The Book of Romans, Part 15 – Married to Another

[Study Aired October 3, 2023]

Rom 7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 
Rom 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 
Rom 7:3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 
Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 
Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 
Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

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Romans 7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

In this verse, Paul addresses his fellow believers in Rome, acknowledging that he is speaking to those who are familiar with the Jewish law. He begins by emphasizing that the law has authority over a person if they are alive. This means that individuals are bound to follow the requirements and regulations of the law of Moses throughout their lives.

Paul states the following. “(for I speak to them that know the law,)”. He is speaking to the “Jews” who know the law of Moses. As Christians, being non-Jews, are we to take what Paul is explaining as doctrine? There are denominations in the Christian assembly that state these messages do not apply to non-Jews. We must understand that Paul’s writings just as the writings of the Old Testament are types and shadows. We are warned to not be “carnally minded” and that “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

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

Rom 8:5-8 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

With this in mind. Who is a Jew? We were told this in Romans 2 and also other verses.

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

Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it because of the evil of your doings.

Who are the circumcised of the heart?

Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

How are we circumcised of the heart?

Colossians 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.

We must always keep in mind Paul is teaching the law of Christ which is a spiritual law.

Romans 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

Paul uses a marital analogy here to illustrate his point. Just as a woman is bound by the law of marriage to her husband if he is alive. As carnal believers we were once bound by a law. The law of “another Jesus”. However, if the husband (another Jesus) dies, the woman (bride of Christ) is freed from that marital obligation.

Romans 7:3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

Continuing the analogy, Paul explains that if a married woman marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is considered an adulteress because she is violating the marital covenant. However, if her husband dies, she is no longer bound by the law of marriage and can marry another man without being labeled an adulteress.

Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

In this verse, Paul draws a spiritual parallel. He tells us that, through the death of Christ (His sinful flesh), we have been released from the bondage of the Mosaic law (carnal commandments). This freedom allows us to be joined to Christ, who was raised from the dead. The purpose of this union is to bear fruit for God, which refers to living a righteous and godly life.

Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Joh 15:1-8 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

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

Paul explains that when we were living according to the flesh and under the law, sinful desires were aroused by the law’s restrictions, leading to sinful actions that ultimately resulted in spiritual death. However, through faith in Christ, and presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice we have been released from the law’s hold, enabling us to serve God with renewed minds and a focus on the spiritual intent of the law rather than merely obeying its letter.

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

In summary, this passage from Romans 7 explores the freedom found in Christ. We have been released from the carnal law by dying to the flesh. Paul uses the analogy of marriage and the death of a spouse to illustrate how we are freed from the law’s dominion through our union with Christ, enabling us to live a life that brings forth fruit for God.

1Co 15:26-34 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? And why are they then baptized for the dead? And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

Numbers 5:1-31  Our Jealous God and His Unfaithful Wife

[Study Aired May 29, 2023]

Num 5:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:2  Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: 
Num 5:3  Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell. 
Num 5:4  And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel. 
Num 5:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:6  Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty; 
Num 5:7  Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. 
Num 5:8  But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him. 
Num 5:9  And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his. 
Num 5:10  And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his. 
Num 5:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:12  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, 
Num 5:13  And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner; 
Num 5:14  And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: 
Num 5:15  Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. 
Num 5:16  And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD: 
Num 5:17  And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:
Num 5:18  And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:
Num 5:19  And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
Num 5:20  But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband: 
Num 5:21  Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; 
Num 5:22  And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. 
Num 5:23  And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: 
Num 5:24  And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.
Num 5:25  Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar: 
Num 5:26  And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water. 
Num 5:27  And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people. 
Num 5:28  And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed. 
Num 5:29  This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; 
Num 5:30  Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
Num 5:31  Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

Overview

Numbers chapter 5 can be divided into two parts. The first part deals with defilement in the camp of the Israelites, the corporate action to be taken and the guilt of one’s sinning against the Lord. The second part focuses on an unfaithful wife over whom her husband is jealous and the need for the unfaithful wife to undergo a test of unfaithfulness with the water of bitterness. As we indicated at the beginning of the study of Numbers, the book focuses on the formation of an army of the Lord. As an army, the key conditions in winning a war are that the people are physically and mentally sound for battle and that they are loyal to their commander in chief.  Being physically fit means the absence of disease or wounds, and having a mentally sound or fit posture means having a winning mentality. When there is an infectious outbreak of disease or if there are several wounded soldiers in an army, there is no way the army can win a war. During our time in the physical churches of this world (Babylon), there was defilement in our camps, and as a result, our camps were filled with infectious disease of sin. There was therefore no way for us to defeat the enemy – our flesh. This is what the Lord said about our state when we were in Babylon:  

Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Similarly, if we are already defeated in our minds regarding a war we are going to wage, it is a recipe for disaster as we shall surely end up being defeated. For example, when Moses sent spies to Jericho as Israel prepared to fight them, a type of our flesh, they were defeated in their minds because of the evil report of the spies, except for Joshua and Caleb. This is what they said: 

Num 13:31  But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 
Num 13:32  And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 
Num 13:33  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. 

As the army commander of the army of the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ knows all the issues that can result in our total defeat by the evil one.  

Jos 5:13  And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 
Jos 5:14  And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

The Lord, being our army commander, therefore, prepares us for battle by first destroying all that is within our hearts and minds as He comes to take residence in our heavens. This is what the word of the Lord says about this:

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

In today’s study, the Lord is teaching us what to do in order to have an army which is totally fit for battle against our flesh when there is contagious disease in our midst. The second part of the study focuses on our unfaithfulness as the wife of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our army commander and His demand for us to be faithful to Him and not provoke Him to jealousy.

1Co 10:22  Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?

Num 5:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:2  Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: 

Three things are mentioned here as having the propensity to defile the people of God, or the Lord’s army, and therefore cause them to be defeated. They are leprosy, discharges and uncleanness resulting from contact with the dead. Leprosy signifies the evil that naturally issues from the natural man. The reason that all humanity naturally commits evil is because of the beast within every individual. This beast is the same as our old man or flesh. In this sense, we are all leprous except for the grace of the Lord Who has delivered us from our rebellious old man. According to the word of the Lord, leprosy is the result of our rebellion against God’s authority. This is illustrated by Aaron and Miriam who rebelled against the Lord’s designated leader, Moses, who represents Christ.

Num 12:1  And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 
Num 12:2  And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
Num 12:3  (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 
Num 12:4  And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 
Num 12:5  And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
Num 12:6  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
Num 12:7  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
Num 12:8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 
Num 12:9  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 
Num 12:10  And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

As we can see, our old man, or the beast within us, rebels against the Lord and His designated authority which is His elect. We were all leprous before Christ came into our lives to transform us.  

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 
Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 
Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 
Rev 13:7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 

Just as leprosy is highly infectious, so is sin. If a member of the body whose walk is as an enemy of the cross of Christ and is not dealt with, over time many members of the body will be defiled and will walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. This was what happened to the Philippian church in Paul’s time.

Php 3:18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 
Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

The second disease mentioned in verse 2 has to do with those with discharges from their bodies. These are uncontrolled or unrestrained emissions from the body due to a diseased body. In the spiritual sense, these discharges constitute one being without control and unbridled in relation to the deeds of the flesh, such as one’s temper, covetousness, likes, and dislikes. This is a discharge, an issue of the natural man. If a member of the body is inordinate in wrath or drunkenness, for example, and the body of Christ does not deal with such a person, the whole body will be infected. This was what happened to the church in Corinth when the man who slept with his father’s wife was allowed to continue fellowshipping. The man is an example of one who has a discharge, as he is not able to control his passions. 

1Co 5:1  It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 
1Co 5:2  And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. (ESV)

The third disease has to do with uncleanness due to contact with the dead. We become spiritually unclean when we take in or accept the teachings of those who are spiritually dead. That is what characterized our walk with Christ when we were in Babylon. We accepted the teachings of our leaders who were spiritually dead and so we became defiled.

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

This is to warn us to be circumspect as a body of those who try to introduce heresies originating from their revered men of God who are dead spiritually or from within themselves (idols of the heart). If the body of Christ does not deal swiftly with such people who have contacted the dead and therefore have their minds corrupted by the simplicity which is in Christ and as a result, introduces heresies, the whole church will become defiled.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 

Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Num 5:3  Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.
Num 5:4  And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.

All the three categories of infectious diseases must be dealt with swiftly by removing them from fellowship. As we indicated earlier, Paul warned the Corinthian church concerning the gentleman who slept with his father’s wife to be removed from the assembly.

1Co 5:9  I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 
1Co 5:10  not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 
1Co 5:11  But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 
1Co 5:12  For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 
1Co 5:13  God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” (ESV)

2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2Jn 1:8  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 
2Jn 1:9  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 
2Jn 1:10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Num 5:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:6  Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty; 
Num 5:7  Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. 

In these verses, we can see that to deal with our sins or guilt, we must confess our sins. This is what the word of the Lord says about confessing our sins:

1Jn 1:8  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 
1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
1Jn 1:10  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

Apart from confessing our sins, we should go to the one we have wronged and make restitution for our sins. In verse 5, we are required to add one-fifth to the trespass to the one we wronged. We have all committed sins of which we are all to pay restitution. However, we did not have what it takes to pay for restitution. For example, the bible says that hating a brother or sister amounts to murder. We were therefore all guilty of murder. Our Lord Jesus Christ therefore paid for the restitution we were to pay by offering the ultimate sacrifice of His life. The Lord’s coming to us is a time of restitution!!

Act 3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 
Act 3:20  And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 
Act 3:21  Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Num 5:8  But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him. 
Num 5:9  And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his. 
Num 5:10  And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his. 

If the wronged person is deceased, then the restitution should go to a relative. However, if the deceased did not have a relative to whom restitution may be made, the restitution must be made to the Lord, who is represented by the priest. As we have indicated, Jesus Christ is our restitution, and He is the ram of atonement on our behalf. 

1Jn 2:2  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Num 5:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:12  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, 
Num 5:13  And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;
Num 5:14  And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: 

Since the Lord is Spirit and we are of the flesh, the Lord uses the day-to-day occurrences of life to teach us spiritual truth about who He is. Understanding spiritual things is therefore dependent on knowing the physical types.

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

Here in these verses, a man is jealous of His wife even though he is not sure whether his wife has defiled herself with another man or not. We know from the word of the Lord that we are the church, or the assembly of the elect, which is the wife of Christ. So, these verses show us the jealousy of the Lord for His church. 

Zec 1:14  So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

Zec 8:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

Isa 54:5  For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. 
Isa 54:6  For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. 

Unlike a natural man, our Lord knows all that His wife does – whether she has defiled herself or not. The Lord wants us to know how He feels towards us when we are enchanted by the evil one. Of course, it is the Lord Himself who directs our steps to be enchanted by the enemy.

Jer 10:23  O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

The whole essence of bringing the issue of infidelity before a priest is for us to become aware, not only of our sins, but to let us know that our Lord is jealous of us. The Lord’s jealousy leads to judgment which results in our deliverance from our enemies. In other words, unlike man’s jealousy which kills, the Lord’s jealousy is for salvation – delivers us from our enemies. Once we become aware of our infidelity, then the occasion has come for the Lord to judge us. It is through this judgment that we learn to be faithful to the Lord. 

Pro 6:34  For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

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

Num 5:15  Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. 

It is very instructive in verse 15 to note that the man who is accusing his wife of unfaithfulness is the one who brings her or drags her to the priest and also pays for the offering for the wife which is one-tenth of an ephah. What this means is that it is the Lord who drags us to an elect (a priest) to help us to offer a sacrifice of jealousy. This offering of jealousy is the fiery trials we go through as it causes us to remember our iniquity. For example, it was through the trial to which Joseph subjected his brothers, that they recalled their sins (which nobody knows except them) in treating him wrongly.

Gen 42:19  If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: 
Gen 42:20  But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. 
Gen 42:21  And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
Gen 42:22  And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. 
Gen 42:23  And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

The offering of jealousy is one-tenth worth of barley meal. In the Bible one-tenth or a tenth spiritually signifies a remnant or the remains, which represent the elect. What this means is that the offering of a tenth of a barley meal is offered only by the elect. In other words, it is the elect (the remnant) who are being judged in this age because of our infidelity. The offering of jealousy is therefore a symbol of the elect submitting to the judgment of the Lord so that we learn righteousness.

Amo 5:2  “Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up.”
Amo 5:3  For thus says the Lord GOD: “The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred (a tenth) left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten (a tenth) left to the house of Israel.”  

Lev 27:30  “Every tithe (one tenth) of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD.
Lev 27:31  If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. 
Lev 27:32  And every tithe (one-tenth) of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the LORD.

Num 5:16  And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:
Num 5:17  And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:
Num 5:18  And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:

As we have indicated, the priest represents the elect. It is through what the elect say that we are drawn closer to Christ. In verse 17, the holy water in earthen vessels is the truth of the word of the Lord which is spoken by the elect who are earthen vessels.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

As we know, humanity came from the dust and therefore represents dust. The putting of dust into the holy water is to pollute the water with man’s tradition and wisdom.

Gen 3:19  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

It is very important to note that the dust was put into the water by the priest. We, His elect, are the priest, who is also Christ. We can therefore say that the false doctrines we imbibe in Babylon are all part of the counsel of our Lord Jesus Christ, as He is the one who puts dust in the Holy water.

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

Num 5:19  And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
Num 5:20  But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband: 
Num 5:21  Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;
Num 5:22  And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.

The polluted water, or the false doctrines, we imbibe in Babylon causes us to become unfruitful and also make our bellies swell. Being barren or unfruitful signifies our inability to produce the fruits of the spirit. In the Bible, our belly signifies the flesh as shown in the following verses:

Rom 16:18  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

1Co 6:13  Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

The belly swelling therefore signifies the manifestation or the showing forth of the deeds of our flesh. As we drink bitter water or accept false doctrines, we become unfruitful and worse off. This is the curse that we, as the unfaithful wife of the Lord Jesus, were under during our sojourn in Babylon.

Num 5:23  And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: 
Num 5:24  And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.
Num 5:25  Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:
Num 5:26  And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.
Num 5:27  And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.

As indicated earlier, the Lord wants us to know that we have been unfaithful to Him so that He can help us to become faithful wives. The whole ordeal that the woman endured is to reveal to the woman her sins so that she can be saved. The belly swelling signifies the revealing of the deeds of the flesh. These verses show us that the false doctrines we imbibe in Babylon are all ways the Lord uses to bring forth our sins so He can deliver us. As long as we are oblivious of our sins, that is being blind spiritually, our sins remain and therefore, we are under a curse!! The unfaithful woman in this study is also Babylon who is under a curse!

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Joh 9:39  Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
Joh 9:40  Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”
Joh 9:41  Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Num 5:28  And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
Num 5:29  This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; 
Num 5:30  Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
Num 5:31  Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

We are first the woman who was unfaithful to her husband and therefore was under a curse, before we become the faithful woman who is fruitful. As shown in verse 28, this woman who has not been defiled is free. This woman is Jerusalem above or the church of the firstborn who is free from bondage to sin and fruitful (will have more children), of which we all belong!!! Amen!!

Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

In summary, the test for chastity is to show us that as His elect, we are to love only our husband Jesus Christ with all our hearts, soul and mind. He wants us to have no one else and nothing else, other than Him, as our only first and unique love. We can of ourselves do nothing in terms of loving Him as our first and unique love. However, He who has called us is capable of dragging us to the finish line by causing us to love Him!!

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

May His name be praised forever!! Amen!!

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Awesome Hands - part 125 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – part 125

The spirit of Jealousy

November 22, 2017

Our study today finds us with a topic that all can relate to. By the end of this study, I hope we can all appreciate the love the Lord has for us considering we have all been “an adulterous wife and an adulterous generation” in our own time.

Also, the initial thoughts that can come into play with this chapter are something along the lines of “why is the wife addressed here and not the man?”. We will cover some of these details within the study.

The verses for consideration today are found in Numbers 5.

Numbers 5:18  And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:

Numbers 5:25  Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:

These verses alone only offer a glimpse of what the Lord has shown us in this chapter. Expanding past this chapter, I hope we can read some additional verses to help is learn how the lessons in this chapter can help us today as Christians.

Given the verses above, I want to read them in their context so that we can gain a clearer picture of what is happening in these verses.

Remember, if you commit adultery in the old testament law, the penalty was death.

Leviticus 20:10  And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

The fact that we have the procedure we are about to read, indicates that there is “more than meets the eye” since the wife in this scenario has not been CAUGHT in the act.

Numbers 5:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 5:12  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
Numbers 5:13  And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;
Numbers 5:14  And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

Notice, in either case of a man being jealous, whether or not she is known to have committed adultery, this is the procedure that is prescribed for the husband, wife and priest.

Numbers 5:15  Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

The fact that this situation was being brought before the priest is a testament as to why barley meal was being used instead of the normal fine grained wheat powder that was normally used.

Barley meal was worth half as much as fine wheat.

2 Kings 7:1  Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

Barley cakes/loaves were also fed to the poor. The poor were not highly looked upon, similar to this situation being brought before the priests.

John 6:9  There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

The woman is not yet condemned or found guilty, because if she was found guilty, then she couldn’t have been making any offerings what so ever. However, needing to go before the priest to “prove” herself to her husband via the miraculous happenings that occur through this process, would have caused quite the stir within the home and family unit.

Numbers 5:16  And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:
Numbers 5:17  And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:

I searched for any other mentioning of the floor of the tabernacle being mentioned and I can’t find any other references to its use. This is the sole use of the floor of the tabernacle other than it’s obvious one which is to be walked upon.

A significant parallel can be seen in knowing the we are dust and to dust we shall return, and the serpent was cursed to eat dust.

Genesis 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

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

Isaiah 65:25  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

Now, we have the dust of the floor mixed with the holy water which shows us a spiritual connection to the temple we are, being connected to, the flesh that covers it.

Numbers 5:18  And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:
Numbers 5:19  And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
Numbers 5:20  But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:
Numbers 5:21  Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;
Numbers 5:22  And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.

The oath being given is being agreed to by the wife before she takes the bitter water and drinks it. The water itself was not bitter as we normally think of something being bitter, but the fact of this whole situation needs to be dealt with, is a bitter ordeal indeed.

The wife must commit herself to this “oath of cursing” which would have been quite a thing to proclaim before God. The priest and the husband have no way to know if adultery has happened, so the result of drinking this water would either show guilt or innocence.

There must also be some belief on the part of all involved. Remember, divorce was allowed in the law, but this would be a very bold thing for a woman to do if she in fact were guilty. Naturally, just the drinking of the water would be an act of proclaiming yourself innocent because the woman is taking the oath of a curse if she is found guilty by God.

Having “your sin” mixed with water and then drinking it was something that was not to be taken lightly as can be seen with the golden calf and Israel.

Exodus 32:20  And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
Exodus 32:21  And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

This whole event brought a plague upon Israel.

Exodus 32:35  And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

So, for the wife to take on the oath of a curse, if she were indeed secretly guilty, would be a very bad thing for her indeed. Her belly would swell and her thigh would rot, and most likely her husband would have kicked her to the curb. Not good. Additionally, she has to say “amen, amen” and if she didn’t then guilt would be presumed.

Before we get to down on the husband for not believing his wife and bringing her before the priest, let us remember that the man could not even covet his neighbors wife without sinning. It was a commandment!

Exodus 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Exodus 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exodus 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.

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Time to drink up! I don’t know about you all, but I find this whole scenario very intense!

Numbers 5:23  And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:
Numbers 5:24  And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.
Numbers 5:25  Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:
Numbers 5:26  And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.

The wife drinks the water and it is bitter in her belly. An offering is made and the woman takes this judgment into her.

Numbers 5:27  And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
Numbers 5:28  And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
Numbers 5:29  This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
Numbers 5:30  Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
Numbers 5:31  Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

What we can take away from this is that jealousy does happen. When it does, there needs to be away to deal with the situation.

We do not have priests today that can perform these procedures in order to prove a woman innocent or guilty. Even if we did, a guilty woman probably wouldn’t want her thigh to rot and belly to swell for the rest of her life, and an innocent woman would most likely find great offense in not being trusted.

Equally of note, a man becoming jealous is not a sin in and of itself. In fact, we, men and women, are permitted to become angry but to not sin in doing so. There are certainly things that will cause us to become angry in life and with our spouses. How we handle that anger is really what we need to figure out before we actually become angry.

Note, our God is a jealous God and He is the Husband in the scenario.

Exodus 34:14  For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

Deuteronomy 6:15  (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Joshua 24:19  And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

It is very important today to have trust in a relationship. In fact, it is a foundational stone that relationships are built upon. Without trust, your home, family and relationships with struggle tremendously.

I have personally lived in such a home and eventually my parents divorced. This isn’t blaming anything on my parents, but it is simply acknowledging the turmoil that happens due to a lack of trust that comes from adulterous spouses.

Given what we have read so far, how do we generally deal with this topic in our world today?

I hearken back to the “adulterous woman” that Jesus dealt with. I know this is a familiar story, but it fits perfectly with this study today.

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

John 8:1  Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
John 8:2  And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
John 8:3  And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
John 8:4  They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

This scenario is slightly different because this woman was actually caught in the act; whereas, the woman described in our study today in Numbers 5 has NOT been caught.

However, it is really important to note how Jesus looks upon a GUILTY woman. This will give us indications on how we should also treat none guilty or simply accused spouses where there is no proof.

John 8:5  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
John 8:6  This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
John 8:7  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
John 8:8  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
John 8:9  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
John 8:10  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
John 8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Jesus’ answer was not to cast a stone at her. In fact, He goes a step further and asks her accusers to look at themselves first, THEN convict her of her crime. Where then are her accusers?

When we know, in ourselves, that God knows the sins we have committed, it is MUCH EASIER to show others mercy knowing that we ourselves have been shown mercy.

The one thing that Jesus tells us is permitted for divorce, as far as being a “cut and dry” scenario, is fornication/adultery.

Matthew 5:31  It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Matthew 5:32  But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Matthew 19:8  He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
Matthew 19:9  And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

“Except it be for fornication,” tells us just how serious this is to God the Father. Even then, knowing that we all fornicate against our “Husband”, what does He do in action in forgiving us our sins?

Matthew 19:10  His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
Matthew 19:11  But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

Flee fornication.

1 Corinthians 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:18  Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
1 Corinthians 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Revelation 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

Revelation 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Revelation 2:21  And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

Just as was with the start of Jesus’ ministry, true Godly repentance, asked for from God and given by God, is what is needed. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.

Romans 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Romans 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.

We must all do our part as Christians to make sure that jealously does not cloud or judgment of the situations we must deal with, but when situations do arise, we must also be willing to examine everything to know what has and is happening.

In addition to all of this, I believe it is the calling of us all, where we are given the heart and strength to do so, to forgive those that repent of their actions that cause jealousy to come about, and then do not do it again.

For those of us who have the spirit of jealousy come upon us, we must ask God to guide and direct us in all things so that this jealousy does not get out of control and cause us to sin.

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 69

“The ten commandments” part 2

November 19th, 2014

I finished up the last study with quoting Matthew and what that means concerning all that Moses and the prophets wrote about in the law.

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

Anything we are going to cover with the ten commandments is going to hang on the two commandments mentioned above.

It may seem like a trivial word to mention, but the word “hang” provides as an insight on what we can conclude about the ten commandments, what they mean to us and how they apply to our Christian lives today.

Mat 22:40  OnG1722 theseG5025 twoG1417 commandmentsG1785 hangG2910 allG3650 theG3588 lawG3551 andG2532 theG3588 prophets.G4396

The Greek word G2910 is found just a few times in the Greek:

G2910

kremannumi

Total KJV Occurrences: 7

hanged, 4

Mat 18:6, Luk 23:39, Act 5:30, Act 10:39

hang, 2

Mat 22:39-40 (2), Act 28:4

hangeth, 1

Gal 3:13

Mat 18:6  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Luk 23:39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

Act 5:30  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Act 10:39  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

Act 28:4  And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.

Gal 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

The ten commandments, the law and the prophets hang down from and are summed up from two commandments given to us by Jesus.

In other words, these two commandments are just as important to us, when we consider how we live these commandments out today, as the CROSS is to who Jesus was.

As we ended the study last week we had some discussion as we always do and Steven Lozo mentioned Deuteronomy 6 in connection with the study.

Deu 6:1  Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
Deu 6:2  That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
Deu 6:3  Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deu 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu 6:6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deu 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deu 6:8  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
Deu 6:9  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

It should be clear that the Lord wants us to keep his commandments, statutes and judgments. When we keep them we must realize that we are talking about the same commandment no matter what the “detail” is of that angle of the commandment.

“The last ‘five’ of the ten commandments”

For example, “love God with all your heart, soul strength and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself” is the same thing as saying “thou shall not kill”.

6) You may be thinking that they can’t possibly be the same, but let us examine that idea a little closer.

Exo 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.

Here is the new man and new testament way of dealing with this commandment:

Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:21  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Mat 5:23  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat 5:24  Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

1Jn 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

When you compare what eternal life IS to what the law and prophets are, you will find how it is we can enter into life aionion.

Joh 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

2Jn 1:5  And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
2Jn 1:6  And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

What all of these commandments simplify down to is that if you love God and your neighbor, thereby having eternal/aionios life dwelling in you, then you will NEVER murder your neighbor, you will honor your father and mother, you will not have any other gods before the One True God the Father, etc.

It is good to get down to the specifics of how we can apply these spiritual lessons to our lives today, but the “secret” hidden from the foundation of the world is that Jesus Christ encompasses all of this commandments and any of His body that He is dwelling in will have these “great” commandments LIVING in them as well.

7)  Adultery is just like the other commandments in both having a physical and outward application and also having a spiritual one.

Exo 20:14  Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Jesus mentioned specific roles in Matthew 5:27 and 28, but this applies just as much to women as it does to men. More importantly, this spiritual admonition applies to those “other women not our wives” who are ALSO not the “TRUE BRIDE” of Christ.

When we lust after any church or any “body” which is not the bride of Christ, then we are committing spiritual adultery against our Husband.

Simply put, we all do this in our time, but some of us are redeemed by the Lord and brought back to Him. If you think you are not one who is guilty of committing spiritual adultery, then you are excluding yourself from needing to live out the Revelation of Jesus within you.

The fellow servants of Jesus “keep the things written therein” (Rev 1:3, Rev 22:9).

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

8) It may seem fairly straight forward what “thou shall not steal” means for us and it is in the physical sense. However, we know there is more than meets the eye with all of these commandments.

Exo 20:15  Thou shalt not steal.

So, how do we apply this spiritually?

Joh 10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Joh 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Anyone that came before Jesus is a thief. Anyone that doesn’t come through the door is not of the fold.

The spiritual application of not stealing is to not be a thief and a robber who speaks through a forked tongue, as they speak doctrine which was not spoken by Christ. These doctrines kill and destroy and hinder those going through to know the way, truth and life.

Luk 11:48  Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
Luk 11:49  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
Luk 11:52  Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

9) Bearing false witness against your neighbor certainly is not showing that aionios life is dwelling in you.

Exo 20:16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

As with all the commandments we have mentioned already, the physical application applies, but what does it mean to bear false witness in the spirit? To answer that, I will use a parable that Jesus gave us.

Mat 15:13  But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Mat 15:14  Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Mat 15:15  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

If you already have the desire and intent in your heart to break one of these commandments physically, then you have a dirty cup on the inside which needs cleansing.

Mat 15:16  And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
Mat 15:17  Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Mat 15:19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mat 15:20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Of course one of the best examples of bearing false witness came against Jesus Himself.

Mar 14:55  And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.
Mar 14:56  For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.

To bare false witness spiritually is to again have false doctrine which DOES NOT agree together with Jesus, His Word and His deeds/works.

If we don’t believe the words, we must believe the works because they bear fruit which can be seen and which shows us what is on the “inside of the cup”.

Joh 10:37  If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
Joh 10:38  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Joh 14:11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

10) Though shall not covet is a very important commandment that is often missed in spiritual application.

Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

If we look at all the list of the things we are not to covet and then take those same things and apply them internally, then we are able to understand that these are spiritual GIFTS given to us by the Father.

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Rom 12:6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Rom 12:7  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Rom 12:8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Rom 12:9  Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Rom 12:10  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Rom 12:11  Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rom 12:12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Rom 12:13  Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
Rom 12:14  Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Rom 12:15  Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Rom 12:16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

I could have continued to read the rest of Romans 12, but you get the picture. The items listed above are things which we ALL BENEFIT FROM if we are one mind and one body. Isn’t that abundantly clear?

How can we covet our neighbor’s spiritual house if our neighbor is loved as we loved ourselves? We should be seeing any gifts given to any individual as gifts given to the body of Christ and to be used for the body of Christ.

If we see them in this way, then we will not covet things given to another part of the body any more than we would want more than two feet or two hands.

Why covet something that the Father has determined is to be used for the body and has also supplied adequately enough so that the body will be in a healthy balance by what is supplied?

We are the house and temple of God. When we are one with Jesus and the Father, there is no purpose or need to covet another house.

Indeed, we are cleansed BY THE WORD, which is the contrast of all the things which occupy our heart and cause us to be a lawless and disobedient people.

The laws and commandments given to us in the ten commandments were given to us because we are all first naturally lawless and disobedient people.

1Ti 1:8  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

For the “righteous new man” in us, we can take the same law and use it lawfully, knowing that when we do, we will bear much fruit and glorify the Father.

We will know we are doing all that we do to glorify the Father when we bear much fruit in our actions and works.

Joh 15:3  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Joh 15:6  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Joh 15:7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Joh 15:8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Joh 15:9  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

If we keep His commandments, then we are keeping His words, we are cleansed and we will have profit via fruit that glorifies the Father. These are the things which will remain when the fire comes to consume all it can.

Otherwise, we will suffer loss.

Jer 7:4  Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
Jer 7:5  For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
Jer 7:6  If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
Jer 7:7  Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
Jer 7:8  Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Mike,

I hope this will find you in perfect health. I am aware of how busy you are but I cannot wait to ask you this:

In Ezekiel 23:20, 21 the Scriptures speaks of the following;

1. Genitals like those of a donkey,
2. Emissions like that of horses,
3. Bosom caressed and
4. Breasts fondled.

Comparing spiritual to spiritual here has become a hard nut for me to crack! I am trying to find any link that you have taught of these things, but I have not yet succeeded! I will patiently be waiting for a response when as when you get the time to respond. No hurry!

Any help will do,

YbitC,

G____

Hi G____,

Thank you for your question concerning the meaning of Ezekiel 23: 20-21.

I don’t believe I have written anything on these particular verses, so this will give me that opportunity. While the word ‘genitals’ is not in those verses, that does indeed appear to be the subject of verse 20 in the context of the southern kingdom of Judah committing spiritual fornication against her own God and Savior, who had brought her up out of the bondage of Egypt. The northern kingdom of Israel had already been taken captive, and instead of learning to fear God, Judah became even more of a harlot than her sister had been.

These two sisters are called by God “Aholah, and Ahollibah”, and the verses you reference deals with the younger sister, Aholabah”. Before we demonstrate who these two sisters are, let’s first look at what is said in introducing these them to us:

Eze 23:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 23:2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
Eze 23:3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
Eze 23:4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

For many years I attempted to understand the meaning of these two sisters, knowing that Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel and that Jerusalem was the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah. At first I contrived the older sister to be Judaism and the younger sister to be the apostate Christian church. Later I thought the older sister was the Catholic church and the younger sister was the Protestant church. In doing that, I was not applying the principle of “all things are yours” to the scriptures.

1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

I knew that Rev 1:3 applied to the events of the book of Revelation, but had not yet come to see that Revelation is just one book in the entire revelation of Jesus Christ, which is in truth the entire word of God, the entire Bible:

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

A good example of how this principle works is in Genesis.

Gen 41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Pharaoh had two dreams. The first was a dream about two kinds of cows, and the second was about to types of corn, but Joseph tells him that the dream is actually one dream with one message, and that message is that a famine is coming on the land.

Since we are plainly told that these two sisters represent Samaria, the elder, and Jerusalem the younger, we already know they are both merely types of the one nation that came up out of Israel. The nation was divided simply for our sakes, and to tell us what Ezekiel is telling us in this prophecy:

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Hard as it is to believe, what Ezekiel is saying is not for the people of that day as much as it is for you and me today. Oh yes! This did happen to them, and it is written, but it was all done for our admonition upon whom the product of the ages have first come.

This same principle applies to this prophecy concerning these two sisters. It is “not unto themselves, but unto us” that Ezekiel is giving this prophecy. These two harlot sisters are both symbols of who we are individually at two different stages of our own spiritual development. We are first Aholah, and then we are Aholibah, which both, interestingly enough mean “His tent” or “My tent”, [ My dwelling place], in her”.

Here is Hitchcock’s definition of these two names:

Aholah
his tabernacle; his tent
Aholibah
my tent, or my tabernacle, in her

So both these women actually represent God’s apostate people in whom He has and will “tabernacle”, or dwell:

Heb 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
Heb 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

If Christ is within us, then you and I are that “true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man”.

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

So these two sisters are simply types and shadows of who we are as our first beast in Aholah receives a deadly wound, and Aholibah is who we are when our deadly wound is healed, and we are now more corrupt and seven times more insulated against the doctrines of Christ than we were at the beginning.

Eze 23:11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.

The doctrine of being a “carnal… babe in Christ”, or a “Jew which believes on Christ [ yet] seeks to kill Him”, is unknown to those “carnal… babes”, nevertheless it is a very Biblical doctrine:

Joh 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

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

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

As is always the case in the natural world where ‘the hatred he had for her was more than the love he had for her’, we become estranged from our spiritual lovers, and they also turn upon us and devour us.

2Sa 13:15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.

Eze 23:11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
Eze 23:12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

Eze 23:19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
Eze 23:20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
Eze 23:21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
Eze 23:22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;

So ‘the vision is one’ and these two sisters and all the extremely graphic language describing their adulteress sexual immorality is all about us when we first receive the word of God as a deadly wound to our old man. Then our deadly wound is healed, and we return to being the beast we are, and we deny Him, and seven devils more evil than the first come into our lives, and we are worse off than we were at the beginning.

That is the message we are given about these two sisters who wanted to be more like those around them than they wanted to be like Christ and suffer the persecution He suffered. Here is the solution to the affliction of Aholah and Aholibah within us all:

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

The cross of Christ is a bloody, messy, dying daily crucifixion which we just naturally abhor. Aholah and Aholibah abhorred being different from those around them and they, as types and shadows of us, went spiritually whoring after the world around them.

King Solomon’s wives are the same as the lovers of Aholah and Aholibah. Whatever comes between us and our God is spiritual adultery and fornication, which we must come to acknowledge and repent.

I hope all these verses help you to understand what ‘caressed bosoms, donkey genitalia, and the issue of a horse’ is all about. It is God’s very graphic words He chose to use to tell us just how disgusted He is with our ways, which He Himself gives to us to demonstrate for us why it is that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”. (1Co 15:50)

Your brother in the Christ,

Mike

P.S. I did a word study below which I will include in this note.

H1320
בּשׂר
baÌ‚sÌaÌ‚r
baw- sawr’

From H1319; flesh (from its freshness); by extension body, person; also (by euphemism) the pudenda of a man: – body, [fat, lean] flesh [-ed], kin, [man-] kind, + nakedness, self, skin.

Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh [Hebrew – basar, H1320] instead thereof;

Gen 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh [basar H1319] of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

H1319
בּשׂר
baÌ‚sÌar
baw- sar’

A primitive root; properly to be fresh, that is, full (rosy, figuratively cheerful); to announce (glad news): – messenger, preach, publish, shew forth, (bear, bring, carry, preach, good, tell good) tidings.

2Sa 4:10 When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings [ Hebrew, basar, H1319], I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:

Strong’s
H2231
זר××”
zirmâh
zir- maw’
Feminine of H2230; a gushing of fluid (semen): – issue.

Eze 23:20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue [ H2231, zirmah, H2231] is like the issue[ H2231, zirmah, H2231] of horses. (KJC)

H2231
זר××”
zirmâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 2
issue, 2
Eze_23:20 (2)

This is the only verse in scripture where this word is found, but it is the feminine of H2230 which is:

H2230
זר×
zerem
Total KJV Occurrences: 9
storm, 3
Isa_4:6, Isa_25:4 (2)
tempest, 3
Isa_28:2, Isa_30:30, Isa_32:2
flood, 1
Isa_28:2 (2)
overflowing, 1
Hab_3:10
showers, 1
Job_24:8

Dear Mike,
I hope you and yours and doing well. I have always been puzzled by the account of David and Bathsheba. Here we have a man having intercourse with a married woman, and the law clearly stating that under such circumstances both the man and the woman were to be put to death.

Deu 22:22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: s o shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

And yet, instead of that, God puts their child to death and allows David and Bathsheba to live. Why were they not killed? We know that David repented of his sin, but then I wonder if for example, anyone else committed this act, that they could avoid the death penalty by repenting as well, or were David and Bathsheba an exception to the norm. I am not so sure if this has any bearing on this issue or not, but when the woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, (interestingly the man wasn’t, whoever he was) he did not command her to be put to death either, but showed mercy. I guess I always thought the  law was basically unforgiving and unbending as to its application. Any thoughts on this, brother?
Thanks,
R____

Hi R____
You ask why David and Bathsheba were not put to death according to the law of Moses. The answer from scripture is that “this happened to them and it was written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

I have written two papers which bear on this subject which I hope you find the time to read. They are The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit and Rightly Dividing The Word Using A Principle Which Only The Apostles Understood.
I simply do not have the time to rehash those two lengthy papers, but suffice it to say that Christ came as a reformer, as He was prophesied to be from when the law was first given. These words were uttered at Sinai at the giving of the law:

Deu 18:15  The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deu 18:16  According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb [ Sinai] in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
Deu 18:17  And the LORD said unto me, They have well [ spoken that] which they have spoken.
Deu 18:18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, a nd will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Deu 18:19  And it shall come to pass, [ that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [ it] of him.
Deu 18:20  But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

Just as it is today, God’s people do not want to hear what He has to say. They want someone else to tell them what God says and then if they like it they will listen, but they had better not be told that they are called to be crucified with and die daily with Christ. That is not a marketable message.
The only time Israel is recorded as saying, “ Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not” was at Sinai.
So Christ knew that the law of Moses was but a parenthetical period in His plan and purpose which would serve simply to show mankind his inability to obey even physical commandments, much less much more demanding spiritual concepts like “resist not evil… love thine enemies… don’t even look on a woman to lust after her in you heart…” etc.
It was the Old Testament prophets who declared that God was not interested in outward acts of obedience, but in inward spiritual obedience from a converted heart within.

1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Samuel was both a judge and a prophet. Christ was well aware of these words which He had inspired Samuel to record. And He also inspired these words which he utilized with both King David and the woman caught in adultery.

Hos 6:6  For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

So Christ reminds the self- righteous Jews that they, like their father Judah as regarding his daughter- in- law Tamar, are all worthy of death, and then He speaks the most wonderful words that have ever been heard by man:

Joh 8:3  And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
Joh 8:4  They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Joh 8:5  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
Joh 8:6  This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with [ his] finger wrote on the ground, [ as though he heard them not].
Joh 8:7  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Joh 8:8  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
Joh 8:9  And they which heard [ it], being convicted by [ their own] conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, [ even] unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
Joh 8:10  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
Joh 8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

You and I have had an extended discussion about the concept of “living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” This story is a perfect example of how we all are destined to do so. If you or I read this story and think in our hearts what the Pharisee thought of the publican, ‘Oh, I am so thankful to God that I have never been such a self- righteous person as those Jewish scribes and Pharisees,’ then we have at that very moment, said in our hearts that ‘These words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God (in “what is written” 1Co 4:6) are not for me, because I have never done, and would never do such a self- righteous thing.’
That is a lie on the part of any human being. The only reason any one of us does not succumb to the lowest pulls of the flesh is that God himself has hedged out the Adversary and has not permitted us to be so “sifted” as to commit those heinous deeds.

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

So it is with all who serve Christ. They do so because He is in them, and their days of their service to Him, with Him in them, “were written in His book before any of those days were.” None of us serves God simply because we have and have exercised our own free will to obey God.

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them (ASV).

If there is any truth to this verse of Psalms, then there is also great hidden truth in these verses:

Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

If the scriptures are true, and it is “Not of him that wills, but of God who either shows mercy or hardens,” if Joseph’s brothers were not responsible for Joseph being sold into slavery, if Jacob and Esau were preordained to do what they did to one another “while they were yet in their mother’s womb, having done neither good nor evil,” then the words of Christ are also true, and we all will “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, keep the sayings of the words of this prophecy and drink of this cup.” It is all already written in His book and we will live by every word.

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

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Jer 25:13  And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.
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 25:18  To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;
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.

Samson married a Philistine woman of Timnath, contrary to the commandment of God, and yet we are told “it was of the Lord.”

Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

If Samson’s marriage to a Philistine woman, was “of the Lord,” why are not our sins also “after the counsel of His own will” and a matter of living every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God? Of course, that is exactly what they are:

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Why weren’t David and Bathsheba stoned for their adultery? It was to tell us that Christ was coming to reverse the law’s claim on us for our spiritual adultery. Why did Christ not keep the law of Moses which required that the man and the woman caught in adultery be stoned to death? It was because He had come as a new spiritual priesthood, and “there being a change in the priesthood there must be a change also of the law,” a change from the carnal letter of Moses to the new, even more impossible, “law of the spirit…”

Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
Heb 7:13  For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.
Heb 7:14  For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
Heb 7:15  And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,
Heb 7:16  Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.

But the application of that change is to teach us to compare spiritual things with spiritual and not spiritual with physical. Spiritually you and I are both the scribes and the Pharisees wanting to stone a woman who is less of a sinner than are we. We are Judah who wants Tamar burned. We are also the woman caught in the very act of spiritual adultery with Babylon and all of her false and blasphemous doctrines, and we are also both the good seed and the tares. That is why both grow together in us until the harvest which is the day of judgment that the house of God is now in.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17  For the time [ is come] that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if [ it] first [ begin] at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

We are not to “suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters” because we have already lived that part of the “words that have proceeded out of the mouth of God.”

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

We “live by every word of God,” not just the good words of God. To deny this is to deny all these scriptures which tell us that it is God who creates “the wicked” you and me for the “day of evil” in each of us. Our every thought and action is “from the Lord.”

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

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

I hope this does not offend you, but I must point out that this 4th verse tells us that all wickedness is “for Himself” and for the specific purpose of working out His “predestinated… days that were ordained for” us all.
I hope this has answered your question about why God did not have David and Bathsheba stoned, why Christ did not stone the woman caught in adultery, and I also hope that it has helped you to see that Christ is judging His christ now, and is binding the tares in bundles to be burned, now as we live out every word that has ever proceeded out of His mouth, not in letter but in spirit.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. [ which God has for this time blinded, to His Truth].
Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike