa 118:22).

Joh 4:38  I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

Psa 118:22  The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

1Ki 7:7  Then he made a porch^H197 for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.

The porch “for the throne where he might judge” is a type of the thrones of judgement where the elect will judge all the nations (Mat 19:28) of the world in the great white throne judgement (Luk 18:28-30, 1Co 6:3). The porch is “covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other” as cedar represents mankind that is becoming subject unto Christ, coming under His dominion under the feet of the saints who like Christ are now walking on the sea that represents all the world which will in time be brought into subjection unto Christ through the church so that ultimately God will be all in all (Mat 14:25, 1Co 15:28). It is however not covered with gold telling us that this is a temple that is still walking in the flesh [cedar – yet carnal] and not in the spirit that is represented by those things in the temple that are covered with gold (Gal 5:16).

Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luk 18:28  Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.
Luk 18:29  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,
Luk 18:30  Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

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

Notice the root of the word porch^H197 that shows us that the world is bound to the altar as well in their appointed time of salvation as was prophesied in Joseph’s dreams so many years ago (Gen 37:5-7).

Gen 37:5  And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
Gen 37:6  And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
Gen 37:7  For, behold, we were binding^H481 sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance^H7812 to my sheaf [Rev 3:9].

from H481
– Original: אu1500 םאu1493 ּu1500 םpar
– Transliteration: ‘uwlam
– Phonetic: oo-lawm’
– Definition:

1. porch
a. in Solomon’s temple
b. in Solomon’s palace
c. in temple of Ezekiel’s vision

– Origin: from H481 (in the sense of tying)
– TWOT entry: 45c
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine
– Strong’s: From H481 (in the sense of tying); a vestibule (as bound to the building): – porch.

Total KJV Occurrences: 34
•porch, 33
1Ki_6:3; 1Ki_7:6(2); 1Ki_7:7(2); 1Ki_7:8(2); 1Ki_7:12; 1Ki_7:19; 1Ki_7:21; 1Ch_28:11; 2Ch_3:4; 2Ch_8:12; 2Ch_15:8; 2Ch_29:7; 2Ch_29:17; Eze_8:16; Eze_40:7; Eze_40:8; Eze_40:9(2); Eze_40:15; Eze_40:39; Eze_40:40; Eze_40:48(2); Eze_40:49; Eze_41:25; Eze_41:26; Eze_44:3; Eze_46:2; Eze_46:8; Joe_2:17
•porches, 1
Eze_41:15

H481
– Original: אu1500 םpar
– Transliteration: ‘alam
– Phonetic: aw-lam’
– Definition:

1. to bind
a. (Niphal)
1. to be dumb
2. to be bound

b. (Piel) binding (part.)
– Origin: a primitive root
– TWOT entry: 102
– Part(s) of speech: Verb
– Strong’s: A primitive root; to tie fast; hence (of the mouth) to be tongue tied: – bind be dumb put to silence.

Total KJV Occurrences: 9
•binding, 1
Gen_37:7

•dumb, 7
Psa_39:2; Psa_39:9; Isa_53:7; Eze_3:26; Eze_24:27; Eze_33:22; Dan_10:15
•silence, 1
Psa_31:18

Looking again at…

Gen 37:7  For, behold, we were binding^H481 sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance^H7812 to my sheaf [Rev 3:9].

… we see the same thought of the whole world eventually being bound looking at the definition of that word ‘obeisance’ bringing to mind Revelation 3:9 which also has the same sound pattern of words:

H7812 shâchâh – from [Gen 37:7], [obeisanceH7812]
shaw-khaw’

A primitive root; to depress, that is, prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God): – bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.

G4352 proskuneō [Rev 3:9 = worship^G4352]
pros-koo-neh’-o

From G4314 and probably a derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): – worship.

Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Rev 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

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

1Ki 7:8 And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch.

Solomon is a type of the elect of God prior to coming into the temple of God, and these verses regarding these sections of the house Solomon built again demonstrate the rebellion we will experience during that symbolic 13 years until we can become that new foundation which is formed in Christ (12): “And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work.”

We are also told that “Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch.” Pharaoh’s daughter represents the churches of Babylon and the false doctrines within us which are yet to be judged. Thus, this statement is very specific to how the Lord is able to judge the idols of our hearts which are being destroyed through the brightness of Christ’s coming into our lives as the seven last plagues are poured out upon the body of Christ that is represented by the temple of God (Rev 15:8, 1Co 3:16).

Once again we are reminded that it is “like unto this porch” showing us that judgment is the consistent theme which will come upon all men. Specifically it is “Pharaoh’s daughter” that God’s elect come out of, as she represents Babylon within us who must be judged if we are going to come out of her (Rev 18:4).

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

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

1Ki 7:9 All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.

When we read something is “according to the measure of”, we are being told it is measured against something so that it is a precision cut. With that in mind we learn that these “costly stones” were “hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping” meaning all of God’s workmanship within the life of His elect was predetermined from the foundation of the world. It was determined from “within and without” even when we were in rebellion and doing our own works in the our rebellious house of thirteen years where we “hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without” as opposed to not hearing any tools or pre-construction on the site of Solomon’s temple (1Ki 6:7) versus his own house.

All of this workmanship represents God’s workmanship that the bride of Christ is, “even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court”, a reminder of how “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). This calling was determined to be fulfilled “from the foundation unto the coping” by His mighty hand, or handbreadth [“coping” H2948 ] that spans all time and by which all things consist and unfold according to the counsel of His own will (Col 1:17-19, Eph 1:11).

H2948 ṭôphach to’-fakh
From H2946 (the same as H2947): – hand-breadth (broad).

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

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

1Ki 7:10 And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
1Ki 7:11 And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.

God is going to see to it that the elect bring “all the tithes into the storehouse”, the tithe representing all our fleshly life that belongs to Him (Mal 3:10) and that is bound to the altar as those sheaves we talked about earlier. What it takes to form those “costly stones” of “ten cubits” is found in the next chapter of Malachi (Mal 4:1).

Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

The end result of having God judge us in this age and giving us the ability to “abide the day of his coming” spoken of in Malachi 3:2-3 is a Godly fear that is fashioned along with a desire to work righteousness as the body of Christ in this life (Mal 3:16-18, Ecc 12:13-14, Act 10:35).

Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Mal 3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Act 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

The discerning that people will be given in the great white throne judgment of who is righteous and who is wicked, and who is serving God or not serving him is what God’s elect are discerning in themselves today as a royal priesthood being prepared to rule and reign under Christ (1Pe 2:9). We are suffering awhile now in order to be made perfect and stablished and strengthened and settled now in the Lord all to His glory, which is an ongoing is, was, and will be process that is unfolding in our lives as we die daily (Mal 3:17, 1Pe 5:10, 1Co 15:31). The costly stones are “stones of eight cubits” representing the new man who is formed through much tribulation (Act 14:22).

The costly stones from the foundation to the top, some of which were foundational and some of which were “above” which were made “after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars”, reminds us that every one of God’s elect is to be set in the temple where it pleased Him (1Co 12:18), “but God hath tempered the body” (1Co 12:23-26) via the Pearl of great price who is hidden in these earthen vessels (2Co 4:7) Who is working this glorious work of salvation (Php 2:12-13) that requires we give an accounting of our life first (1Pe 4:17) so we can become a fitly framed temple of God forged and cut from this life of “hewed stones and cedars” blessed to abide in the house of God, represented by the temple of God (Psa 84:10, Psa 23:6).

1Co 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

1Co 12:23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
1Co 12:24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:
1Co 12:25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
1Co 12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

Psa 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

1Ki 7:12 And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.

It was by design that we first read of the temple being built before we see Solomon’s efforts on his bigger-than-the-temple palace, because God speaks of things that are not as though they were (Rom 4:17), declaring the end from the beginning (Isa 46:10) and from the foundation of the world (Heb 4:3). The imagery of “the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams” that was “both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house” showing us that all of mankind is going to be judged in time. The “three rows of hewed stones” typify this process of judgment that makes is possible for us to become the “rows of cedar pillars” which start off as “a row of cedar beams”.

Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

We become those beasts around the throne of God who will never forget where we came from with origins of beastly nature, fleshly carnal humans represented by the cedar beams and the beasts around the throne of God (Rev 4:6). Twenty trillion years from now I won’t need anyone to remind me that I was a beast, or likened to a wooden beam, because God had purposed from the foundation of the world that all mankind would come to see this truth that would bring us all one day to rejoice with an everlasting joy in our hearts for the things that God has done, so marvellously and so greatly (Ecc 3:21-22).

Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

Ecc 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
Ecc 3:22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

God’s elect rejoice and again I say rejoice because “a man should rejoice in his own works” especially when he knows that it is Christ and Christ alone who is doing them (Php 2:12-13).

Solomon’s house represents our rebellion because it is our own righteousness that sustains us at first, which is iniquity unto God, and only when God starts to pour out his wrath upon our old man do we begin to see the new temple being formed within us (Eze 33:13).

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. [“Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house”]
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Eze 33:13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.