Matthew 12:1–24 Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

[Study Aired June 2, 2025]

Today’s study looks at the accusation of the Pharisees about Jesus’ disciples breaking the sabbath and Jesus’ response. This is followed by the healing of the man with the withered hand on the sabbath and the Pharisees’ plot to destroy Jesus. The study continues with Jesus withdrawing from the Pharisees and healing the multitude that followed Him in fulfillment of the prophecy by Isaiah about Jesus and His Christ being filled with the spirit and the bringing forth of judgment to the Gentiles. 

Finally, the study ends with the healing of a man, blind and dumb and possessed by the devil, and the reaction of the people and the Pharisees about Jesus.

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. 
Mat 12:3  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 
Mat 12:4  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 
Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 

These verses are an enigma to many who think that Jesus did not break any of the laws of Moses by allowing His disciples to eat the plucked ears of corn.  The Lord’s disciples’ action of plucking the ears of corn and eating them on a sabbath day constituted breaking the Law of Moses regarding the sabbath. When Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees, He did not deny that His disciples had broken the law of Moses. Rather, He justified the actions of the disciples by citing the case of David and they who were with him, who ate the showbread which was to be eaten by only the priests. Jesus also referred to instances where the priests profane the temple on sabbath days and were deemed blameless to justify His disciples’ action of breaking the law of Moses regarding the sabbath. 

As we shall see later in this study, Jesus broke the law of Moses by intentionally healing a man with a withered hand on the sabbath. The question is, “Why did Jesus and His disciples broke the law of the sabbath?”  The coming of Christ into our lives is the coming of faith. When faith comes, we are no longer under the dictates of the law of Moses. In other words, when a law had been made obsolete, doing things that are not consistent with the law is no longer counted as unrighteousness. 

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.

These verses imply that we are no longer held accountable by the law of Moses, but are operating under a new law, which was ushered in by Christ’s coming, which is the law of the spirit of life. This new law, signified by faith, sets us free from the infractions of the law of sin and death representing the law of Moses.

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

As we know, Jesus was offered as a sacrifice for us as He was without spot or wrinkle. In other words, His life here on earth was without blame even though He intentionally broke the law of Moses. This implies that His righteousness was not of the law of Moses, but by a higher standard or law, which is the law of the spirit of life, which as a reformer, He came to promote. 

Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 
Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 

Let’s take a look at the verses under discussion (Matthew 12:1-5) from another perspective. Verse 1 tells us that Jesus and His disciples went through a corn field on the sabbath, and His disciples were hungry. Spiritually, this implies that the observance of the sabbath, which is signified by the law of Moses in this case, results in hunger or absence of the word of the Lord. In other words, by observing the law, no one will come to know Christ, who is the word. It is in the presence of Christ that His disciples began to eat the ears of corn. That is to say that the coming of Christ in our lives is the beginning of our understanding of His words in our lives as we are given to know the milk doctrines, signified by the ears of corn. 

In verse 3 and 4, the Lord citing the incident of David and His followers eating the showbread which was preserved for only those of the Levitical priesthood to eat, is to show us that His coming ushers in a new dispensation, where our election is not according to pedigree. By implication, this means that it is not an outward Jew who is a true Jew (the Lord’s elect), but being a Jew is now inward, and this dispensation is accompanied by a new law which makes the law of Moses obsolete.  

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

Heb 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. 

Citing this example of the priests profaning the temple, even though they are regarded blameless in verse 5, means that Jesus was admitting that He had broken the law, but He was blameless. 

Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Verse 6 is showing us that Jesus is greater than the temple, which is a symbol of the dispensation of the law. In other words, the new law of the spirit of life which He brings is far superior than the law of Moses. In verse 7, we are given a reason that the law of the spirit of life is superior – it is based on mercy while the law is based on sacrifice. Here Jesus is telling the Pharisees, who represent us when we were in the churches of Babylon, that it is because of our ignorance of His mercy that we condemn His elect as guilty when they are not guilty.  

Pro 16:6  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Psa 86:15  But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 
Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 
Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

In verse 8, the Lord is declaring to us that He is Lord of the Sabbath. As indicated earlier, the sabbath in this context represents the law of Moses. Being the Lord of the Sabbath means that our Lord is operating on a higher law than the law of Moses or the law of sin and death. As He is, so are we. We are also operating on the law of the spirit of life which sets us free from the law of sin and death. 

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.   

A Man with a Withered Hand

Mat 12:9  And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 
Mat 12:10  And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 
Mat 12:11  And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 
Mat 12:12  How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 
Mat 12:13  Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. 

In verse 9, the Lord going into the synagogue was to seek for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We, His elect, were the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We all thought we were worshiping the Lord in the churches of this world before Christ showed up in our lives to heal us of our withered hands. 

The healing of the man with a withered hand on the sabbath day was a bold demonstration by the Lord regarding the fact that when faith (signified by Christ) comes, we who are in Christ are no longer under the dictates of the law of Moses.

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. 

Our hands represent our works. The man with the withered hand therefore signifies the period of our lives in the churches of Babylon, when our works were not pleasing to the Lord. In verses 11 and 12, Jesus compared the man with withered hand to a sheep that has fallen into a pit and therefore needs to be delivered. Our lives in the churches of this world were, therefore, like a sheep that had fallen in a pit with no way of coming out of the pit. It is instructive to note that Joseph was put in the pit by his brothers, when he went to visit them in the wilderness to give them food. Our fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Babylon during our sojourn there, resulted in us being put in a pit by what we hear from them. Being in this pit is the same as being devoured by an evil beast. That is to say that we are dominated by the flesh.  

Gen 37:20  Come now therefore, and let us slay him (Joseph), and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

When Christ showed up in our lives, we were made whole by the Lord as our withered hand was restored. This restoration is a process resulting in our works pleasing to the Lord as we offer our bodies as living sacrifice to Him.

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.  

Mat 12:14  Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 

Just as the Pharisees hated the Lord and wanted to destroy Him, we also are hated by our brothers and sisters in Babylon who represent the Pharisees. 

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 

God’s Chosen Servant

Mat 12:15  But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
Mat 12:16  And charged them that they should not make him known:

Jesus withdrawing from the place when He realized the plot of the Pharisees is consistent with His teaching that when we are persecuted in one city, we must leave and go into another city.

Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 
Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 
Mat 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 

The great multitudes that followed Him in verse 15 represent those who are not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. They signify our brothers and sisters in the physical churches of this world who are not given to understand the spiritual reality of the word of the Lord. At a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we were part of this multitude.

Mat 13:1  The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 
Mat 13:2  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 
Mat 13:3  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

The Lord healing all the multitude that followed Him is to let us know that in the fullness of time, that is, in the lake of fire age, the Lord will surely extend salvation to cover our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world. However, they will be the last in the line to be saved. The obsession of the churches of this world to physical healing is evidence of the fact that the Lord is still healing the multitude, who equates signs and wonders as evidence of the Lord’s approval of their works.  

Eze 16:53  When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: 
Eze 16:54  That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 
Eze 16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 

The Lord charging the multitude not to make Him known in verse 16 is another way of saying that He will speak to them in parables so that they may not come to know Him, that is, understand His words. 

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

Mat 12:17  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 
Mat 12:18  Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 
Mat 12:19  He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 
Mat 12:20  A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 
Mat 12:21  And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. 

These verses primarily refer to our Lord Jesus Christ when Isaiah prophesied as follows:

Isa 42:1  Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Isa 42:2  He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 
Isa 42:3  A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 
Isa 42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 

It is instructive to note that these verses also refer to us, His elect, since we are His Christ. 

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

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. 

As the Lord’s elect, He has put His spirit upon us. This spirit upon us is the power that enables us to become witnesses of Christ in this age. 

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. 

In verse 18, we are also told that He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. This means that in addition to the Lord pouring out His spirit on us, we have been given the role of judges during the lake of fire age to judge the Gentiles, who in this case, represent all those who do not know Christ including our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world. It is through this judgment that the whole of the human race shall be saved. God the Father sent Jesus to the world so that through Him we might be saved. 

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. 

As He is, so are we. We are therefore saviours, since it is through us that the world shall be saved.

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. 

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. 

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. 

It is significant to note that in verses 19 and 20, we are told how Christ conducted Himself while living here on earth. He did not strive or cry, and no man heard His voice in the street. According to Strong’s Dictionary, strive means to wrangle and wrangle refers to dispute or argument, typically one that is long and complicated. In His life here on earth, the Lord avoided disputes with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. This is because disputes generate quarrels. As the Lord’s elect, we are to follow the footsteps of our Lord by avoiding disputes. 

2Ti 2:23  But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 
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; 
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. 

Again, in verse 18, Jesus did not cry. To cry means to shed tears, typically, as an expression of fear, pain or grief. We know that Jesus wept when He came to raise Lazarus from death. We all do cry or weep when we are overwhelmed with emotion, for example, when we lose our loved ones. This implies that we must understand the spiritual significance of crying to know what it means when Jesus did not cry. Crying is associated with affliction by the Lord. When we are afflicted by the Lord, we are not to complain, that is, open our mouth, as  we see the Lord did during His life here on earth.

Exo 22:23  If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 

As shown in verse 18, Jesus’ voice was never heard in the streets. The voice of Jesus is heard only in the assembly of His elect or the lost sheep of the house of Israel and not on the streets of Babylon or the world. This implies that the preaching of Christ we see on TVs, public places, and the streets of Babylon does not represent the voice of the true shepherd or Christ. 

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
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: 
Heb 12:26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

A bruised reed is usually cut off from among reeds so that the healthy reeds can flourish. A smoked flax is quenched in a house to prevent the house becoming full of smoke. Our Lord did not cast us off in our state as bruised reeds or smoked flax, when we were serving another Jesus in the churches of Babylon. As He is, so are we. We must bear with the infirmities of our brothers and sisters and not be judgemental, even of our brothers and sisters in Babylon and the people of the world. This does not mean that we should condone sin. 

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 

In verse 21, we are told that in Jesus’ name shall the Gentiles trust. This is foretelling of the time that the Gentiles shall be part of the commonwealth of Israel. By God’s grace, we, His elect, who were Gentiles, have been brought nigh through the blood of Christ.

Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 

The Man Possessed with a Devil

Mat 12:22  Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 
Mat 12:23  And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 
Mat 12:24  But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 

As we indicated in previous studies, being possessed with a devil spiritually means our hearts and minds being filled with false doctrines. This was our state at a period in our walk with the Lord when we were under the influence of the harlot woman of Babylon. What verse 22 is therefore showing us is that when we are under the influence of false doctrines, we are blind to the things of God and dumb in the sense that we cannot speak of the truth of the word of the Lord. Jesus coming into our lives with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness has opened our eyes to see and our ears to hear the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. As a result, we can speak of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven and are therefore not dumb.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 

We, His elect, are also carrying out the ministry of Jesus and therefore are healing those possessed with devils by helping them to see the truth of the Lord’s word with what every joint supplies. In verse 23, the people were referring to Jesus as the son of David. As He is, so are we. We are also the sons of David, implying that we are of a royal priesthood. Our royal status will be revealed when we reign with Christ, when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

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: 

If the Pharisees have called Jesus Beelzebub, the prince of the devils, then since as He is, so are we, we are viewed by our brothers and sisters in Babylon as being possessed with devils. 

Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 
Mat 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 

May the Lord continue to uphold us in Him as we see the day approaching. Amen!!

Exo 35:1-35  Whosoever is of Willing Heart, let him Bring an Offering to the Lord

[Study Aired January 30, 2023]

Exo 35:1  And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them.
Exo 35:2  Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
Exo 35:3  Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
Exo 35:4  And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying,
Exo 35:5  Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass,
Exo 35:6  And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
Exo 35:7  And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,
Exo 35:8  And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,
Exo 35:9  And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
Exo 35:10  And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; 
Exo 35:11  The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, 
Exo 35:12  The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, 
Exo 35:13  The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, 
Exo 35:14  The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,
Exo 35:15  And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,
Exo 35:16  The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, 
Exo 35:17  The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, 
Exo 35:18  The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, 
Exo 35:19  The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office. 
Exo 35:20  And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 
Exo 35:21  And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. 
Exo 35:22  And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.
Exo 35:23  And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them.
Exo 35:24  Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
Exo 35:25  And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
Exo 35:26  And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.
Exo 35:27  And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;
Exo 35:28  And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 
Exo 35:29  The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.
Exo 35:30  And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 
Exo 35:31  And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; 
Exo 35:32  And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 
Exo 35:33  And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
Exo 35:34  And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 
Exo 35:35  Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

Chapter 35 is about the sabbath rest and Moses’ admonition for the people of Israel to give willingly for the building of the tabernacle of the Lord. It also touches on Bezaleel whom the Lord had prepared for the work of building the Tabernacle. Today’s study focuses on the spiritual significance of the sabbath rest and what it means to offer willingly for the building of the temple of the Lord, which is our bodies.

Exo 35:1  And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them.
Exo 35:2  Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. 
Exo 35:3  Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. 

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.

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.

In Exodus 31:14, 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.

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 Hebrews 4:6, we are given a reason why many will not be able to keep the sabbath – because of unbelief. The reason that 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.

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:

As we are aware, the number six is the number of mankind. The six days we must work spiritually refer 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.

In verse 3, kindling no fire during our observation of the sabbath day means that during the period that we are resting from our own striving, we are not to facilitate the serving of another Jesus through the idols of the heart symbolized by the queen of heaven in the verse below:

Jer 7:18  The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

Exo 35:4  And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, 
Exo 35:5  Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, 
Exo 35:6  And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 
Exo 35:7  And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, 
Exo 35:8  And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, 
Exo 35:9  And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

What we need to understand in these verses is that we can only offer what the Lord has given to us. In Genesis, when Isaac asked Abraham about the lamb for the burnt offering, Abraham told him that God will provide for Himself a lamb. This is to affirm that whatever we offer to the Lord is because He has already given it to us. 

Gen 22:7  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 
Gen 22:8  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

1Co 4:7  For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 

Therefore, these verses show us what the Lord has given to us we are to offer back to Him willingly. The gold and silver we are to offer refer to the wisdom and understanding that we have received from the Lord through His words. 

Eze 28:4  With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

Giving back to the Lord for the building of the tabernacle is the same as giving to our brothers and sisters. We are to give back to our brothers and sisters the wisdom the Lord has given us through His words. This must be done freely and willingly, for freely we have received and freely we must give.  As our Lord said, when we give to our brothers and sisters, we have given it or offered it to the Lord.

Mat 25:37  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 
Mat 25:38  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 
Mat 25:39  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 
Mat 25:40  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

The brass we give as a freewill offering to the Lord is to remind us of our frail bodies of corruptible flesh and blood through which we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord. It is through this corruptible flesh and blood that our Lord Jesus offered Himself as an atonement for our sins and appeared before God. As He is, so are we in this life. It is through our corruptible flesh and blood, as we offer ourselves to the Lord, that He will save the world from their sins. 

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 addition to wisdom and understanding, we are told in verses 6 and 7 to offer fine linen, goat’s hair, rams’ skin dyed red, and badgers’ skin.  Fine linen represents the righteousness of the saints. As we walk in the Lord’s righteousness, it is like offering ourselves to the Lord as holy and acceptable sacrifice to the Lord.

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.

In order to understand the meaning of the goat’s hair, rams’ skin dyed and badgers’ skin, we need to comprehend how they are used in the tabernacle. All these items are to be used in the outer covering of the tabernacle or the temple of God. These coverings are what outsiders see. It is our righteousness that people see. If we are to build the house of God, then we must possess the righteousness of Christ. These items therefore signify the righteousness of the saints in Christ.

The colors blue, purple and scarlet signify all those in whom the Lord’s spirit is working to transform them from the first Adam to the last Adam, who is Christ. In conclusion, what we are being told in verse 6 is that the offering of those whom the Lord’s spirit is transforming, from the first Adam to Christ, the last Adam, is our bodies which we must offer as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. As we are aware, this offering of our bodies as living sacrifices is the righteousness of the saints which comes through the Lord’s judgment of our old man.

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

The oil for the light and the spices for anointing oil all refer to His spirit, which is His words. Our obedience to His words is our offering to the Lord which produces the sweet incense before Him.  All of these are required to build the house of God. We need to note that all of these items mentioned are available only to the priest who represents the elect. 

Num 4:16  And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

2Ch 29:11  My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.

The ephod mentioned in verse 9 is the sacred garment to be worn by the priests. Two onyx stones are to be mounted in gold and fastened on the ephod’s shoulder pieces. These stones are to be engraved with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel with six names on one and six on the other. These stones represent the elect and our works as we are fastened to the Lord’s shoulder. This means that we are carried on the shoulders of the Lord. Being carried on the shoulder means that it is the Lord who does the work – we are only resting on His shoulders as He does the walking (leads us).

Luk 15:4  What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 
Luk 15:5  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Exo 35:10  And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; 
Exo 35:11  The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,

In verse 10, we are commanded by the Lord for us who are wise-hearted, that is, the elect, to make these items used in the temple of the Lord. The tabernacle with its covering and other related items represent our bodies which is the temple of God. To make our bodies the temple of God, is the work of Christ who comes to us with His words to destroy the old man or the beast within us, to make it habitable for Himself.  This old man has taken residence in our temple and is destroyed by the spirit of our Lord’s mouth (His words) when He comes to us with His brightness.

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:

Exo 35:12  The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, 

The destruction of the old man paves the way for the ark and the mercy seat together with all the accessories related to the ark to be constructed and placed within the veil. The ark together with the mercy seat stands for the Lord coming to sit within our temple (hearts and mind) which is within the veil.

Exo 35:13  The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread,

The table and its accessories constitute where we eat. The showbread signifies the word of the Lord which is given to only the elect (the priest) to eat or to know.  It is within our hearts and mind that Christ comes with His brightness to cause our understanding to be enlightened to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Exo 35:14  The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,

The candlestick signifies the church which is the source of the light in this world. The lamp is the word of the Lord which guides our walk. The oil is the Holy Spirit which comes to us to show us the truth of the Lord’s words. As indicated, the building of the church with all these items is the work of the Lord.

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. 

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

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.

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Exo 35:15  And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,

Before the sweet incense is made, it must be crushed, broken or heated. We are the items that are used for the preparation of incense. As we are aware, incense represents the prayer of the saints. The making of the incense altar is through our fiery trials which causes our prayer to become a sweet aroma before the Lord. The anointing oil is made through a process which also 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 that we are judged to become anointed of the Lord.

Exo 35:16  The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, 
Exo 35:17  The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,
Exo 35:18  The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, 

The building of the church is through the foundation laid by the Lord with His life as He was offered on the altar as a burnt offering for our sake. The altar of incense is a symbol of the realization of the redemptive work of Christ in dealing with sin in our lives. The hangings all represent us at various stages of our walk with the Lord. Being the hanging for the door of the court means it is through us that salvation will come to the world. 

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

Exo 35:19  The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.

The priestly garments to cloth us refer to putting on the righteousness of Christ, which is the work of the Lord. This is achieved by the fiery trials that the Lord takes us through 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.

Exo 35:20  And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 
Exo 35:21  And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. 
Exo 35:22  And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.

The Lord wants us to be willing and not obligated to serve Him. On our own, there is no way we can be willing to serve the Lord. However, the Lord strengthens us to be willing to serve Him. A sign that we are willing is our desire to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

Psa 110:3  Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

The ornaments and gold that we are offering willingly are the joy we experience when we go through all kinds of trials as we serve the Lord, knowing that it is through these trials that we become mature in Him.

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 
Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 
Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Exo 35:23  And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them.
Exo 35:24  Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
Exo 35:25  And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
Exo 35:26  And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.
Exo 35:27  And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;
Exo 35:28  And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
Exo 35:29  The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

The church of the firstborn is where we all supply what is needed for the building of the temple of the Lord within everyone. Each one of us has something to offer!!

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:
Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Rom 12:6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Rom 12:7  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 
Rom 12:8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 

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.

Exo 35:30  And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 

According to Strong’s Dictionary, the name “Bezaleel” means “In the shadow of God.” As we indicated in a previous study, 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, away 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,

Exo 35:31  And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, 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 to 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 its 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 35:32  And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 
Exo 35:33  And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.

The spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of the Lord will cause us to do curious works in gold and silver and in brass. It will also help us in the cutting of stones and the carving of timber. If we can remember, our works, which please the Lord, are classified as gold, silver and precious stones as opposed to 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 by building the temple of God within us. This means that the giving of the spirit of wisdom in our lives comes with its tribulation and persecution in our lives to refine us as we learn righteousness. The carving of wood in verse 33 refers to our works in wood or the works of the flesh which provide the opportunity for the Lord to come and destroy the old man with His fire (His words) 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.

Pro 26:20  Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.

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 35:34  And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 
Exo 35:35  Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work. 

The Lord had given Aholiab and the hearts of all that were 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 to not receive the grace the Lord has given us in vain. 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.

May the Lord be merciful to us so that we do not receive the grace of the Lord in vain. Amen!!

Jer 17:14-27 Bear No Burden on the Sabbath Day

[Study Aired September 12, 2021]

Jer 17:14  Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Jer 17:15  Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.
Jer 17:16  As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
Jer 17:17  Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.
Jer 17:18  Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
Jer 17:19  Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer 17:20  And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:
Jer 17:21  Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer 17:22  Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
Jer 17:23  But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.
Jer 17:24  And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;
Jer 17:25  Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.
Jer 17:26  And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD.
Jer 17:27  But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

In our first verse, Jeremiah cries out to be saved from certain death at the hands of the Lord’s own people:

Jer 17:14  Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

That this prayer is prompted by his treatment at the hands of the Lord’s own people is established in the preceding verse:

Jer 17:13  O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

The overlying tone of all the prophets is a lament of the apostasy of His people and their rejection of the Lord. Israel typifies each of us…

1Co 10:5 But not in the majority of them [physical Israel] does God delight, for they were strewn along in the wilderness.
1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things,

…as is especially true of this prophet who tells us this of ourselves:

Lest there be any doubt that verse 13 refers to the apostasy of the Lord’s own nation, Jeremiah next tells us of their brazen, challenging attitude to him as the Lord’s prophet:

Jer 17:15  Behold, they [leaders and people of Judah] say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.

That spirit was around in Noah’s day while Noah was prophesying for 120 years that a flood was coming on an earth that had never seen rain until the day it began to rain.

Gen 6:2  That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

“The sons of God” before the flood were the descendants of Seth whose genealogy we have from Adam to Noah. All but Noah’s family had intermarried with the children of Cain, contrary to the principle found throughout scripture that we are to come out of Egypt… come out of Babylon and come out of this world and be separate:

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

“Be ye separate… and ye shall be my sons… the sons of God.” Only Noah’s family had kept themselves separate from the sons of Cain, and “every imagination of the thoughts of [mankind’s] heart [was] only evil continually.” As a type of our own trials and baptisms, the Lord had resolved to destroy the earth that then was, and make Noah the father of the new world:

1Pe 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19  By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

When did Christ “preach to the spirits in prison”? He did it through Noah… “In the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing” just as He is preaching to the world today through us as we prepare the Lord’s house, our “ark” Christ, to rule in the new world which is just around the corner:

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

The people no doubt thought Noah was insane, building a huge ship on an earth that had never seen rain, just as Lot’s sons-in-law thought Lot was mocking them when he warned them of Sodom’s impending destruction:

Gen 19:14  And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

The Lord is destroying Babylon within each of us, and it is our commission, as “a city built upon a hill”, to warn this world of its impending destruction, knowing they will think we are insane, because they reason that a worldwide cataclysm has been being prophesied for thousands of years, and it has not yet occurred, at least not outwardly:

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Peter warned us against having this attitude of Judah in the days of Jeremiah… ‘Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now.’

2Pe 3:1  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2Pe 3:2  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

“All things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” is a lie which denies the flood of the time of Noah. The Lord’s judgment is coming, and ‘it will not tarry’:

Hab 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Lord willing, none of us will fall victim to such a foolish doctrine, and we will remain faithful to the Lord’s Words, and we will be faithful to feed His flock with words of Truth, the words of Christ:

Jer 17:16  As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
Jer 17:17  Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

How true it is that the Lord knows that which [comes] out of [our] lips” because:

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

If the Lord is “[our] hope in the day of evil” then we have accepted that He is sovereign over “all things”, and that even the wicked are made by Him for “the purpose of His own will”.

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

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
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:

Jeremiah’s words… “I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee” is the same thing Paul said in these words:

Act 20:26  Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
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.

Jer 17:18  Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

We read this verse and, as naturally as breathing, we tell ourselves the Lord just told us that when the Lord says, “Let them be confounded that persecute me” that we were being told that we have never persecuted anyone, and we will never be confounded. However, if we read these words again, we might notice there is nothing that says we have never persecuted anyone, and we will never be ashamed and confounded. “The sum of [the Lord’s] words” reveal quite the opposite:

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

Jer 17:19  Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

This same prophet, speaking to these same people, Judah, types of you and me, said this to us “for our admonition” (1Co 10:11):

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah himself was deceived and rebelled against the calling he was given. This is what He reveals to us of his own “experience of evil” (Ecc 1:13):

Jer 20:7  O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
Jer 20:8  For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
Jer 20:9  Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

The Lord’s Words were “as a burning fire shut up in [Paul’s, your and my] hearts”, and when we are given to put His Word above our own pride, then we can admonish others just as Jeremiah and Paul did, in the very next verse:

Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

I have said many times (and I know I speak for all of us) my flesh, like Jeremiah, wishes fidelity to the Lord’s Words was not so unpopular. My flesh wishes that the Lord had kept the sabbath day and the law of Moses and had never inspired Paul to write the words of Galatians 4:9-10 or Colossians 2:8. If only He had tried just a little harder to fit in with the traditions of the people to whom He had been sent, and if only He would let us all keep the traditions of those among whom we all live, oh, how much easier life would be! Why does the Lord make such a big deal about ‘groves’ and ‘traditions of men’??? Nevertheless, none of us dares to “shun to declare unto you all the counsel of God”.

Notice the words immediately preceding Jeremiah’s lament of the Lord’s calling upon his life:

Jer 20:1  Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.
Jer 20:2  Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
Jer 20:3  And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.

This is Thayer’s definition of the name ‘Magormissabib’ which the Lord, through Jeremiah, has given to Pashur the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord:

H4036
Original: מגור מסּביב
Transliteration: Magowr mic-Cabiyb
Phonetic: maw-gore’ mis-saw-beeb’
Definition: Magor-missabib = terror on every side

1. the name given Pashur the priest by Jeremiah when Pashur smote him and put him in the stocks for prophesying against the idolatry of Jerusalem

This event, Jeremiah telling Pashur what the Lord told Him to tell this priest, is the modern day equivalent of you and me telling the Catholic Pope, and all the Islamic Imams, Hindu pujaris, all the shamans, and all the mega ministers of the Protestant world, that the Lord is going to burn them with fire and eat their flesh, because that is exactly what we are already watching take place all around this world, and this is but “the beginning of sorrows for Pashur and his modern day ‘harlot’ anti-types.

Rev 17:12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
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.
Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire [“Every one against his neighbor” (Isa 19:2)].
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

“The woman” is “that great city wherein our Lord was crucified”.

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.

Isa 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom [Jerusalem, Isa 1:1]; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

You and I, and every man on earth, are first part of the religions of this world, for whom Christ was crucified. We must be in ‘Babylon’, the great harlot, before we can be called out of Babylon:

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.

The ‘ten horns’ and ‘the beast’ are of the same mind. They both hate this hypocritical whore and are in the process of casting off her religious burden. We see this taking place as the secular world uses medical tyranny to force the religions of this world to submit to the secular beast who is symbolized by ‘the beast that comes up out of the sea’ in Revelation 13.

Pashur typifies this harlot who hates God’s true prophets. Pashur typifies religion in opposition to the Truth of God. ‘Pashur’ typifies all of mankind’s religions, which are also typified by the second beast which comes up out of the earth. This second beast is just another symbol of the religious great harlot within us, and this is what the Lord has in store for that beast… the great harlot:

Jer 20:4  For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
Jer 20:5  Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.
Jer 20:6  And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends,to whom thou hast prophesied lies.

It is the function of Pashur and the religions of this world to try our faith and to persecute us in this age:

Jer 20:10  For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.

Rest assured that if indeed Christ dwells within you, the adversary is looking for any opportunity to speak evil of you and accuse you of evil before this evil world.

Luk 6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
Luk 6:23  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. [Including Jeremiah, and you and me]

Luk 6:26  Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

As is always the case, the Lord delivers us at the last possible moment:

Jer 20:11  But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
Jer 20:12  But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
Jer 20:13  Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.

The greatest enemy from which any of us have been delivered is the one we see in the mirror every morning. “Let me see thy vengeance on them” hides, but still includes, the kingdom of our own old man. Plural pronouns always include our own carnal-minded, rebellious beast within.

‘Vengeance’ and ‘judgment’ are one and the same thing:

Rev 19:2  For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

The Lord’s vengeance and His judgments are both administered by the seven angels, symbols of the Lord’s elect:

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

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.

When we simply repeat and remain faithful to the Lord’s words and do not add to or take away from them and do not “think above that which is written”, then we are “judging the great whore and… avenging the blood of His servants at her hand”.  When we do that, we will “be hated of all men”, as the stories of all the Lord’s prophets demonstrate. Nevertheless, we must speak that which is written:

Jer 17:20  And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:
Jer 17:21  Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer 17:22  Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
Jer 17:23  But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

“They obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction [because]:

Rom 11:8  (…God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Once again, the plural pronoun ‘they’ includes the old man in each of us. The Lord brings us into this world through iniquity and sin:

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

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

If we truly believe “the Lord hath made all things for Himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” and we add to those words… “as in Adam [“the wicked”] all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”, then we are beginning to understand that we are not responsible for anything we do, good or evil. If we understand that, then we will never again bear any burdens, neither our good or evil works, through the gates of heavenly Jerusalem, the mother of us all:

Jer 17:21  Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer 17:22  Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers [“Enter into My rest” (Heb 4:5)].

Heb 4:1  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
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 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works [good and evil], as God did from his.

The works from which Christ “ceased” included a “tree of the knowledge of good and evil [and] the crooked serpent”.

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Job 26:13  By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

The number six is “the number of mankind” (Rev 13:18) because mankind was created on the sixth day, along with all other beasts (Ecc 3:18). The sixth day is one day short of being complete, which ‘completion’ is signified by the number seven. We are not complete until we have “entered into His rest” on “the seventh day”. Only then are we given to acknowledge that even our wickedness is His work in our lives for the express purpose of humbling us, judging us, and dragging us to Himself:

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

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has a mind calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is the number of mankind, and its number is six hundred sixty-six.”

When we think that anything we do is of our own fabled free will, we are attempting to enter Jerusalem while carrying that burden. That cannot, and it will not, be done because:

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.

If we think “ye can do nothing” means only ‘ye can do nothing good’, then we still have not become familiar with the voice of our True Shepherd who tells us:

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

When we are given to accept this Truth, that it is the Lord Himself who “makes us to err from His ways and hardens our hearts from His fear” just as He did to Joseph’s brothers (Gen 45:4-8), to Pharaoh (Exo 4:21) and “the kings of the earth… and rulers” who participated in the crucifixion of our Lord (Act 4:27-28), then we are beginning to be obedient to the spiritual meaning of:

Jer 17:24  And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;

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

It is for our own admonition that Joseph’s brothers, the Pharaoh and the kings and rulers of this earth are clearly declared to be doing only what the Lord made them do, and it all happened to them, and it is all written just for our admonition:

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

It is only after we begin to enter the gates of Jerusalem above (Gal 4:26) bearing no burdens, not the burden of either our own good or our own evil works (Isa 45:7), that we are promised to be seated with Christ in the heavens (Eph 2:6) to rule with Him over the kingdoms of this world (Rev 20:1-6) and to “judge angels [in] the lake of fire”:

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

That is the message of our next verse:

Jer 17:25  Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.

“This city” is not “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children” (Gal 4:26). “The gates of this city” are the same as “the door of the sheepfold” of:

Joh 10:1  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2  But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3  To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Christ is “the door” and He is “the Porter”, and we are the shepherds of His flock, and He is our Shepherd.

Joh 10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers:  but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

“The door of the sheepfold” is the same as “the gates of this city”, and “this city”, I repeat, is not “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children”:

Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai [The law of Moses], which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Not one Christian minister in a thousand believes that ‘Hagar’, the bondwoman servant of Sarah, typifies “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children”, but the Truth is still the Truth, and Truth has never depended upon how many Christian ministers believe it. Truth is Truth even if no one believes it, and the few to whom it is revealed will be blessed above all men and will be honored of all men by God’s design, just as Joseph was honored by all Egypt.

Gen 41:39  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
Gen 41:40  Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
Gen 41:41  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:42  And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
Gen 41:43  And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:44  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

That is the glory which will rest upon those who are blessed to be in the first resurrection and to judge the world of that time with a rod of iron and then judge angels in the lake of fire.

Jer 17:26  And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. [ “…you are the temple of God” (1Co 3:16)]

Until we acknowledge it is the Lord who is working “all things [good and evil] after the counsel of His own will”, we are ‘carrying a burden into heavenly Jerusalem, and we are not yet entering into His rest, we are still bearing the burden of our own works, and we are not yet hallowing His sabbath. That rebellious spirit is yet to be burned out of us with unquenchable fire.

Jer 17:27  But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

Such is the hold the false doctrine of God giving mankind a will that is free from “His own will” when “The Truth” tells us plainly:

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

Eph 1:11  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:

This “fire” which is being kindled by the Lord in the gates and palaces of Jerusalem is the divisive words and doctrines of Christ:

Luk 12:49  I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50  But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Luk 12:51  Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Luk 12:52  For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
Luk 12:53  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

That is our study for today. It is my fervent prayer that it is given to each of us to put all our burdens on Christ and enter the gates of Jerusalem above bearing no burden of any sort.

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.

Our next study is entitled “The Vessel Made of Clay Was Marred in the Hand of the Potter’ and includes that verse with which we are all so very familiar:

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.
Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jer 18:7  At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
Jer 18:8  If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
Jer 18:9  And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
Jer 18:10  If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Jer 18:11  Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
Jer 18:12  And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.

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Awesome Hands - part 140 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – part 140

"Lord of the Sabbath"

September 2, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

A covenant with “us”

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hosea prophesied it perfectly. Here it is again:

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

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

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

Deu 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu 6:6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deu 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deu 6:8  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
Deu 6:9  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Deu 6:10  And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
Deu 6:11  And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
Deu 6:12  Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Deu 6:13  Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Deu 6:14  Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
Deu 6:15  (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notice the work we are all to do:

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

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

Isaiah 58 sums this study up for us:

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

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

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 84

“The judgments” Part O

August 19th, 2015

The concept of rest in scripture is very important to the plan of God. It’s so important in fact that the Lord has instituted various periods of rest which all correlate with specific times and timing used by the Lord to direct His people.

Taking rest indicates work is being done in one fashion or another and the Lord commands us to incorporate periods of rest which serve many different purposes. I hope this study is used to remind us of a few of those purposes.

Man and judgment

Exo 23:10  And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
Exo 23:11  But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
Exo 23:12  Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
Exo 23:13  And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

When reading these verses it is easy to see that the numbers 6 and 7 are used together. Spiritually speaking, we know from scripture that the number of man is 6 and the number 7 is completion especially of judgment. See the studies on numbers for more information concerning the spiritual meaning of these numbers.

Since we see that that the number 6 deals with man, we must ask ourselves what are some of the aspects of “man” which relate to completion or the number 7.

As with all of scripture there are positive and negatives and natural versus spiritual. Another aspect to consider is the old man versus the new man.

The Lord tells us in Exodus 23:10-11 that we must SOW the land and gather the FRUITS of the land each year for 6 years. On the seventh year, we are commanded to let the land rest so that the poor may eat and then the beasts of the field after that. We are to do likewise to the vineyard and olive yard.

As for our own personal rest, we are to work for 6 days and rest on the seventh along with our ox and asses, sons of handmaids and strangers.

It is interesting to note that on each day we actually rest for a portion of the day when we sleep. Likewise, the land is given rest each year due to the seasonal shifts in when various crops will grow or not. However, the Lord gives an additional period of “full rest” depending on which period of time we are talking about i.e. a day’s rest or a year’s rest, etc.

These commandments are given to the physical Israelites so that they may prosper physically, both they and their flocks.

What then is the spiritual significance of entering into rest or entering into the Sabbath as many know the 7th day to be?

As with all doctrine, the doctrine of Jesus Christ is completely different than that of His harlot wife’s but it is of the same mind with His true bride and wife.

The Lord tells us that we MUST rest, so it is inescapable that we must enter His rest spiritually if we are His.

Here is the spiritual rest of the Lord:

Heb 4:1  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
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.

We must fear God so that we do not fall short of entering into the rest of God. A key ingredient to entering into the rest of God is BELIEF in the gospel that has been preached to those that believe.

What gospel has been preached to you and that you should hear the voice of your King and Lord in? Do you hear your shepherd in these words?

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.
Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

When speaking about the rest of God and faith being a core ingredient to entering into that rest, why is the Word of God also mentioned to be quick and powerful and sharp enough to divide SOUL and SPIRIT and also able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart?

Notice, there is work and rest, unbelief and belief, soul and Spirit and joints and marrow. These things are mentioned together to show there is a contrast of the two opposing things.

When we read in Exodus 23 that there are 6 days of work and 6 years of sowing and reaping the land, we know and understand this to be physical. These are works we do physically. Likewise, we do the same thing SPIRITUALLY with our own works and the work of our hands, and this is because the Lord has caused us all to be naturally minded brute beasts first.

Is this how we are to remain? Lord willing, NO! We are to move on past this spiritual death and no longer view Jesus Christ as this fleshy man who walked the earth 2000+ years ago.

2Co 5:14  For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The old things that are passed away include “the works of our hands” in our lives which builds us up as something on this earth. It may be a harsh revelation to the old man in us all, but we are doomed in the flesh.

Waters of strife

What then is the spiritual message behind working for 6 days or 6 years and then resting? If we work for 6 days and rest, then work another 6 days and rest and then do this for all of our lives and die, what benefit is that work to us after we die?

The answer is there is NO benefit or relief from eventual death via this working and resting pattern. The rest we receive physically just allows us to continue working more without completely burning out.

However, spiritually speaking this time of work is very important to our spiritual lives as the bride of Christ.

The Lord has given us the physical to show us spiritual truths and by doing so in this example of rest, he has shown us the pattern all of mankind must follow to eventually “see Him as He is”.

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.

The Truth of our whole existence is that the Lord will have us all be sons of God just like we all start off as sons of Adam.

Is we are sons of Adam, and we all are and must die because of it, then it stands to bear witness that we will also likewise all be sons of God in God’s own timing!

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

Just as with all scripture, even death has its physical and spiritual applications. We all experience physical death just like we all eventually experience spiritual death but the GOOD NEWS is that the enemy of DEATH is destroyed for us all eventually.

For the sons of God NOW, we are His workmanship.

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.

We LABOUR to enter into His rest, and that labour is to GIVE UP on the works of ourselves that make our old man something that is just being prepped for death!

We labour because we have NOW, as sons of God, been CREATED ANEW, as a NEW man to DO/WALK/WORKOUT the good works of God the Father.

We have entered into His rest by giving up on all that the flesh is and works in us. We have been told this is the case in Hebrews 6:1 since we are to go on to perfection. We are NOT perfected in this life, but we do run the race unto perfection.

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

Notice, there are SIX items listed in Hebrews 6:1-3. These are the foundational things our carnal minds want to cling to.

When we come out of the church, we want to “do WORKS for God”, we tell others to “just believe”, “get baptized”, “here are your leaders” or “they aren’t qualified to be leaders”. We talk about “the resurrection is this or that” without scriptural Truth to back it up and we concentrate heavily on eternal judgment not knowing the first thing about what TRUE judgment of God really is.

In the context of this study, we like to “keep the Sabbath” not knowing the “keeping the Sabbath” is a tradition of man which is supposed to be a reflection of what God commanded us to do with keeping the Sabbath holy.

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.

We have just read in black and white that the Lord tells us that the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest and is holy to the Lord. This is a day of NO WORK and is a “never ending” covenant for the children of Israel.

So, it is understandable why the Pharisees and Sadducees commanded that Jesus Christ be put to death. He broke the Sabbath and called Himself a son of God.

Are we like Christ? Are we “as He is so are we in this world”? Before we answer that, let us examine who is Lord of all even Lord even of the Sabbath day.

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors UNTIL the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

The Father says, via the Holy Spirit inspired words written for our admonition, that a child and servant is not different thought he be Lord of all. The restriction on this child is that while being a Lord of all, the child is under tutors and governors until a time appointed that his is NOT the case.

Oh, but praise the Lord He sends his Son made SIN under a woman, made SIN under the law to REDEEM them that are under the law so that MORE sons can be adopted.

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mat 15:24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Luk 15:5  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luk 15:6  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

Psa 107:1  O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 107:2  Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Psa 107:3  And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
Psa 107:4  They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Psa 107:5  Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Psa 107:6  Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:7  And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
Psa 107:8  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Yes, we are the REDEEMED adopted sons of God. We are also “made under a woman, made under the law” but we do not stay there and that’s what makes us REDEEMED.

Here is who we are as the REDEEMED, though we NEVER forget where it is we have come from. Just like Jesus Christ, we claim what we are. We are sons of man and being sons of man adopted as sons of God is what is needed to “go on unto perfection”.

Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

What led up to this revelation that is so easy to miss?

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

And then this revelation:

Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

The significance of this statement cannot be overstated, but it may come as a shock when it fully resonates with you on what Jesus Christ is claiming to be.

As He is, so are we in this world.

Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Joh 5:19  Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Joh 5:20  For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

Jesus Christ makes Himself equal with God. After all, One equals One.

Exo 23:13  And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Consider this, Jesus Christ is Lord over the Sabbath, is a Son of God, likewise then we as the BODY of Christ also have the power of this great miracle within us!

Why does the Lord mention making no mention of the name of others gods nor letting it be heard out of our mouths right after telling us what the rest / Sabbath commandments are concerning the rest days?

When we look at the word Hebrew word used for the English word “circumspect”, it starts to make sense.

Exo 23:13  And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect (H8104)

H8104

shâmar

Total KJV Occurrences: 469

keep, 186

Gen_2:15, Gen_3:24, Gen_6:19-20 (2), Gen_17:9-10 (2), Gen_18:19, Gen_28:15, Gen_28:20, Gen_30:31, Gen_41:35, Exo_12:25, Exo_13:10, Exo_15:26, Exo_16:28, Exo_22:5-7 (3), Exo_22:10, Exo_23:15, Exo_23:20, Exo_31:13-14 (2), Exo_31:16, Exo_34:18, Lev_8:35, Lev_18:4-5 (2), Lev_18:26, Lev_18:30, Lev_19:3, Lev_19:19, Lev_19:30, Lev_20:8, Lev_20:22, Lev_22:9, Lev_22:31, Lev_25:18, Lev_26:2-3 (2), Num_1:53, Num_3:7-8 (2), Num_3:32, Num_6:24, Num_8:26, Num_18:3-5 (3), Num_18:7, Num_31:30, Deu_4:2, Deu_4:6, Deu_4:9, Deu_4:40, Deu_5:1, Deu_5:10, Deu_5:12, Deu_5:29, Deu_6:2, Deu_6:17, Deu_7:8-9 (2), Deu_7:11-12 (3), Deu_8:2, Deu_8:6, Deu_10:13, Deu_11:1, Deu_11:8, Deu_11:22, Deu_13:4, Deu_17:18-19 (2), Deu_23:9 (2), Deu_23:23, Deu_26:16-18 (3), Deu_27:1, Deu_28:9, Deu_28:45, Deu_30:9-10 (2), Deu_30:16, Jos_10:18 (2), Jos_23:5-6 (2), Jdg_2:22 (2), 1Sa_2:9, 1Sa_7:1, 2Sa_15:16, 2Sa_16:21, 2Sa_20:3, 1Ki_2:3 (2), 1Ki_3:14, 1Ki_6:12, 1Ki_8:25, 1Ki_8:58, 1Ki_8:61, 1Ki_9:4, 1Ki_9:6, 1Ki_20:38-39 (2), 2Ki_11:6-7 (2), 2Ki_17:13, 2Ki_23:3, 1Ch_22:12, 1Ch_23:32, 1Ch_28:8, 1Ch_29:18-19 (2), 2Ch_6:16, 2Ch_13:11, 2Ch_23:6, 2Ch_34:31, Ezr_8:29, Neh_1:9, Neh_13:22, Psa_17:7-8 (2), Psa_25:20, Psa_37:34, Psa_39:1, Psa_89:28, Psa_89:31, Psa_91:11, Psa_103:18, Psa_106:3, Ps 119 (14), Psa_127:1, Psa_132:12, Psa_140:4, Psa_141:9, Pro_2:20, Pro_3:26, Pro_4:4, Pro_6:21-22 (2), Pro_6:24, Pro_7:1-2 (2), Pro_7:5, Pro_8:32, Pro_22:5, Pro_22:18, Pro_28:4, Ecc_3:6, Ecc_8:1-2 (2), Ecc_12:13, Isa_56:1, Jer_3:4-5 (2), Jer_31:10, Eze_18:20-21 (2), Eze_20:19, Eze_36:27, Eze_43:11, Eze_44:16, Eze_44:24, Dan_9:4, Hos_12:6, Mic_7:5, Zec_3:7

kept, 70

Gen_26:5, Exo_21:29, Exo_21:36, Num_9:19, Num_9:23, Num_31:47, Jos_22:2-3 (2), 1Sa_9:24, 1Sa_13:13-14 (2), 1Sa_21:4, 1Sa_25:21, 1Sa_26:15-16 (2), 2Sa_22:22, 2Sa_22:24, 2Sa_22:44, 1Ki_2:43, 1Ki_3:6, 1Ki_8:24, 1Ki_11:10-11 (2), 1Ki_11:34, 1Ki_13:21, 1Ki_14:8, 1Ki_14:27, 2Ki_9:14, 2Ki_12:9, 2Ki_17:19, 2Ki_18:6, 1Ch_10:13, 1Ch_12:29, 2Ch_6:15, 2Ch_12:10, 2Ch_34:9, 2Ch_34:21, Neh_1:7, Neh_11:19, Neh_12:45, Est_2:14, Est_2:21, Job_23:11, Psa_17:4, Psa_18:21, Psa_18:23, Psa_78:10, Psa_78:56, Psa_99:7, Psa_119:55, Psa_119:67, Psa_119:158, Psa_119:167-168 (2), Ecc_5:13, Jer_16:11, Jer_35:18, Eze_18:9, Eze_18:19, Eze_20:21, Eze_44:8, Eze_44:15, Hos_12:11-12 (2), Amo_1:11, Amo_2:4, Mic_6:16, Mal_2:9, Mal_3:7, Mal_3:14

observe, 41

Exo_12:17 (2), Exo_12:24, Exo_34:11, Lev_19:37, Num_28:2, Deu_5:32, Deu_6:3, Deu_6:25, Deu_8:1, Deu_11:32, Deu_12:1, Deu_12:28, Deu_12:32, Deu_15:5, Deu_16:1, Deu_16:12, Deu_17:10, Deu_24:8 (2), Deu_28:1, Deu_28:13, Deu_28:15, Deu_28:58, Deu_31:12, Deu_32:46, Jos_1:7-8 (2), Jdg_13:14, 2Ki_17:37, 2Ki_21:8, 2Ch_7:17, Neh_1:5, Neh_10:29, Psa_105:45, Psa_107:43, Psa_119:34, Jer_8:7, Eze_20:18, Eze_37:24, Jon_2:8

I didn’t mention the other times this word is translated as different English words but it is obvious this word means to “keep” or “observe” all the things that the Lord has said unto us.

The beginning and ending of Revelation says the same thing about who it is Jesus Christ is given the book is the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

This is a part of that revelation:

Psa 95:6  O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Psa 95:7  For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
Psa 95:8  Harden not your heart, as in the provocation(H4808), and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Psa 95:9  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

H4808

merı̂ybâh

Total KJV Occurrences: 6

strife, 5

Gen_13:8, Num_27:14, Psa_106:32, Eze_47:19, Eze_48:28

provocation, 1

Psa_95:8

Moses provoked the Lord as the waters of strife when He didn’t do what the Lord did, and he did this out of rebellion. Rebellion is unbelief.

When our heart is hardened, because of unbelief, then we are going to experience the wrath of God on that unbelief.

No matter what you believe about Jesus Christ, He says that NOTHING He did was of Himself but was ALL of the Father (John 5:19). He says that at the appointed time, He sends His Son to redeem those who will be adopted as Sons (Galatians 4:1-5).

If we are “Jesus of Nazareth” because the “least of these” are Jesus the Christ, then is it blasphemy of the Word to say that WE ARE SENT as a Son of God to redeem those that are lost?

The Lord says we are as He is in this world (1 John 4:17). He says we are One as He and His Father are One (John 17:21-23).

We profane the Sabbath and the traditions regarding the day of rest just like Jesus Christ did because we too are one with Jesus Christ and have been given all things and power (1 Cor 2:31-22)

Exo 23:13  And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

We keep all the things that have been said to us and we make no mention of the name of others gods by NOT remembering the gods of men THAT WE ARE when we sit on the throne of God and are the abomination of desolation.

We have been given rest from all our works because the Lord now commands us to do His works, not living unto ourselves and the old man in us but rather REDEEMING the time and working out our own salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING.

We believe the Lord has caused us to DESIRE to run the race. So, we run this race as if we have WON it. We run this race seeing ourselves crossing the finish line in first place all the while still needing to run the race to the finish line. We must hope and visualize the win!

God’s power is so much more powerful than any sin that any of us are caused to commit. Faith is a gift of God and He wants us to cry out to Him for belief if it is lacking in us.

Our Father commands that we DO NOT even utter our own remembrance, our old man carnal ways, as something that is comparable to the power He has given us. When we keep His commandments we will prosper, we will enter into His rest and the new man in us will work the goods works of God for those sheep the Lord send to us.

Remember this:

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.
Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
The Lord sends “the Christ” to preach to you PEACE, you are His, and He is your peace.

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – Part 68

“The ten commandments” part 1

November 5th, 2014

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Toward the end of the last study, I quoted Revelation 14:12. I wanted to start this study off with this same verses as sort of a bridge to the topic tonight.

There is not a direct mention of “hand” or “hands” in chapter 20 that we will be covering tonight, but given that the 10 commandments are mentioned in this chapter, I think this chapter has a lot to admonish us on as to what the Lord would have us do as we obey His voice and keep His commandments.

Patience requires keeping His commandments and Faith. However, since Faith is a gift it should be pressing upon our minds that we need the Lord to bless us with the Faith of Jesus.

In essence, when we need patience it is due to a lack of Faith.

Since the 10 commandments are mentioned in this chapter, we are going to look at the spiritual significance of them now in our Christian lives.

“The first five commandments”

Exo 20:1  And God spake all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

1) It seems obvious on the surface to read that we are to have no other gods before God the Father, but when we apply what Jesus taught us, we should know that the Lord His telling us to not put … even ourselves… before God.

Here is what Jesus said we are, among other things:

Joh 10:33  The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Joh 10:34  Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
Joh 10:35  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
Joh 10:36  Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

And here is what Psalms says:

Psa 82:6  I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
Psa 82:7  But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
Psa 82:8  Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

With the first commandment, we are to put no other gods before God the Father and that includes ourselves.

2) The second of the ten commandments is as follows:

Exo 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Most people usually see just the “graven image” being mentioned above and some even go as far as to say we are commanded not to make images of things that are in the heavens above, the earth below or the waters under the earth.

However, that could only be true if we didn’t consider WHY it is that the Lord tells us not to make these images. We are simply not to make and WORSHIP these “graven images.”

We know this is true because the Lord Himself commissioned the making of the tabernacle and all the images of different things that we in the tabernacle.

The Lord also told Moses to make a serpent to save the people with!

Num 21:8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

We see that there was no worship involved here but simply the beholding of the serpent which saved those that looked upon it.

When we think of “graven images” we can also relate this concept to idols and specifically idols of the heart. Idols of the heart can seem so innocent and invisible to us, but we are commanded to recognize what they are and NOT bow down and worship them in our lives.

There is only one God, the Father who we are to bow down and worship and when we do this we keep the commandments of God spiritually.

1Co 8:4  As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
1Co 8:5  For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

3) Commandment three is an admonishment we can all learn from and takes diligence to keep.

Exo 20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Taking the Lord’s name in vain is not what I was taught in Sunday school or in my Baptist church.

Taking the Lord’s name in vain is not saying “God damn” or some other way of saying “God” with other words.

Taking the Lord’s name in vain is to NOT hallow His name because we are hallowed in Him.

Not taking the Lord’s name in vain is to “walk the walk, and talk the talk”, because The Lord’s name is His doctrine and His way of Life.

Lev 22:31  Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD.
Lev 22:32  Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you,
Lev 22:33  That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.

For us, the children of God, we are to keep the doctrine of Christ which is His Father’s Words.

We keep His name and do not take it in vain by keeping His commandments and doctrines.

4) Commandment 4 is very interesting because it is one that Jesus Himself broke and one of the reasons given to crucify Him. So, why did Jesus “brake the Sabbath” given it was one of the ten commandments?

Exo 20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Here is a familiar story about Jesus and His disciples, “doing that which was not lawful” according to the Pharisees, which was breaking the Sabbath.

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

Joh 19:7  The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

It indeed was NOT lawful to sell and buy goods on the Sabbath.

Neh 13:15  In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.
Neh 13:16  There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
Neh 13:17  Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?
Neh 13:18  Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.

The Sabbath is a day of rest for us and that is why we have the Sabbath. However, we just were told by Christ that He is greater than the temple and Lord even of the Sabbath day.

The reason we are not profaning the Sabbath and are able to keep the Sabbath holy is because we have entered into our Sabbath, entered into our rest, by entering into Jesus Christ.

Heb 4:1  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
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:

Notice, we enter into His rest HAVING FAITH. Faith is so intertwined with keeping His commandments that we need it even to enter into rest with Jesus.

Also, how can we honor our Father and mother without having Faith?

5) The fifth commandment:

Exo 20:12  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

As with the other commandments, we can learn spiritual lessons from them which do not appear in the law and letter of when they were first given by God.

It just so happens that Jesus spoke to us about honoring our father and mother in the New Testament.

Mat 15:1  Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
Mat 15:2  Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
Mat 15:3  But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
Mat 15:4  For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
Mat 15:5  But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
Mat 15:6  And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Mat 15:7  Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
Mat 15:8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mat 15:10  And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
Mat 15:11  Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Verse 15:5 is made clearer in the CEV version:

Mat 15:5  But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they have has been offered to God.
Mat 15:6  Is this any way to show respect to your parents? You ignore God’s commands in order to follow your own teaching.

The focus of honoring our father and mother is contrasted with Jesus proclaiming that the scribes and Pharisees taught their traditions instead of teaching what God told them to do with the 5th commandment.

Notice as well that Exodus 20:12 tells us that by obeying commandment 5 we will be given life, but to disobey it means we should be put to death. WHAT does that really mean?

Who is our Father and who is our mother? Yes, we have physical parents who were the focus of this commandment in the letter. However, we can take what Jesus spoke in His parable and know with the sum of the Word that He was ALSO talking about our spiritual Father and mother.

All parables spoken by Jesus are about the kingdom of God.

We have our one God and Father, and we have a spiritual mother. There are many supporting verses for these spiritual parents, but I will simply list a few.

1Co 8:5  For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Out mother consists of:

Mat 12:50  For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Notice that even our “mother” does the will of the Father because His will is all that matters as it pertains to keeping His commandments.

This is the pattern we all must follow and one which even Jesus followed perfectly.

When considering how we are to keep the 5th commandment spiritually, and weighing it against the parable Jesus shared with us consisting of “the traditions of men”, we can scripturally conclude that we are to obey God rather than men!

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

Act 5:28  Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with YOUR DOCTRINE, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
Act 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Act 5:30  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Act 5:31  Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Act 5:32  And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Act 5:33  When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.

It should be manifestly clear that doctrine matters. This is how we do not take the Lord’s name and vain and how we honor our Head and body at the same time.

We honor our Father the Head and our mother the body by TEACHING the doctrine of Jesus Christ and NOT the traditions of men.

“Conclusion”

This is obviously not an exhaustive list of how these first 5 commandments are to be lived and kept in our lives today. However, I have listed the core of each of these spiritual concepts as they are t be applied within and without us.

Our walk, our conversation, must include these spiritual Truths if we are to keep these commandments of our Lord.

Ask yourself if these spiritual commandments are contained within the two commandments Jesus Christ gave us as having all the law of Moses and prophets wrapped up in them.

Next week, we will cover the last five commandments listed in Exodus 20 as well as the rest of the chapter, Lord willing.

Mat 22:36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Hi Mike,

When do you consider your conversion had taken place? Your baptism in Worldwide?

How do you view your worldwide journey? Do you consider that the time of God calling you?

I do mine even though I see many doctrinal problems of that church, past or present.

My baptism took place in ’68 there under David Antion. I can readily see “new truth” but have never been able to ‘prove’ to myself that I have God’s Spirit. I left WWCOG in ’95, not accepting orthodoxy, then left United Church of God and formed my own fellowship still observing Sabbath, unclean meats, etc., but have changed many doctrines. I agree with your view on all saved and hell. Perhaps at some time I would like to discuss with you where I think you are in error about the nature of God. I agree with you that Christ is a created being.

I was actually raised Old order Amish until called to Worldwide.

Thanks,

M____

p. s. Your first reply to me was very helpful.

Hi M____,

It is good to hear from you again.

No, my ‘deadly wound,’ what you call my ‘conversion,’ took place in a Pentecostal church when I was in the 7th grade. I experienced several, what seemed like huge, catastrophes in my life at that time, and I gave my life to the Lord. God was already “dragging” me to him at that young age. I was baptized as a Pentecostal, and I was re- baptized when I went to Ambassador College. In both cases, I merely got wet. The ‘man of sin,’ the ‘beast within’ (Ecc 3:18) that we all are, had not yet been revealed to me and like the “carnal… babes in Christ” Corinthians, I too, was “yet carnal.”

Look carefully at and consider well these verses of scripture. The content of these verses is true of all who are in an incorporated church. The true ‘body of Christ’ is a spiritual body; it is not an “I am of Paul” (Protestant), or “I am of Apollos” (Catholic), incorporated for tax purposes organization with a statement of beliefs and by- laws of incorporation. There is no ‘statement of beliefs’ that includes the entirety of God’s Word. It is therefore “taking away from the words of the prophecy of this book.” Now look carefully at these verses of scripture:

1Co 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
1Co 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

These Corinthian brothers in Christ were “sanctified in Christ Jesus, [called  not chosen] to be saints!” Not only were they ‘called to be saints,’ they were also casting out demons and healing the sick and doing many wonderful works in Christ’s name. Nevertheless, look at what Paul says of Christians who are “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints”:

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

In four verses Paul tells these Corinthians who were “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” and who “came behind in no gift” (1Co 1:7), that they “are yet carnal” and “enmity against God…” If you haven’t yet done so, be sure to read Strong Delusion. It is the law of Moses, in its varying degrees of honor, in the various churches, that is used to accomplish this “strong delusion.” This is true even though we are plainly told that “the law is not for a righteous man.” There is a law which is for a righteous man. It was not given at Sinai. That covenant “was added” only “until the time of reformation.” At any “time of reformation, “there is a change also of the law” not just “the priesthood” which administers that law.

It is truly hard to grasp how anyone can read Mat 5-7, and fail to see what a reformer Christ was! Hate your enemy is now love your enemy, eye for an eye is now return good for evil, swear by my name is now swear not at all, put away your wife because “you find no delight in her,” is now “except for fornication”. This is indeed a change:

Heb 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

This does not say that ‘the priesthood being changed, there is also a change of the priesthood…’ as so many want it to read, so they can cling to “the law which is not for a righteous man but for the lawless.”

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,
1Ti 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

Do you believe and do things “that are contrary to the sound doctrine” of Mat 5-7? If you do, then the law of Moses is for you. If on the other hand, you see that Moses “was added” to the law that Noah and Abraham were under, if you can see that the law under discussion didn’t even exist until “four hundred and thirty years after” the covenant God made with Abraham; if you can see that…

Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

… does not agree with:

Lev 20:25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

Then you will understand what was meant by:

Deu 18:16 According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb [Horeb is Sinai] in the day of the assembly  [the giving of the law of Moses, adding it to the already existing law of the spirit], saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
Deu 18:17 And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
Deu 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee [A reformer], and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Deu 18:19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Now here are “my words which He shall speak” concerning keeping the weekly sabbath:

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

Christ here admits that He “and those that were with him” had done “that which is not lawful.” Moses had clearly taught that one should prepare for the sabbath. Christ “and those that were with Him”, had completely ignored that law, and instead of fasting they “began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.” Christ here admits that He and those with Him “profaned the sabbath.” These are the words of Christ about Himself and those that were with Him. And for what purpose does Christ tell us that he did this?

It was done to demonstrate that “in this [new covenant] place is one greater than the temple… [and] the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Now I submit to you that if Christ’s point in saying that “the Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath” was to teach us to keep the weekly sabbath, then He is certainly sending us conflicting words; admitting that He had profaned the sabbath as the priests, and as “David and those that were with him [He had done] that which was not lawful for Him to do.” Christ was not a descendant of Aaron. Neither were his disciples. Christ was not teaching weekly sabbath observance. He was teaching that He is our rest. He was teaching that we are to enter into HIM, not one day in seven with the other six for ourselves. He was demonstrating that we are to be in Him who is “greater than the temple.”

“If Joshua had given them rest would he not have spoken of another day?” The answer to that question is yes, he would have spoken of ANOTHER day if he had given them rest. That “other day” is the day we are in, in Christ. We no longer give God one day in seven. Instead we:

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice [24 hours a day 7 days a week], holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable [Gk.- divine] service.

If we insist on keeping the weekly sabbath, then we are required to also keep the holy days, the new moons and “the whole law.”

Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Paul tells us the exact same thing and calls the law “the elements of the world.”

Gal 5:3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Gal 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child [Gk.-nepios– an infant], differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children [“under the schoolmaster… before faith came”], were in bondage under the elements of the world:

You will never “know that you have God’s spirit” until you learn that “the words that I [Christ – not Moses] speak unto you are spirit.”

When you do become faithful to the “but I say unto you” word that [Christ] spoke,” then you will have no doubt that you have God’s spirit.” That is because only then will you have the “words that are spirit.” This is all in contrast to the law, the “carnal commandment” that God gave Moses for a nation that “was not a righteous [nation] but was lawless and disobedient.” It was a fading, growing-old law for the lawless and disobedient. Leave it behind and go on to a law that is impossible to keep without “Christ in you.” A law that requires so much more of you than to merely love your neighbor. When you can admit that the beast is within, that it was put there by the Potter Himself, and that it must be dethroned from the throne where Christ belongs, in God’s temple whose temple you are; when you are, with Christ in you, capable of loving your enemy, you will have no doubt that you have God’s spirit.

I know that you know this already, but ‘new truth’ is new only to us. Like the law to which Moses “was added,” the truth and the true law of the spirit is older than the universe, and it is unchanging.

In Christ “every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you.” This is especially true of false doctrines and the enemies of Christ.

Num 14:9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land [all that is in us that withstands the words of Christ]; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

When you become faithful to the words of Christ, your confidence in Him will give you the courage to cast out all the Canaanites and Philistines that are now occupying the land. When that happens you will be able to prove to yourself that you have God’s word which is His spirit.

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

Words express thoughts. When you have the thoughts of God, you have His mind and His spirit.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

There is the definition of ‘life eternal.’ It is “to know God and Christ.”

1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

That is it. Christ gives us “an understanding.” “My sheep know My voice, and a stranger [with a strange doctrine] they will not follow.”

1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

I consider my World Wide Church of God experience to be nothing more than preparation for the calling that all of the elect have been given. It is not to save this world now. It is to “torment them that dwell upon the earth.” The ‘earth’ is a symbol that John borrowed from the Old Testament. This entire book is “SIGNified.” It isn’t ‘partly signified;’ it is entirely “signified.”

Here is the strength and force of this symbol ‘the earth:’

Jer 22:1 Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Jer 22:2 And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates;

Now look at what God calls “the house of the king of Judah… and thy people that enter in by these gates.”

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

Go back to the book of Revelation, and everywhere you see the word ‘earth,’ interpret it as ‘the backslidden people of God’, and you will get a lot more truth out of that book than you ever did before. God’s people have been pushed up out of the sea of mankind. They are just slightly above the sea. They are certainly not in heaven. Only the elect are “seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Only the elect who are to rule all nations with a rod of iron are “caught up unto God and to His throne.”

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

The rebellious woman that brought forth the manchild flees into the wilderness where she is nourished of God, just as rebellious Israel who brought forth Christ went into the wilderness where she was nourished of God. Both are said to have been taken there “on eagle’s wings.” Nevertheless, it is right here “in the wilderness” that we find this same woman in chapters 17 and 18, and just as Israel in the wilderness, they actually slay God’s two witnesses just as they would have slain Caleb and Joshua had not God stepped in to save them.

Num 14:10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

Here is the New Testament repeat of this same event:

Rev 11:7 And when they [God’s witnesses] shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
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.

A prophet cannot perish outside of Jerusalem.

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.

Once again, can you receive “the words of that prophet?”

“Whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” (Deu 18:19)

Christ said:

Mat 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Our ‘dead bodies’ lie “in the streets of that great city wherein our Lord was crucified.” A prophet cannot die outside Jerusalem. We will not have covered the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come.

Our calling is to “torment them that dwell upon the earth.” It is them that “think that they do God service” that will kill us. It is the church of God to whom we are sent.

Rev 1:11 … What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia…

Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.

“These things” includes the events of Rev. 11. “That great city wherein our Lord was crucified” is the great city of chapters 17-18. It is all of the incorporated churches of Christianity. “Come out of her my people.”

If you haven’t yet, be sure to read Will God’s Strong Delusion Deceive You?

Don’t ‘come out of Babylon” and bring Babylon with you. You did well not to follow Joseph Takach back into orthodoxy. But if you remain under the law, you are no better than the slave that orthodoxy is.

I hope this is as helpful to you as the first letter.

Mike

Good Morning Mike,

I would like to just say I truly appreciate the love and wisdom the Father and His Son Jesus Christ is doing in your life and the lives of the members of iswasandwillbe. I was currently listening to Do You Want the Reality or the Shadow I think in Pe 2. You mentioned Luk 4:49, and I can’t find it in my bible. The scripture was relating to how the blood of all the prophets will be required upon this generation.
I told you about these Jewish friends of mine who want me to convert. Would you kindly just explain these scriptures they want me to read: Isaiah24:1-22. They also gave me Rev 18:1-9, Dan 7:23-27, Luk 21:19-24, Rev 12:1-17 and then they put their Hebrew spelling for LORD and JESUS. They say I do not understand what I am reading, and truly I came to see that they do not understand the scriptures. For your teachings the only things that seem to make sense to me even as I listen every morning from 4am till 6am I have realized that they burden themselves with rituals and customs of which I once admired and was ready to convert before I came across your website.
They gave me scriptures to emphasize how many shabbats Yahshua and Shaul attended in total 78 and 0 Sundays. Then they gave me the last chap of 1Ti 4:1-2. And I have not received the wisdom you have been given, though listening to you daily is opening a lot of loops and I do feel the Spirit of the Father moving in my members. I have enjoyed every word about the tabernacle and the shadows of which I will keep my mouth closed for now till I have better understanding on the subjects. Living among a Jewish populated environment I am thankful to have come across your site.
It’s been a blessing to have also realized how wonderful it is to know that all that is happening is because the Father wills it to happen after the counsel of His own will. Thank you for showing that it’s not easy, but I believe He will provide sufficient grace to embrace the workings on His creation. May He bless you and your team and may you never stop discovering the beauty of His nature and His Son daily. I don’t feel guilty any more for not including the Holy Spirit like the trinity because I thank God it does not exist. God bless and hope to hear from you soon.
Kind Regards,
J____

Hi J____,

Thank you for your questions, and thank you for standing firm on the Word of God in the face of all this pressure you are facing from the modern day Judaizers there.
O. K., that verse I said was Luk 4:49 concerning the blood of all the prophets from Abel to Zacharias being required of this generation is actually Luk 11:49-51. Forgive me for making that mistake.

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

You have asked me to comment on whole chapters which your Jewish friends have given you, and I cannot do that verse by verse simply because I do not have the time to do that. But I did read the various scriptures you listed, and I think I see what their point is. If I have missed the point, please let me know. Here in Isa 24 we have the scriptural basis for the judgment of the great harlot of Rev 17-18.
“Spiritual Sodom” is “that great city where our Lord was crucified. Isa 1 is “concerning Judah and Jerusalem” (verse 1), and this is what the spirit calls Judah and Jerusalem there in Isa 1:

Isa 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

So it is the spirit of “Judah and Jerusalem” which to this very day constitutes the “great harlot” and “that great city wherein our Lord was crucified.
Now what I saw in both Isa 24 and in Dan 7 which I understand to be the point your Jewish friends are making is:

Isa 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

and…

Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Here is that section of Dan 7:

Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Dan 7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Your Jewish friends are confusing orthodox Christianity, in which we have all had our part, with the doctrine of Christ. Christ did not come to change the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday as the Catholics have done and as the Protestants have continued doing. He came instead to fulfill every jot and tittle of the law.

Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,

But Christ is the fulfilling of every type and shadow of the law:

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

Christ is our passover, and He has fulfilled the passover so that we need never again offer a calf or a lamb for our sins.

Heb 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
Heb 9:20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
Heb 9:21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves [ you and me] with better sacrifices than these.

Christ is our ‘blood and water’:

Joh 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.

So He is also fulfilling the days of unleavened bread in our lives by living His life within us and granting that we can now purge out the sin that was dominating our lives and granting us that we die daily to that sin by destroying the man of sin within us. In Christ we now keep that feast of unleavened bread “with the unleavened bread of sincerity and Truth”.

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

That is the bread, and Christ is that passover, and the days of unleavened bread are now kept with “the unleavened bread of sincerity and Truth 24/7, 365 days a year.
In the same way Christ has fulfilled the day of Pentecost by founding His church and coming to us via His Father’s spirit as that day portended in the law of Moses.

Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

He has fulfilled the feast of trumpets by blowing the seven trumpets within our lives and beginning judgment at His own house with the fire from the altar of God in heaven. All who are the temple of God will keep the things written in the revelation of Jesus Christ, including the seven trumpets of that revelation:

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
Rev 8:5 A nd the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Rev 8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Trumpets warn of the fiery judgment of God’s word, which is now on the house of God:

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Christ has fulfilled the day of atonement by reconciling us to God and atoning for our sins once and for all time:

Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Finally, Christ is also our feast of tabernacles and our last great day, because it is through Him and His anointed that rivers of living waters of mercy will flow to all men of all time:

Joh 7:37 I n 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.
Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

So it is true, Christ did not come to change times or seasons, but He did come to fulfill them all. And He also come to change the priesthood and the law and to hold both to a far higher bar than either had ever been before. Both are now spiritual, and that had never been so before. We are plainly told of this reformation, and it was this reformation that the Judaizers of Paul’s day and of today refuse to acknowledge:

Heb 9:10 Which [ Old Testament offerings, according to the law] stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Christ is that great reformer, and He has fulfilled every Old Testament type and shadow by dying for our sins and by fulfilling every jot and tittle of the law of Moses in doing so:

Heb 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

“The law of Christ” (Gal 6:2), also called “the law of the spirit” (Rom 8:2), is now far superior to the law of Moses, which was a “carnal commandment” for a very carnal nation. The good that comes of “the law of Christ” and “the law of the spirit” is much better than anything that could come of the “carnal commandment” law which Christ had given to Moses:

Heb 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

“Good things” must not be confused with ‘easy things’. Every “but I say unto you” word or reformation which Christ uttered in Matthew chapters 5 and 6 is not easy to do. It is not easy to love one’s enemies. It is not easy to turn the other cheek, and it is not easy to refrain from fornication in one’s heart.
Neither is it easy to acknowledge and live a life which acknowledges that Christ came and fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law of Moses, including the weekly sabbath. It is one of the very hardest things we are confronted with in following in His footsteps:

1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Your Jewish friends point out all the verses which mention the sabbath as if Christ were observing the sabbath when nothing could be further from the Truth.

Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

There is no denying that Christ was “made of a woman, made under the law” until the day of His baptism and the beginning of His reforming ministry. So of course it was ‘His custom” to go “into the synagogue on the sabbath day”. But being “under the law” was before His ministry began. Until that time He submitted Himself to His very Jewish parents:

Luk 2:51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
Luk 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Just like each of us, Christ was first “under the law” when He was a child.

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

But Christ had not come to this earth to remain “under the law… under the elements of the world… keeping days, months, times, and years”:

Gal 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

When Christ was baptized by John, He was no longer a child. In Mat 12 Christ, who was of the tribe of Judah and was neither a priest nor a Levite, openly confessed to “doing that which was unlawful for him to do” and “profaning the sabbath” simply because “In this place is one greater than the temple, [ and] the Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath day”. Christ made no appeal to the law of Moses to justify the actions of His disciples. There is not one word about properly obeying the commandments concerning the sabbath here at all:

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

Then just for all of us who, at our own appointed time are where your Jewish friends still are, we are plainly told by the holy spirit that Christ “had broken the sabbath [ and] said that God was His Father”:

Joh 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work [ on the sabbath].
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

The holy spirit did not inspire the apostle to tell us ‘they thought He had broken the sabbath’. We are rather told that His Father works on the sabbath, and Christ did too, and therefore the Jews sought to kill Him.
Those who are given ‘eyes that see’ will notice that the apostle John never refers to the Jewish festivals as the festivals of God. He actually goes to great lengths to distance himself from that entire economy by calling them “a feast of the Jews” or “the Jews feast…”

Joh 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Joh 6:4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
Joh 7:2 Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.

Christ’s law is impossible for the flesh, but if Christ is living within us, He will strengthen us to do all things:

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

But one thing Christ will not strengthen you to do is to “observe days, months, times, and years”.
“The ends of the world” have been upon God’s people ever since the days of Christ:

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.

That being the case, we can expect the whole orthodox Christian world to “depart from the faith” in which our Lord walked.

1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

It is not easy to follow in the steps of our Lord, but if He is in you, that is what you will do.
It is my prayer that these verses will give you the clarity you are seeking. The paper The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit deals with all of this in great depth. I hope you will be edified by all these verses. If you still need anything clarified please feel free to write back.
I will take this opportunity to encourage you to watch our weekly Sunday 11 A. M. ET Bible studies on ustream, and to join us in the review of those studies at 12:30, right after the studies are completed.
Your brother who seeks only to be a “helper of your joy”

2Co 1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

Mike

Hey Mike!

Long time since I have asked questions or come to your website. My wife and I recently started attending United Church of God. They put a lot of importance on things like the Sabbath, Holy Days, Tithing and following God’s Laws. I have been taught their teachings before when I was 17 years old but never really put it into practice until now. I recently prayed to God sometime toward the end of the year if this is what he wanted me to do, then I would write a letter to my employer requesting the Sabbath off, and sure enough God answered my prayers about it. If the Sabbath was instituted at creation, reiterated when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments, then how does one come to the conclusion that the Sabbath has been done away with? There are numerous accounts in the New Testament where Christ, the Apostles and the Early Church kept the feasts of God and the Sabbath. It was their custom (habit) to do so. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
D____

Hi D____,

Thank you for your question.
I know where you are coming from. I started taking the Ambassador College Correspondence Course in 1963. Two years later, after high school, I attended Ambassador College and graduated in 1969. I kept all of the holy days, never ate ‘unclean meats’, tithed first, second and third tithes and did not work on the sabbath for over ten years. So I know the doctrine of your church very well.
This whole subject of the law of Moses is dealt with in great detail in the paper entitled The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit.
It is true that Christ was “made of a woman, made under the law”.

Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

He submitted Himself to his parents “ until” His ministry began at 30 years of age. Christ’s ministry was the time of a very great “reformation”, with many “Ye have heard that it hath been said… but I say unto you…” statements coming from our Lord.

Luk 2:51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them [ His parents and the law under which they lived]: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
Heb 9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
Heb 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

From that time forward He was not under the law, the “schoolmaster… for the lawless and disobedient”, and while it is true that the apostles did keep circumcision and the law of Moses in the book of Acts, that is only true for this one reason:

Joh 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Gal 4 is just some of the “many things” which the apostles could not bear for many years after Christ’s death and resurrection, and which many to this very day “cannot bear”. That entire book of Galatians is dealing with those who were trying to convince the Gentile Galatians that they had to keep the law of Moses with its sabbath, holy days, and new moons (months), in order to be saved.
Here is how the previous chapter begins:

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?

What is Paul telling us? He is telling us that “the law is not of faith”.

Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
Gal 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Gal 3:10 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 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Gal 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

“The law is not of faith…” and if you are “of the works of the law you are under the curse” of the law, which was never intended for a righteous man. The law is specifically designed for the lawless and disobedient.

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,
1Ti 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

Are we supposed to be righteous?

Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

I am painfully aware of all the arguments of the WWCG, the mother of COGAIA, which are designed to keep you under the law for the lawless. That is why I wrote a very in- depth paper on this subject entitled The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit. You will find this paper in the Essential Reading Section of the upper left corner of the iswasandwillbe. com home page. Here is the URL for that article: http:// iswasandwillbe. com/ freefromlaw. php
I cannot rewrite that paper in this e- mail, but I will tell you that all the years I was in the WCG, I believed that Gal 4:10 referred only to pagan holidays.

Gal 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

“The weak and beggarly elements” are the “days, moons, and seasons” which are observed according to “the traditions of men” in every culture – Jewish, Christian and Pagan. In reality the Galatians had already left their pagan days behind after being taught about Christ, but they were being seduced into keeping the Mosaic days by the Judaizers who still believed the laws of Moses, with all their days and moons, were to be kept.
I believed it because that was what I was taught by men I highly respected. But believing that to be true is to totally ignore the rest of that entire book and the rest of this fourth chapter. Do these verses, here in this same fourth chapter of Galatians, sound like Paul is dealing with people who want to go back to observing Pagan holidays?

Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
Gal 4:20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
Gal 4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

The Galatians had no interest in Pagan holidays. They “desired to be under the law”.
“The law is for the lawless…” It is not for any who are in Christ and His righteousness which is “not by the works of the law”.

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.

We are under a law for certain, but the law we are under is vastly superior to the law of Moses, which is for the lawless and disobedient.
Look at the preceding chapter of Galatians and be honest with yourself and with the Word of God. Does this sound like Paul is afraid that these Galatian Gentiles are slipping back into Paganism, and are desiring to keep Pagan “days, months, times, and years”.

Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
Gal 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
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 takes the most spiritually blind person, such as I was for over ten years, to think that the tenth verse of the next chapter has anything to do with these Galatians wanting to go back to keeping their Pagan holidays, months, times or years. They were succumbing to the Judaizers who to this very day want you and I to be “under the law… for the lawless”, and remain children which are no more than under the schoolmaster, who we must go beyond.

Gal 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. br /> Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Gal 4:8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God [ while an infant, under the schoolmaster, the law], ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods [ the law].

The Truth of the scriptures is that “not only had He [ Christ] broken the sabbath, but he claimed that God was His Father…” and He tells us Himself that, like the priests of the tribe of Levi, he had ‘profaned the sabbath and was guiltless’.

Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Mat 12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Mat 12:6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

I am very aware that the argument is that there was nothing unlawful about Christ eating the grain in the field on the sabbath because He and His disciples did not have the time to “prepare twice as much on the sixth day”, according to the law. If that were the case why didn’t Christ just say so instead of confessing to “profaning the sabbath” and still maintaining that He and His disciples, who were not Aaronic priests, were nevertheless “blameless and guiltless”?
These are all verses which your COGAIA ministers cannot see simply because Christ’s Words have no place in them”. Bring any of these verses up to them at your own peril.

Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Christ is speaking to “those Jews which believed in Him” (vs 30-31). Why could they not hear His word?

Joh 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

The law with all of its “days, months, times and years”, its clean and unclean meats, its laws against mixing fabrics, etc., etc, is “not for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient”, “is not of faith”, and is for babes who are no different from a slave (Gal 4:1).
Look at this verse, and then ask your minister why you are not observing the moons?

Gal 5:3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

I asked that question many times at Friday night Bible studies, and I never got an answer.
Read that in- depth paper on the law, and if you still have questions, then feel free to get back to me.

Your brother in Christ’s faith, and in His Word,
Mike

Hi,

I know you are always striving for truth. It seems that something is not right in the young earth theory.

From here: http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/ Earth_ age_ and_ astrology. php

I won’t repeat what you said, but will simply say that it doesn’t seem to me that the concept of time started until after the sun and moon and they weren’t created until the fourth day. So the concluding statements about “evening and morning” may not be literal or may have some other significance. One thing to also keep in mind is that we now know that our universe is ever expanding and it expands exponentially. When God first created this universe, the size was much smaller than presently, so the expansion at that point would have been much more rapid. I’m not an astronomer or physicist, but simply searching and praying for understanding, knowledge, wisdom, love, forgiveness, obedience and more that only He gives.

Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Gen 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

God is good. I’m thankful he has sent you.

J____

Hi J____,

Thank you for taking the time to communicate your concern to me.
You make this statement:

“I won’t repeat what you said, but will simply say that it doesn’t seem to me that the concept of time started until after the sun and moon and they weren’t created until the fourth day. “

I hope you will not mind reading this URL to get the answer to your concerns. If after reading that you still have a question, then please feel free to let me know.
I make no claim of being a scientist. I do claim to have been granted faith in the Word of God. That does not mean that I check my brain at the door when I open my Bible, but neither do I check my brain at the door when I read about scientific conclusions, which are often based upon false premises, as has been proven over and over again in my 64 years on this earth.
When I was in grade school, scientists were concerned that we were headed into another ice age. Today they are just as certain that the earth is on the verge of becoming too hot.
It was not long ago that scientists explained fruit flies with something they called spontaneous generation. So I am not overly impressed with “what we know now” whenever what we know now contradicts the clear statements of scripture like “In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and all that in them is…”
I first look for the spiritual meaning behind the words of scripture, but even I have to accept that when a word like the word ‘day’ is qualified with the statement “the evening and the morning were the 1st day, 2nd day, etc., or “are there not twelve hours in the day”, then maybe it means “evening and morning”, and that the spiritual lesson is to be understood through accepting that God made this earth “suddenly”, which is better translated ‘instantly’. That is how He plainly states He accomplished the Creation, and that is what our vast interdependent creation demands.
Every part of God’s creation demands a food source without which it could not survive one month. Every part of God’s creation demands the skills and means for requiring that food be in place instantly, not through completely unverifiable evolutionary theories of millions of years, which completely contradict the laws of science and of logic.
Here is what the scriptures say, and this is what God has given me the faith and the logic to believe:

Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

It was neither a mental challenge nor a physical challenge. God was not tired. The word ‘sabbath’ means ‘to cease’. It has nothing to do with God being tired. Here is Strong’s definition of the word:

shabba th
shab- bawth’
Intensive from H7673; intermission, that is, (specifically) the Sabbath: – (+ every) sabbath.

When we look at #7673, from which the word ‘shabbath’ comes, this is what we learn:

H7673
sha bath
shaw- bath’
A primitive root; to repose, that is, desist from exertion; used in many implied relations (causatively, figuratively or specifically): – (cause to, let, make to) cease, celebrate, cause (make) to fail, keep (sabbath), suffer to be lacking, leave, put away (down), (make to) rest, rid, still, take away.

So the Creator did not even break a sweat when ‘instantly’ speaking this universe into existence. He just told His spirit to manifest itself as such, and there it is.

Isa 48:3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

God has declared everything “from the beginning”. I have no problem believing that. He did it all “suddenly”, not over long eons of time. Now here is what the Hebrew word translated ‘suddenly’ means:

H6597
pith’o m pith’o m
pith- ome’, pith- ome’
From H6621; instantly: – straightway, sudden (- ly).

Here is how this same word is used elsewhere in scripture:

Jos 11:6 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.
Jos 11:7 So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.

Successful battles take place ‘suddenly’. They do not drag out for millions of years.
Two thousand years ago Christ said there were 12 hours in a day, and there are still 12 hours in a day, even as “the universe expands exponentially”, according to science. I for one will simply believe God and let every man be a liar. If I am to be chastened for being foolish then so be it, but I suspect that by “becoming a fool” I will be proven to be very wise indeed.

Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
1Co 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
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:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

You conclude by saying:

“God is good. I’m thankful he has sent you.”

I pray that you still feel that way. I must stand on the only Truth there really is.
Your brother in Christ who is that Truth.

Mike