[Study Aired April 27, 2024]

In this, the third book and study in Hosea, the Lord is reviewing the marriage template. He commanded Hosea to take a known harlot to be his wife to precisely mirror Christ’s wife reflecting Israel’s whorish behaviour to him and her coming chastisement and ultimate redemption.

The remaining eleven chapters detail our Lord’s indictments of Israel, beginning with accusations, judgment, her unrepentance and its consequences, her punishment, His love through chastisement, and His bringing to the minds of Israel and Judah His loving intentions since their conception for a brilliant future. In the meantime, Israel pushes to the back of their minds the many prophets’ consistency in speaking of the same impending doom of exile.

Israel’s entire saga from Egypt to exile was preordained before creation, overwhelmingly primarily for the Elect of God, His Bride, and not her 1,000 sisters remaining in Babylon (the world). The incredible violence Israel inflicted on her neighbours, both ordained by God and upon her own idols of her heart as her neighbors chastised her, is the precise pattern the Elect of God today have spiritually experienced and are now spiritually fleeing Babylon, to which they were exiled over 2,500 years ago.

All of Deuteronomy 28 details God’s warning against Israel for the unwitting inevitability of them not keeping the commandments of God with incredibly sore trials, and it is well worth a review. Since that chapter is 68 verses long, it is left up to the student of Christ to do his own review. However, the last five verses of Deuteronomy 28 for this study in Hosea portray Israel’s looming exile and slavery. Unforeseen by her, imminent slavery will be a harrowing affair until they settle down in Babylon and fully engage the idol of their heart to deem Babylon infinitely richer than the Promised Land they left!

Following is what was prophesied to happen if they failed to keep their espoused dues, and is now about to become reality.

Deu 28:64  And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. 
Deu 28:65  And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
Deu 28:66  And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 
Deu 28:67  In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 
Deu 28:68  And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Israel being sold into Egypt is a metaphor for Babylon, the world, which represents Egypt, Sodom, Syria, and Old Jerusalem as one. Since Egypt represents the world, it is the kingdom of the old man of carnally-minded people – we originally are symbolised as Egypt. We first get enslaved to Egypt, and after a long process of rebellion, we end up enslaved happily in Babylon, where the food and lifestyle are unsurpassed, and we believe the delusion that we are saved. The burden of the Egyptians is bondage from which the spirit of Christ will set His Bride free today; her day of judgment.

Verse 67 covertly states that His Elect, languishing in Babylon, yearns to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls. Hence, the time frame seems tediously slow since “In the morning you shall say, Oh, that it were evening! And at evening you shall say, Oh, that it was morning, for the fear of your heart with which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you [the Elect only] shall see.” 

In Hosea chapter 3, he very briefly summarizes what the Lord has commanded him to do regarding marrying a known whore and what will result from that marriage. Our Lord always has a stupendous and glorious outcome for our obedience to His commands.

Hosea Redeems, His Wife

Hos 3:1  Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
Hos 3:2  So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 
Hos 3:3  And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 
Hos 3:4  For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 
Hos 3:5  Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. 

Returning to verse one:

Hos 3:1  Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 

A wife “beloved of her friend” H7453 denotes (1. friend, companion, fellow, another person a. friend, intimate b. fellow, fellow citizen, another person (weaker sense). From H7462 – 1. to pasture, tend, graze, feed a. (Qal) 1. to tend, pasture 1a b. to shepherd 1a c. of ruler, teacher), and is clearly identified as previous adulterous connections with many paramours and the inevitability of ‘loving’ her immersion in flagons of doctrinal lies.

Gomer is “beloved of friend, yet an adulteress,” which suggests that she is well-liked by the community and no doubt quite lovely to look upon, but “yet an adulteress.” That description speaks volumes to the Elect of God and depicts their sorrowful, unwitting state while in Babylon’s churches, spiritually flirting lewdly as a two-fold child of hell (Mat 23:15) for every man and woman’s salacious attention.

Isa 3:16  Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 

Isa 3:17  Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.

The Gomer within us is “according to the love of the Lord towards the children of Israel” and our former sexual (spiritual) lustful search for the flagons and intoxication of unwitting doctrinal lies. Our Lord’s love for us is to initially send us into Babylon to drink the fullness of her vile cup until we fall and indifferently display our secret parts and spew her brew.

Because of every conceivable sin against Christ’s commands, and for this cause, particularly whoredoms and every other sexual abomination sullying marriage, the Lord says,

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

Hos 3:2  So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 

Notice Hosea ‘buys’ Gomer in that he “bought her”, the hire of a whore, for fifteen pieces of silver. The “another Jesus” (2Co 11:4) we served in Babylon we hired for half the price of Judas’s pay for betraying Christ for 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and officers of the temple guard. The number 10 denotes Gomer’s completeness of corruptible flesh, and 5 for the coming faithfulness of ‘the Christ’ to bring us into a full marital relationship with Him, our Husband. The number 15 can also be viewed as 3×5, equalling the spiritual progression of the Bride of Christ from her filth and chastisement for grace through faith, represented by silver’s symbolised redemptive process. 

Silver, from H3700, means to 1. to long for, yearn for, long after a. (Qal) to long for b. (Niphal) 1. to long for (deeply) 2. being longed for ~ and this perfectly fits Hosea’s speaking “comfortably” through his ‘allurements’ to Gomer in his pleading, typifying our Lord’s same pleading for us to be faithful to his espousals.

A one-and-a-half “homer [H2563] of barley” represents Christ (Definition: 1. cement, mortar, clay a. mortar, cement b. clay c. mire) and symbolises the mire of our powerful ‘glue’ (cement; mortar) that unwaveringly espouses us to him having taken us out of the “mire” of our Babylonish whoredoms to be one in him, the “barley” and first of the first fruits as a wave sheaf (Lev 23:9-14). One-and-a-half is precisely half the number of Christ’s three years of ministry that we mirror in our progressive learning not to play the harlot.

Hos 3:3  And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.
Hos 3:4  For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod [Priestly garment], and without teraphim [Idols]: 

In fact, the children of Israel have lived without a king ever since they went into exile, and to this very day, for the entirety of that time, His Bride alone knows Him as her King of kings and High Priest.

England’s royalty is a God-given utter sham with absolutely no connection to Christ, even though they implicitly state otherwise that they are the direct descendants of King David and thus an up lineage to Christ. They believe it to the point of having a large stone, called “The Stone of Destiny” or the “Stone of Scone” (Google it), deludedly the very one Jacob dreamed his Genesis 28:10-22 dream upon and set beneath the ancient coronation seat where all her kings and queens are crowned.  The Stone of Destiny

The fabled stone must have taken Jacob some time to chisel into shape such an unlikely singular ‘pillow.’ Equally preposterous is the accompanying story about the prophet Jeremiah escorting Zedekiah’s daughter to England in an effort to substantiate the connection of Britain’s royalty with King David:

“Some of the earliest Danite settlements in the Isles were in Ireland. As these colonies became more developed, ruling clans of Danite kings arose. Eventually, however, these kings were superseded in Ireland by a Milesian line of kings made up of royalty from the Jewish line of Zarah (I Chron. 2:4, 6). As will be brought out below, this royal line developed when Danite and Judah-Zarahite refugees settled parts of ancient Greece prior to Israel’s enslavement while in Egypt. This Milesian line eventually made its way to Ireland. Jeremiah’s mission was to join the Davidic throne to the “Irish” throne through the marriage of Tephi, Zedekiah’s daughter, to an heir of the Milesian line—a prince named Eochaidh. This is how Jeremiah was to plant a “tender one” in what would eventually become a “high mountain”—the Israelite birthright kingdom of Great Britain.” [End quote] 

From –   The Prophet Jeremiah’s Mysterious Royal Commission

It all is part of the immensely grand and strong delusion and foundation of British-Israelism and Zionism to similarly “cement” Judeo-Christianity in whoredom with her 40,000 + splinter sects to sustain monetary and government hegemony for world domination. The entire swindle is, at this moment, seemingly in the process of utter decay as the Beast in Revelation 17:1-18 turns upon the multinational conglomerate.

Gen 28:11  And he [Jacob] lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 

Notice that Jacob took an unknown number of stones (Plural) for his “pillows”, which he probably covered with material or hides. This suggests he used them to support his body from the unyielding earth. These stones were not a singular great block, as seen beneath England’s coronation throne! 

It appears that the stratagem of the early British monarchy to hold the empire together typically involved the lockstep of church and state, and no better foundation is there than God’s word. So, some enterprising monarchists hit upon the substantiating brilliance of including Jeremiah 33:14-26 to ratify the Empire. Please read it all for yourself, yet I will only include the following verses.

Jer 33:17  For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel [For the monarchists’ identity, Britain]; 
Jer 33:18  Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. 

Regarding verse 18, Britain never offered burnt offerings continually and neither did Israel after they went into exile dispersed among the nations.

Hos 3:5  Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. 

The children of Israel did figuratively return to Old Jerusalem by never leaving Babylon and continuing to eat their own bread and drink their own water unwittingly as the Great Whore of Revelation. Its correct spiritual parallel means the remnant, a small flock of the Lord’s Elect, are the ones who return to seek their Christ, their God and are represented as King David in these very “latter days” today, since the cross. Our Lord abides in His Elect, His Temple in this age to perform His good word spiritually within.

Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Jer 29:10  For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 
Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 
Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 
Jer 29:14  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 
Jer 29:15  Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 

May our Lord continue to bless his raised-up prophets in Babylon today and keep all his commandments.

Isa 23:1-6 As At The Report of Egypt, So Shall They Be...At The Report of Tyre

1 file(s) 13.32 MB

Download

Isa 23:1-6  As At The Report of Egypt, So Shall They Be... At The Report of Tyre

Isa 23:1  The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
Isa 23:2  Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
Isa 23:3  And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
Isa 23:4  Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
Isa 23:5  As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
Isa 23:6  Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.

In the physical realm, this is a prophecy of the destruction of Tyre by King Nebuchanezzar, and later the Tyre of the island about half a mile off the coast is destroyed by Alexander the Great. This prophecy had an outward fulfillment in the days of Ezekiel:

Eze 29:17  And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 29:18  Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it:
Eze 29:19  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.
Eze 29:20  I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 29:21  In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Tyre is destroyed and Egypt's destruction immediately follows. When that happens, then the Lord "will cause the horn of [His] Israel to bud forth.

So the burden of Tyre is pronounced upon her here in Isaiah:

Isa 23:1  The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
Isa 23:2  Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.

Tyre works very closely with Zidon and with all her daughter cities of the world to increase her profits and her influence throughout the outward world as well as  the world within us. This prophecy is repeated in another form in Ezekiel 28. "The pride of life" is alive and well within Tyre, outwardly as well as within us:

Eze 28:1  The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 28:2  Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Eze 28:3  Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
Eze 28:4  With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
Eze 28:5  By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
Eze 28:6  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
Eze 28:7  Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
Eze 28:8  They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
Eze 28:9  Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
Eze 28:10  Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 28:11  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 28:12  Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
Eze 28:13  Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Eze 28:14  Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:15  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Eze 28:16  By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:17  Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Eze 28:18  Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
Eze 28:19  All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Tyre's "traffic" (verse 5) and "the multitude of [her] merchandise"(verse 16) have made her rich "in the midst of the sea", but her riches cannot deter the judgments of God:

Isa 23:3  And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

Tyre is made rich "by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river." Her revenues come to her via "great waters the seed of Sihor." Ezekiel 28:2 tells us Tyre is situated "in the midst of the sea". What are we being told? What is the meaning of "great waters"? This is what we are being told about the extent of Tyre's influence:

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 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Lest we miss the point about the universal influence of this "great whore", the Lord tells us plainly:

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.

So what is this 'Sihor', also called 'Shihor'? The name appropriately means 'dark'. This name appears three other times in scripture, and those verses will help us to see who is being referenced here in Isaiah:

Jos 13:3  From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:

1Ch 13:5  So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjathjearim.

Jer 2:18  And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?

"...The waters of Sihor... in the way of Egypt, [and] Sihor, which is before Egypt", tell us that the waters of Sihor are the waters of Egypt, apparently the waters of the Nile which served to make "the way of Egypt" the envy of the world in her day. Spiritually speaking they are "dark" waters, and they are the same as "the way of Assyria".  Both are the opposite of the way and the waters of these "rivers":

Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

We all know what coming up out of Egypt typifies. Coming up out of the darkness and slavery of "the great waters, the seed of Sihor" in Egypt is just an earlier, less mature part in our book of coming out of Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans. Babylon is the symbol of a later, more mature form of the enslavement of the Lord's Israel to an even greater darkness and an even greater slavery to "the waters of Assyria... the rivers of Babylon" (Psa 137:1):

Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Hos 11:2  As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
Hos 11:3  I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
Hos 11:4  I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
Hos 11:5  He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

Jeremiah parallels "the waters... of Egypt" with "the waters of the river... of Assyria", and 'Assyria' is the same as 'Babylon, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth'. Why does Jeremiah mention Egypt and Assyria in the same breath? The reason is that these are the two places where Israel served as slaves. Egypt comes first because it symbolizes our slavery to our flesh as "a child". Assyria and Babylon are later because it is within that great harlot that we are ensnared by all of her doctrines which appeal to our flesh and thereby enslave "the souls of men".

Ezekiel 28  could be a duplication of Isaiah 14  if we just replace the name 'Babylon' in Isaiah 14 with the name 'Tyre' in Ezekiel 28. Once again "the dream is one" (Gen 41:25-26), and Tyre is just another symbol of the grip that false religions have upon Adam. The religions of this world are spiritual whores who want to "eat [their] own bread and wear [their] own apparel, but [they want to be] called by [God's] name":

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

And this is what the Lord tells us about these "seven" daughters of the "great whore" which is the religions and false doctrines to which we have all been enslaved, and to which the religions of this world are still totally enslaved:

Isa 14:13  For thou [the king of Babylon] hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Now let's read Jeremiah 2:18 again, and this time let's notice what the very next verse tells us about the fruit of the waters of both Egypt and Assyria:

Jer 2:18  And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Jeremiah asks us, "What have [we] to do in the way of Egypt, and in the way of Assyria?"  Then he answers his own question informing us of the fruits of drinking the water of Sihor and the waters of the river of Assyria:

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

We have demonstrated the Biblical parallels between the king of Babylon in Isa 28 and the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 14. Both are symbols of our later slavery in captivity to the doctrines of "Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth":

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 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

When Tyre is destroyed, she is ashamed and mourns the fact that she can no longer travail and bring forth any more children, young men, or virgins. Notice how the same thing is said of Babylon when she is suddenly unable to function as an influence throughout the world as she has for so long.

First, let's take note how Babylon is the habitation of all the false religious doctrines, which slander the name of a loving heavenly Father:

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Now let's notice how much our old man and the friends of our old man miss him when he is destroyed within us and when Babylon's grip upon mankind is destroyed:

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Rev 18:12  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Rev 18:13  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Rev 18:14  And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
Rev 18:15  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Rev 18:16  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

Tyre and Babylon are both symbols of a religious spiritual harlot who "says in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow" (Rev 18:7).

Her destruction by Nebuchadnezzar is the outward physical fulfillment of this "burden of Tyre", but the spiritual fulfillment of this event within us is our own judgment which will in time "cause the horn of [the Lord's spiritual] Israel to bud forth" and in time it will also give us "the opening of the mouth" to cause the whole world to know that Christ is the true king of "the kingdoms of this world":

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

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.

Utilizing "the dream is one" principle, we have seen that Tyre and Babylon are both symbols of the Lord's own apostate Israel, which in turn symbolizes the apostate Christian church. The similarities of actions of the two kings, the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14 and the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28, are as striking as the similarities of the actions of the corn and the cows in Pharaoh's dreams, where we learn of this Biblical principle of "the dream is one".

Let's take the time to take note of the revelation of this principle in:

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

"The dream is one" is a Biblical principle which must apply throughout all scripture. The lean cows and the thin, blasted ears of corn are both symbols of who we are. They are symbols of the kingdom of our old man who devours us and is none the better for doing so. The well-fed cows and "the seven good ears" symbolize the mind of and doctrines of our new man who is destroyed by our old man, as we destroyed Christ before we were given to die with Him. Yet it is through that destruction of the Truth that we are judged and learn to die with Christ so we can then be saved from death.

This is how Christ explains this process:

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

The seven lean years symbolize our starved, dying process, but the stored up grain symbolizes the life that comes out of that famine of the words of God. When the famine has run its course, then the corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, and life comes through that death just as the Lord's words teach us.

In Isaiah 14 we are given a "proverb against the king of Babylon". We are told his pomp is brought down to the grave because he said in his heart, "I will ascend into heaven... I will be like the most high." Then we are told, "Yet you shall be brought down to the grave, to the sides of the pit."

Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

In Ezekiel 28 we are told "[your] heart is lifted up, and you said, I am God..."

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

Then the king of Tyre is told the same thing as the king of Babylon:

Eze 28:8  They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
Eze 28:9  Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
Eze 28:10  Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

Tyre is no more Babylon than corn is cows. Yet in both cases the two are "one dream", and in both cases the message is the same. The kingdom of our old man must be destroyed before the kingdom of our new man will come forth out of that death, just as Christ came forth out of the grave as a "corn of wheat [which had] fallen into the ground and died".

Neither of these chapters say a word about any spirit being such as Satan. Both chapters deal with "a man" whose "heart is lifted up" and who "say[s] in [his] heart, I am God." Both men are "brought down to the grave" and are destroyed as types of our old man who makes all those same claims while he, too, "sits in the temple of God" claiming to be God:

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

It is an over simplification of scripture, but it is still true that from Genesis 1:1 to Rev 22:21 it is these two men who are in view. All scriptures actually concern themselves with nothing more than our old, "first man Adam", and our new man, "the last Adam":

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

With this understanding, let's now look at our last three verses for today's study:

Isa 23:4  Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
Isa 23:5  As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
Isa 23:6  Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.

Here is how "the sea... bring[s] forth children". Here in the New Testament is the exact spiritual opposite of verse Isaiah 23:4 along with the fruit of the children who "rise up out of the sea":

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

But here we are being told that Tyre will be destroyed and will no longer produce any children. The report of her destruction is likened to the report of Egypt's destruction. Our old man is destroyed as Christ is being birthed within us. When the Lord delivered Israel out of Egypt He destroyed Egypt in the process. Yet it still took the death of the firstborn of Egypt to bring Egypt to her knees, and even then this symbol of our old man still wanted to enslave and destroy us:

Exo 10:7  And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

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

At this point, Pharaoh and his people were now moved by great fear to cast Israel out of Egypt and to pay them to leave:

Exo 12:33  And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
Exo 12:34  And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
Exo 12:35  And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
Exo 12:36  And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

But as a testimony to our stubborn, rebellious nature, Pharaoh could not leave well enough alone, and he still thought he could somehow overpower the Lord and again enslave and destroy us. Pharaoh is our old man, and his predestined doom was very near:

Exo 14:8  And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
Exo 14:9  But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

Exo 14:27  And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
Exo 14:28  And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.
Exo 14:29  But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
Exo 14:30  Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

The parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea; all of this was reported to the nations in the land of Canaan and their hearts melted.

Jos 2:9  And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
Jos 2:10  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
Jos 2:11  And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

What does all of this mean to the kingdom of our old man within us? Here is what it means to Tyre and all her daughters:

Isa 23:5  As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
Isa 23:6  Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.

Conversely Christ within us can rest and rejoice in His strength and in the comfort of His Words. "If God [is] for us who can be against us?"

This is the positive side of Isaiah 23:5-6:

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That is our study for today. Next week we will see that the outcome of the war in our heavens against the kingdom of our old man has already been determined and written down for our comfort and  our admonition.

Isa 23:6  Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
Isa 23:7  Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
Isa 23:8  Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
Isa 23:9  The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
Isa 23:10  Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
Isa 23:11  He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.
Isa 23:12  And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 70

“The judgments” – Part A

November 26th, 2014

Often times when we are given direction in life we as humans tend to wonder “why?”? Why do this or that in this or that way? Why is this or that this way and why should I listen to those that have gone before me?

In truth, this is as natural for all of us as the sun rising and setting.

In the previous two studies we covered what are known as the ten commandments, but those are just the start of what is known as the law of Moses.

Now we are going to cover what are the laws and the judgments the Lord has given to the Israelites in addition to the commandments given to them initially.

As with all of scripture, we can glean lessons from these judgments given to the physical Jews because all of the law of Moses hangs on the great commandment given to us by Jesus. Of course, our “job” is to dig into the spiritual application of these laws/judgments in our lives today.

“Those of your own ‘house’ ”

Exo 21:1  Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

I don’t intend to cover every single verse and example because some of them overlap in their application. What I will hopefully be used to convey is that the Lord has very specific actions that are to be taken when any given event happens to us in our daily lives.

If we look at the previous admonitions given in the OT, then we can glean what it is we will need to consider when applying those admonitions to various situations in our lives.

For example:

Exo 21:2  If thou buy an Hebrew servant(H5650), six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

Ultimately, this verse is about reconciliation but that is not apparent on the surface of what we are reading here.

The reason it is about reconciliation is that there is a time when someone who is a slave or servant will be set free. That ultimately points to how the Lord is working all things after the counsel of His own will to bring in all of mankind to Himself so that He can be all in all.

In addition to that, this is a “Hebrew” servant. If someone is of our kinfolk or of our own people, then they are to get special considerations i.e. they are of our “household”.

Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

I think you’ll agree that the household of faith includes all of God’s children who have the Faith of Christ but does not specifically have to be someone you have previously known personally.

There are specific guidelines that further allow us to know that there are judgments for all situations so that we cannot simply think that God does not know what we are up against or what He has or is putting us through.

For example:

Exo 21:3  If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

Exo 21:4  If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.

In verses 3 and 4 we can see that a master wants nothing to do with what was already the servants/slaves before the man became a slave. This typifies that the Lord wants nothing belonging to our flesh.

However, the next verse tells us that anything that is GIVEN to a slave man is expected back from the master in addition to an “profit” or “gain” that came about from the thing given to the slave .. i.e. the “fruit” or children who were a result of the gift given to the slave.

After all, these people were simply money at the end of the day. They were away to profit and gain and were easily traded for other things.

This all typifies what the Lord has called us to when we calls us to Him. We become a slave to Jesus when we take on His work and His name. We are ambassadors for Him.

Eph 6:19  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Eph 6:20  For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Eph 3:1  For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

Eph 4:1  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

2Ti 1:8  Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

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

Phm 1:1  Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

Phm 1:9  Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

Notice however, that what Paul speaks about in the above verses is exactly what we are when, having been made a slave by our Master, we end up loving Him and all that He alone has given us.

Exo 21:5  And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

Exo 21:6  Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

The significance of such an act as having a hole placed in your ear was an act that made you a slave for the rest of your life. It also signified your undying servitude to listening diligently to all your master commanded and OBEYING without question.

This, on the part of the slave who could be set free, was the ultimate sacrifice of love for one’s master and family.

Here is an example from the CEV translation of what it meant to have your ears spiritually bore through with a ROD:

Psa 40:6  Sacrifices and offerings are not what please you; gifts and payment for sin are not what you demand. But you made me willing to listen and obey.

Psa 40:7  And so, I said, “I am here to do what is written about me in the book, where it says,

Psa 40:8  ‘I enjoy pleasing you. Your Law is in my heart.’ ”

Psa 40:9  When your people worshiped, you know I told them, “Our LORD always helps!”

Psa 40:10  When all your people met, I did not keep silent. I said, “Our LORD is kind. He is faithful and caring, and he saves us.”

So, this covers the male slave/servant and the requirements under the law concerning slavery. What then are the requirements of a female slave/servant as given in judgment of the law?

Exo 21:7  And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant(H519), she shall not go out as the menservants(H5650) do.

Exo 21:8  If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

Exo 21:9  And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

Exo 21:10  If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

Exo 21:11  And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

On the seventh year the men were able to go free but this was not true of a woman. She must stay the maidservant and/or wife of the master for as long as it pleased him and he followed the law concerning her.

However, because she could “become humbled” due to the master, she still had to be treated as a wife even if the master/husband was displeased with her in anyway.

The woman in this regard had more rights than a man because he could be sold off to others whereas when a man “knew” a woman he owed her the duty of marriage and this applied even if he took on multiple wives.

If the master did not treat her as a wife and give her food, clothes, and the life of a wife she was able to leave freely and not have to pay for her freedom.

However, I am sure we can all guess as to who it was that would determine that a maidservant was being treated properly or not according to the law.

Nonetheless, we are covering what was supposed to be the judgments used to determine how to handle these situations and not what might have actually been the reality.

“Murder”

Murder with the intent of murdering was not to be pardoned in the judgments passed out as mentioned in the 6th commandment and when Noah was given to Noah in Genesis 9.

Gen 9:6  Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

However, if the death of someone happened because God has caused it to happen, then there were places of asylum that the Lord would create and given Israel so that you could flee there until your case could be heard by the judges. There were 6 of those in total that were given to Israel with 3 of them being on either side of the Jordan.

Exo 21:12  He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.

Exo 21:13  And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.

Exo 21:14  But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.

The CEV translates verse 13 in this way:

Exo 21:13  But if you did not intend to kill someone, and I, the LORD, let it happen anyway, you may run for safety to a place that I have set aside.

“All of the sudden” we see a few judgments placed in the middle of us being told how to deal with murder, but I believe a strong reason for this can be said that these were viewed by the Lord to be just as serious as murder. In fact, they received the same penalty of death.

Exo 21:15 (CEV)  Death is the punishment for attacking your father or mother.

Exo 21:16  Death is the punishment for kidnapping. If you sell the person you kidnapped, or if you are caught with that person, the penalty is death.

Exo 21:17  Death is the punishment for cursing your father or mother.

Fighting with someone simply because you become angry did not indicate that you meant to kill someone even if that ends up as the result. So, there were different judgments based on the result of the fight.

Exo 21:18  And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:

Exo 21:19  If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.

With all of the above judgments, we can see that the intent of the heart and mind on a matter is what the Lord judges in these matters.

If you deliberately want to kill someone, you are going to pay the penalty equally under the law. However, if an argument leads to a physical altercation that generally indicates that there was no pre-meditation involved.

The judgments being laid out in this chapter to the children of Israel need to be considered in the light of which they were given.

Jas 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Jas 1:23  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

Jas 1:24  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Jas 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

When considering what and who we are we need not forget where we have been brought to and from.

When considering the law of Moses versus the Law of Liberty we need to make sure to NEVER forget what the Lord has done for us. Reflecting on being “lawless and disobedient” and still being loved by the Lord is truly having the Lord bring light from darkness because we are NOW being transformed into Sons of God….. who are the light of the world.

These mosaic laws were the foundational judgments being given before the tabernacle and priesthood was established, so this is something that the people knew was not being directly edited by mere men and would be used to judge everything that came after they were established laws.

Additionally, we need to remember that this was happening as the trumpets were being blow and the mountain quaked and the people feared.

Remember, the Lord had set boundaries on the mount and told them if they stepped “out of bounds” they would die, yet when these judgments were being given, they themselves retreated from the mount and told Moses to speak to the Lord on their behalf.

Exo 20:19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Exo 20:20  And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

Exo 20:21  And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

For us, we can look at each of these judgments and see that the Lord wants us to recognize Him working it all after His own counsel.

To bring this point home, we are going to see in the next study that the Lord controls even the beasts, in particular oxen are mentioned in the last half of this chapter, but we know that when beasts are mentioned it is speaking directly about us in some fashion or form.

Just as Moses drew near to the darkness, we too can realize that “light comes forth from darkness” and it is “in the darkness” where we will find Jesus coming springing forth from. That is how we should see these judgments coming forth to us in order to separate that light from darkness.

Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Gen 1:4  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Video Links

The King’s Prisoners – Part 1

Today’s study is about the King’s prisoners. The King’s prisoners are not just an ordinary prisoner. They are the few chosen who are given freedom from their prison and an early and unexpected parole. I pray the Lord uses this study to teach us all a little more about the King’s prisoners and just what prison spiritually is. This topic may be an old hat for most of you, and it may be a gem waiting to be gleaned by the spiritual eyes the Lord may have given you, but whatever it is it will all be the Lord’s doing.

Gen 39:20  And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.

We are all prisoners at one time or another. We are both prisoners in death first and then in the life and service of Jesus Christ by the bonds of judgment we are to judge ourselves with now. It is our Master who puts us there, and it is our Savior who frees us from our bonds. Our bonds come varied and early on in our physical and spiritual lives, and I have personally been given the gift to see that if it be the Lord’s will we are continually given freedom over those things in our lives that so often hold us down in the valley of death, so to speak.

It is in this valley of the shadow of death that we are freed from so many bonds and given flight to the spiritual heavens “above the valley” where God’s throne is. All the while, so very few actually realize where this is taking place. I hope this study will help shine some more light on this often very dreary place but often uncelebrated glory of God. We all must be prisoners before we can know and understand what being given freedom really is, and this most blessed freedom that we can ever be given is the freedom that comes with having the mind of Christ.

Prisoners

Early in my life, I have often wondered what it must be like to be a prisoner. During those wonderings, I discovered by the Lord’s will that I already knew what being a prisoner was. I knew the stench, loneliness, hopelessness, empty, lowliness, fear and a hundred other adjectives that come with being imprisoned.

The most burdensome thing that I have learned about being a prisoner is that when the lot has been cast and we realize where we are, when we find we can open our eyes and only see darkness, it is then that we discover that we are where we have always been. We have been imprisoned in our own minds by our Master who has imprisoned us in this body of decay and wretched flesh. The weight of darkness is so pressing, so heavy at times, that when we have this state of mind, physical prisons are mere child’s play compared to the hopelessness that never ending darkness grasps us with and doesn’t let go. It is here that we are primed for the King’s prison.

The King’s Prison

Gen 39:20  And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.

Here we have the story of Joseph and his master Potiphar. I am sure you all know the story. Joseph was bought by Potiphar from the Ishmeelites, the Lord was with Joseph and made all that Joseph did to prosper in his hand.  Due to this, everything that Joseph touched turned to gold so to speak. It was obvious that Joseph was the guy you wanted in control and that’s just what Potiphar did. Now we see Potiphar’s wife step into the scene and she has a thing for Joseph and temps Joseph many times to lie down with her. Joseph refuses, so Potiphar’s wife frames Joseph as having tried to force himself on her. Of course, this wasn’t true but Potiphar places Joseph in prison anyways. All in all, the Lord has orchestrated this entire scenario and continues to bless Joseph even while in prison.

First off, we need to recognize just what happened here. Joseph was making the best of the situation, being a slave and all, and does so well in his current circumstances that he even tells Potiphars wife in Gen 39:9, “There is none greater in this house than I”. Let us look closer at this story to see what the Lord would show us this day.

Gen 39:7  And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

Gen 39:8  But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;

Gen 39:9  There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

Gen 39:10  And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

Gen 39:11  And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.

Gen 39:12  And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

Gen 39:13  And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,

Gen 39:14  That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:

Gen 39:15  And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.

Gen 39:16  And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.

Let me first start off by stating that what I am about to say is only one type and shadow I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me with this story to share with the body . It is in no way the ONLY type and shadow nor does it exhaust the ample content that is contained here.

Notice first that it is our master’s wife who seduces us to lie with her. We are approached by the temptation to have all that is the Masters as Joseph tells Potiphar’s wife in verse 39:9 when Potiphar’s wife is offering herself yet again to Joseph. The fact is, the only thing the wife can give us is herself because it is the Master’s will that anything happens or not except for her being adulterous behind the scene. Here we can see the master being Christ and the adulterous wife tempting us with what is false. The same as Potiphar giving Joseph everything in his house except his wife, so Christ has given us everything EXCEPT authority over His BODY! We are simply overseers if that is indeed what we are, and Christ is the head.
We can continue to see this type in the next verses. Day by day we are tempted by what the church can offer us. It is then that we spiritually go into our master’s house to do OUR business. We think it is the Lord’s business, but it is OUR business. This very thing makes us vulnerable enough that our garment, our righteousness is able to be snared and taken by this adulterous wife.  When we are grasped and snared by the immense darkness that surrounds us it is often terrifying and very hopeless in appearance.
Once we know what has happened in this darkness, we flee, but the adulterous wife only flaunts our righteousness in front of us to use it against us later. For example, this can be seen in the attitude of, “you think you are somebody who knows something? We’ll I know who you are, sinner!” All the while, the wife is the one who is wretched, miserable, blind, poor and naked. It is amazing that this same type of attitude is displayed in this story by the wife when in verses 13 and 14 she mocks both her husband the master and the lowly “Hebrew” by saying:

Gen 39:13  And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,

Gen 39:14  That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he (the husband) hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:

It can also be seen in the attitude of the wife that wipes her mouth and says she has done nothing wrong!

Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.   

See, it is the adulterous wife of Potiphar who claims her honor and worth the whole time by telling a lie. To hear her tell it, she was righteous and cried out for deliverance from this “Hebrew”. She even keeps the garment by her until she can tell the Lord when he comes home. Isn’t that just how it seems to be today? The story goes on to have Potiphar place Joseph in the King’s prison.

This type of spiritual scenario is what leads us into the King’s prison. The Lord has worked all things after the council of his own will so that the circumstances in our lives that make us prisoners to our own flesh can be those same things that are used to chastise and teach us of a much better way of living by living in the freedom of the life of Jesus Christ once we are freed from those things that keep us in bonds.

What Kingly Prisoners Do

Gen 39:21  But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

Gen 39:22  And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that [ were] in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer [ of it].

Gen 39:23  The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing [ that was] under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and [ that] which he did, the LORD made [ it] to prosper.

Even in the King’s prison, the King’s prisoners are given dominion over the rest of the standard prisoners. This is a merciful act that we are told is what the whole plan will end up resulting in. It is through our mercy that they will be shown mercy because we have been shown mercy, but it is all because of a very powerful thing that most prisoners simply do not have.

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.

In reality everyone in prison is the King’ prisoner, but most don’t know it here and now. It is merciful that we are shown this amazing truth and an even deeper and meaningful level of truth is grasped in the one thing that sets us apart… the King’s prisoners who know they belong to the King and in HIS PRISON have HOPE that there is more than what their prison has to offer them. Joseph was given hope before all this happened, and that hope was rulership. There is a place of hope in the King’s prisoners to sit at the right hand of the Father, seated with Christ in heavenly places.

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

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

What sets the King’s knowledgeable and understanding prisoners apart from those who don’t have that knowledge and understanding is having the mind of Christ in which we are striving for the mark of the High calling, filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, giving repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins, being as He is in this world, freeing those prisoners who he sets in our path from fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil desires and covetousness, which is all the service of idols, and that is only the beginning of the calling we have in Christ Jesus.

The King’s prisoners have been shown mercy that we may show others the way, truth and life that we have shining through us while being in spiritual prison. What greater calling do we have? You might be wondering where I get this all from. I get it all from the calling that has been placed upon my heart and mind as the Holy Spirit bears witness to me that the words that I read from the very Word of God are the commandments of God to love the brethren and to free them from their earthly retraints of flesh and the carnal mind and everything that goes along with it.

How many time do we see that those who have been given this calling are not welcomed by those that so desperately need this healing and those that are given this calling are repeatedly shamed, humiliated and killed in the name of the God in which the profess to serve?

Just as we saw with Potiphar’s wife, so it is with our Christian brothers and sisters in the church who actually are adulterous to the very head the claim to serve. We are all guilty, but very few are shown mercy now to see just how wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked we are without that bountiful mercy.

Who Prisoners Are

We can see this whole story play out once again in the story of Samson and his wife Delilah. Again, being only one type and shadow we can see in example the differing factor of being one of the King’s prisoners “indeed” and simply being a called, chosen but UNFAITHFUL prisoner who will face their death that way. In Jdg 16:19 through 26 we read:

Jdg 16:19  And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

Jdg 16:20  And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

Jdg 16:21  But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

Jdg 16:22  Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

Jdg 16:23  Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

Jdg 16:24  And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

Jdg 16:25  And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

Jdg 16:26  And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.

One similarity I find in these two stories is the fact that when the wife acts out against her true husband, she always calls out to another man who is not her rightful head. Potiphar’s wife called the men of her house and Delilah called a man to help her do the dirty work. Then we see clearly that all this was happening to Samson WHILE HE WAS ASLEEP. Of course, the first thing Samson thinks he is going to do after waking from his sleep is doing what he had always done before his sleep. Oh how wrong he is! The Lord had departed from Samson.

It is with this foolish attitude, after doing what we were commanded not to, that we awaken from this sleep and find that the sight we thought we had is taken from us. Samson was called and chosen in type but he was not faithful to what the Lord had commanded him to do, which was that no razor shall come on his head because he was a Nazarite from birth.

Even so, the Lord does remember us all and we can see this in that Samson’s hair began to grow again. Notice, that when the Philistines wanted to make sport of Samson they put him in between the pillars of the house. I wonder who the pillars are? It is these same pillars who are used to bring the victory of the Lord to those whom He will have victory over…which is the philistines in all of us! We are all both of these prisoners, but it is only the spiritual King’s prisoners who are shown mercy now and given the ability to be pillars in the house of God, those who overcome and endure to the end.

Affectionate Mind

There are many examples of these truths throughout the scriptures, and going by the example the Lord gives us from cover to cover, repetition is a good way to get the point across. I will now focus on a few of these examples in scripture to bring home the idea. I truly believe these scriptures speak volumes just by what they say spiritually, so I pray the Lord would open up all our ears to hear Him through His Word.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of [ his] time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Sufferiing in the flesh is exactly what Christ did. Suffering in the flesh is turning away from those things which dominate our flesh and therefore our carnal mind. That is why we are told to arm ourselves with a different mind, the mind if Christ. We are to do this by what we are told next, “cease from sin that that we should no longer live the rest of our time in the flesh to the lusts of men”. Our time in the flesh is OUR PRISON for which we either realize God has put us here or not. We are imprisoned in this prison of flesh but we can with the mind of Christ and help of the holy spirit be freed from the mindset that keeps us focused on what is passing away as a vapor of smoke.

We, Lord willing are daily crucified with Christ, hanging on a the altar of the cross, bearing in our bodies the mark of Jesus Christ for if we are dead with Him we are raised with Him.

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.

Just a few verses before 5:30 and 31 we see this amazing spiritual truth:

Act 5:22  But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,

Act 5:23  Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.

Act 5:24  Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.

Act 5:25  Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.

This story as all others are given for our admonition, teaching us that we as Peter as found to be in prison initially, closed in with no escape until the mercy and command of the Lord frees us from the MINDSET that keeps us there. When we are saught in that same prison we are NOT found as a mere MAN but we are found to be standing in the temple of God where God is at TEACHING those who are given to us to share the mind of Christ that has been given to us. This is not very well received by those who think they head the prison:

Act 5:27  And when they had brought them, they set [ them] before the council: and the high priest asked them,

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.

Isn’t it amazing that the same thing that happened to Peter in obeying God was exactly what happened to us today when we go to “fill Jerusalem” with the doctrine of Christ. We are accused of filling Jerusalem with OUR doctrine when in truth it is commanded of God to bring our new mind, the mind of Christ, to the prisoners.

We see another example of the servant of the Lord being hated in like manner for simply doing the will of God and speaking plainly of it. This can be found in 2h 18 and 19 with Ahab, Jehoshaphat and the Lord’s prophet Micaiah.

Jehoshaphat went down to the king of Israel Ahab, and Ahab asked him to go to war with him. Jehoshaphat says my people are your people but let’s enquire of the Lord to make sure it is His will. Ahab says ok and gathers together 400 prophets who all say that it is the will of God that Jehoshaphat go to war with Ahab. Then we are given an example of making sure we have a second in witness in that Jehoshaphat asks Ahab if there are any other prophets of the Lord that may be enquired about this matter. Let’s continue from there by reading what the Word of God says in this story:

2h 18:4  And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.

2h 18:5  Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver [ it] into the king’s hand.

2h 18:6  But Jehoshaphat said, [ Is there] not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?

2h 18:7  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, [ There is] yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same [ is] Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

2h 18:8  And the king of Israel called for one [ of his] officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.

2h 18:9  And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat either of them on his throne, clothed in [ their] robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

2h 18:10  And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed.

2h 18:11  And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver [ it] into the hand of the king.

2h 18:12  And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets [ declare] good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.

2h 18:13  And Micaiah said, [ As] the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak.

Notice a very intriguing happening here. We have the prophets of the KING OF ISRAEL this is blessed of God, and when Micaiah is asked to speak his word he is told to say the same thing as all the other prophets, but Micaiah clearly states, “I will only speak what the Lord speaks”.  As we go on to see this:

2h 18:14  And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.

2h 18:15  And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD?

2h 18:16  Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return [ therefore] every man to his house in peace.

2h 18:17  And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee [ that] he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil?

2h 18:18  Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and [ on] his left.

2h 18:19  And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

2h 18:20  Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith?

2h 18:21  And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And [ the LORD] said, Thou shalt entice [ him], and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do [ even] so.

2h 18:22  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee.

2h 18:23  Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?

2h 18:24  And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

2h 18:25  Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;

2h 18:26  And say, Thus saith the king, Put this [ fellow] in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.

It is always true that those who are called, as was Ahab to be king of Israel, will hate those who are called, chosen and faithful to God. Sometimes it is something that is intentional as with king Ahab and sometimes it is not. However, it is always true that the same Israel claims that the prophets of the Lord speak only evil about and to them when in reality it is only truth that is being spoken to them as “thus sayeth the Lord”.

Isa 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Conclusion

There is much more to be said on this topic, but the time is short and there is not much time left for this study. In part 2 we will continue to study just who we are and what we are commanded to do. Rather than speak words of men, I will let the Holy Spirit speak again that which He gave Isaiah to utter for our benefit. This can be found in Isa 42. I believe this sums up beautifully just who the King’s prisoners are spiritually, those who are commissioned and know they are commissioned to, “what my God saith, that will I speak”. When reading and hearing these verses remember it is Christ in the old testament that speaks about himself and the elect who are His:

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.

Isa 42:5  Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

Isa 42:6  I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Isa 42:7  To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, [ and] them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Isa 42:8  I [ am] the LORD: that [ is] my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isa 42:9  Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Isa 42:10  Sing unto the LORD a new song, [ and] his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

Isa 42:11  Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up [ their voice], the villages [ that] Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

Isa 42:12  Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands. 

Isa 42:13  The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.

Isa 42:14  I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, [ and] refrained myself: [ now] will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.

Isa 42:15  I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

Isa 42:16  And I will bring the blind by a way [ that] they knew not; I will lead them in paths [ that] they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Isa 42:17  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye [ are] our gods.

Isa 42:18  Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

Isa 42:19  Who [ is] blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger [ that] I sent? who [ is] blind as [ he that is] perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?

Isa 42:20  Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.

Isa 42:21  The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make [ it] honourable.

Isa 42:22  But this [ is] a people robbed and spoiled; [ they are] all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

Isa 42:23  Who among you will give ear to this? [ who] will hearken and hear for the time to come?

Isa 42:24  Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.

Isa 42:25  Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid [ it] not to heart.

The Lord has told us what to expect as His servants before they have sprang forth. Let us run the race faithfully.

M___ wrote:

“Telling people to submit to their masters even if they are perverse, is very good advise. It is in no way “advocates slavery.”

Ok, then what does it advocate then??  Humility, love.. I get it.. as Christ said ” we have to love our enemies” and I even read it or heard it somewhere to even “feed them”. I definitely agree with that, what I don’t understand is “why the bible hasn’t any verse prohibiting slavery?”.. it clearly said in the new testament as Christ sums- up the old testament’s ten commandments (1) You shall have no other God before me. (2) Love your neighbor as you love yourself. So if you love your neighbor then you’re not gonna enslave them, are you? As I said before, no one wants to be slave.

“God does not want His people getting involved in trying to change a world which is doomed”.

So if we see something wrong around us, we just keep silent or just pray…. so what’s the use of preaching the Gospel… I know this world having to understand and learn the Gospel of God will change a lot… but “God does not want His people getting involved in trying to change a world which is doomed”… so I guess we have no choice…

I mean, we’re part of this so called, as you put it “world which is doomed”… and as Ambassadors of Christ… are we just to wait to have it doomed??? Even the human body has anti- bodies to protect us from viruses or bacterias and yet the Ambassador of Christ has been stationed on a world that is doomed, with a power that’s no use because the Ambassadors should not get “involved in trying to change a world which is doomed”?

It’s like we’re these cute gold fish in a fish bowl with a leak… and are just waiting for the water to dry- up.

“This world and every nation in it is in total opposition to God’s Words. Words like “love thine enemies” are utterly despised by the government of every nation on earth.”

And yet God allowed these things to happen. Anyway, this world is already doomed; it’s probably a waste of time to re- build it, better just have a new world, isn’t it?

M____

Hi M____,
As hard as it is to believe, your concluding remarks are right:
“And yet God allowed these things to happen. Anyway, this world is already doomed; it’s probably a waste of time re- build it, better just have a new world, isn’t it?”
We are plainly told by Christ:

Joh 18:36  Jesus answered [ Pilate], My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Christ could easily have “called down twelve legions of angels” and stopped all the suffering which has occurred over the past 2,000 years. But He did not.

Mat 26:53  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

Why not?

Mat 26:54  But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

God is not operating on our timetable. He has a plan which was in place “before the foundation of the world. He is not on ‘plan B.’ He is still on ‘plan A.’
You use the words “God allows these things to happen…” That is true when you understand that the definition of the word ‘allow’ means ‘to facilitate.’ If I ‘allow’ my underage son to drive a car, I am facilitating his lawless actions.
So it is with God, and He makes this very clear:

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

If you haven’t already, be sure you read After The Counsel Of His Own Will. There are literally dozens of verses like the ones above which demonstrate God’s sovereignty over both the good and over the evil.
Your analogy of the goldfish is very accurate. We are witnessing the decline and fall of the flesh. With 6,000 years of history not one improvement has been made in the flesh. It is to this day exactly what it was in Eden. [ In past times, one type of slavery was a way of paying off a debt.  A man who could not pay his debts, enslaved himself to his ‘master’ until the entire debt was paid.]
But your mention of an immune system is also accurate for those who have within them a man named Jesus Christ. Without Him in us, we are all leprous and even the best we can do is filthy rags:

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

God is not saving the world at this time. Now He is calling many, out of whom He is choosing a very few who will be used as the channel through which all the rest of mankind will be saved:

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

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ not exclusively] of those that believe.
1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [ the sins of] the whole world.

Keep reading and studying God’s Word. I pray He will give you the eyes to see and the ears to hear His Word.
Mike>

Onesimus had left Philemon in rebellion. He was a slave both literally and figuratively. But the Spirit drew (dragged) him to Christ, and by becoming Christ’s slave, he found true liberty. He was a free man regardless of what Philemon did, because in Christ he was Philemon’s fellow ‘huios‘. They were now brothers in Christ.

Did being “delivered from the law” (Rom 7:6) make Onesimus a lawless man? On the contrary, the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the LAW OF GOD [“love is the fulfilling of the law” – Rom 13:10] neither indeed can be (Rom 8:7). Being then made free from sin [ those are biblical words] ye became the servants of righteousness (Rom 6:18).

He that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called being free is Christ’s servant (1Co 7:21).

Yours in Christ,
Mike Vinson