“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding” Part 3 (Pro 18:17-24)

[Study Aired September 10, 2025]

Pro 18:17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
Pro 18:18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.
Pro 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.
Pro 18:20 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Pro 18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
Pro 18:23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.
Pro 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

These last few proverbs of chapter 18 that we’ll look at today stress the importance of fair judgement, the power of words, the value of strong relationships, and the contrasting behaviours of people in different life circumstances. I’ll be using the story of the two harlots in (1Ki 3:16-28) as a sort of guide and template to help bring out some of these points.

Pro 18:17  He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.

In this story of the two harlots that were brought before Solomon (1Ki 3:16-28), it was the woman who was just that spoke up first before the king, but it’s not about the order of who speaks first, rather it is the attitude of the one speaking, and the second woman who was not just was the one trying to sound like she was just in her cause, “first in his own cause”. This third chapter of Kings gives us one of the best examples of someone, or in this case of two people, pleading their cause to then have the truth rightly divided by Solomon who typifies God’s judgements that are working in the body of Christ today, “but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him”.

1Ki 3:16  Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
1Ki 3:17  And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
1Ki 3:18  And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
1Ki 3:19  And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.
1Ki 3:20  And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
1Ki 3:21  And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.
1Ki 3:22  And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
1Ki 3:23  Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
1Ki 3:24  And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
1Ki 3:25  And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
1Ki 3:26  Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
1Ki 3:27  Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
1Ki 3:28  And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

Both of these women reside within us, and it is by God’s power and chastening grace in our lives that we will be able to come to the point where we can discern the good and evil within ourselves having had our senses exercised by the trial of our faith, which is precious unto us (1Pe 1:7).

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

It’s precious because this exercise of faith makes it possible for us to partake of strong meat, and purifies God’s word in our hearts that is likened unto gold, so that by “the God of all grace”, “who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (Heb 5:14, Psa 12:6, 1Pe 5:10).

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Psa 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

The ability to judge and discern good and evil is a gift from God that is received of those who are given a hunger and thirst to ask for it in faith (Jas 1:5, 1Jn 5:4, Mat 5:6 , Rom 3:27), and Solomon, who typifies the elect, was granted that desire to ask for and to know the truth, as typified by this prayer that he made in (1Ki 3:9).

1Ki 3:9 “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”

The “neighbour” that comes and searches him, “but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him”, is represented by Solomon in (1Ki 3:16-28), and it is our prayer that the Lord will be that friend who sticks closer than a brother within us, and faithfully administers the wounds that judgement brings so we can die daily, and be buried in His baptism so we can be raised with Christ in heaven (Psa 139:23-24, Pro 27:5-6, Heb 12:3, Gal 6:9, 1Co 15:31).

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Pro 27:5  Open rebuke is better than secret love.
Pro 27:6  Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Heb 12:3  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners [the one harlot against the other in 1Ki 3:16-28] against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.(Psa 116:15, 1Pe 1:7)

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Pro 18:18  The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.

The [CLV] version of this proverb reads “Casting the lot causes quarrels to cease, And keeps staunch foes apart”, and that is definitely what Solomon was doing with these two woman. The contention was over their children which represents doctrine (Mat 13:37-38), and it would take the judgement of God ‘in the lot of the matter’ to bring about the truth (Pro 16:33).

Pro 16:33  The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

The powers and principalities that we wrestle against are higher than us and stronger than us (Eph 6:12) and would sift us like wheat as Christ told Peter (Luk 22:31), unless Christ and his body prayed for us (Luk 22:32).

With God’s spirit within us (Rom 8:9) we are able to “parteth between the mighty” within us and cause “contentions to cease” in our heavens because He is greater and higher than all those powers and principalities we wrestle against (Eph 1:21), and can give us victory over our condemning conscience and the accuser of the brethren who wants to sift us like wheat (1Jn 4:4, 1Jn 2:1).

Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

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

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Pro 18:19  A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

Have you offended anyone lately? We don’t go out purposely trying to offend people, but if we stand on God’s word we are promised that we are going to be an offence to the world around us (2Co 2:15-17, Mat 10:22-23).

2Co 2:15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
2Co 2:16  To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?(2Co 3:5)
2Co 2:17  For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: “in the sight of God speak we in Christ” but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

The “strong city [the city is a church]” of the world is being run by the god of this world (2Co 4:4) and the gates of hell are symbolized by “the bars of a castle” that protect the false doctrines of mankind, and they will not prevail against the body of Christ (Mat 16:18).

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.(Luk 16:26, Joh 3:3, Joh 8:43-44)

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

In due time all of those strongholds will be torn down by Christ and His Christ through judgement that will destroy the man of perdition in the hearts and minds of all of mankind who holds fast to the traditions of men (2Th 2:7-8, Rev 19:20, Rev 20:14-15).

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

Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire [the gates of hell that God’s elect will destroy in others having overcome and not been hurt by the second death, having died first (Rev 2:11, Rev 14:10-12)]. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Pro 18:20  A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

Positively speaking, God knows our need for daily spiritual bread and our heavenly Father gives the increase in our lives (1Co 3:6, 1Th 3:12), and prunes the branches of our life so that we can continue to bring forth much fruit (Joh 15:2, Tit 2:12-13, Mat 7:18-21).

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it (Tit 2:12), that it may bring forth more fruit.
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.

Tit 2:12  Teaching^{G3811 (Paideuo = chasten (-ise) instruct learn teach)} us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Mat 12:48-50, Rom 8:28).

When it is the “good fruit” of our mouth coming forth because of the life of Christ in us that is increasing as we decrease (Mat 7:15-20), then it is likened unto living waters that come forth from our “belly” (Joh 7:38), the abundant and satisfying life in Christ we are blessed to be dragged unto (Joh 6:44).

Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

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

Pro 18:21  Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Having a love of the truth produces a hunger for righteousness which blesses God’s people who are now speaking the truth in love (Eph 4:14-15). It is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of him, and so we must die to ungodly patterns of old, so that our conversation or way of life is not being conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of God’s spirit within us day to day (Rom 12:1-3). Today the world is being given over to evil spirits because there is no love of the truth, and this is happening all according to the counsel of God’s will (2Th 2:12, 1Jn 1:6, 1Jn 2:21, Eph 1:11).

Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love,(1Jn 5:2) may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

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.(Jas 1:27)
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.
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.

Pro 18:22  Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

We have all found a wife and obtained favour of the LORD, that wife being the bride of Christ, Jerusalem above (Psa 137:5-6, 2Co 11:2-3, Rev 21:2-3, Rev 21:9, Rev 22:17).

Psa 137:5  If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.[Christ’s wife]
2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Rev 21:9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Eph 2:8).

Pro 18:23  The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

Pro 18:23 One who is destitute speaks with supplications, Yet the rich man responds with roughness.” [CLV]

The contrite and broken spirit spoken of in (Isa 66:2) is a gift from God, and that is the man that God looks to and acts upon his request, his importunate intreaty (Luk 18:13-14, Heb 5:7, Eph 5:30).

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Luk 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;  “and trembleth at my word”

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

The rich man who responds with roughness is the Pharisee in us who thinks his many wonderful works are going to save him, and is sure that he is clothed, and not naked, blind and miserable (Rev 3:17). The publican is the one who goes away justified in this parable as a result of having a contrite and broken heart that acknowledges his sinful condition (Luk 18:13-14, Rev 3:17-18)

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Pro 18:24  A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

This last proverb of chapter 18 reminds us that with Christ as our friend in this life (Joh 15:14-15, Luk 12:4) we can show ourselves friendly to one another, which will manifest if we don’t neglect so great a salvation (Heb 2:3), but rather stir up God’s spirit within us so that you can be a joint that supplies in love, and with God’s love being shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5), we can be “a friend that sticketh closer than a brother”, because we are a member of the same one body. You can’t get any closer than that, and there is nothing in this life that can bring us greater joy than knowing we belong to each other in the LORD. That is where our true lasting happiness comes from.

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.
1Co 6:16  What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.[Eph 5:30]
1Co 10:17  For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
1Co 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1Co 12:20  But now are they many members, yet but one body.
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Col 3:15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Joh 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Joh 15:14  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Joh 15:15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.[“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding”]

Luk 12:4  And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

[What will a true friend do, who sticks closer than a brother?
He will deliver Mat 10:19,
He will cast the fear out of us Luk 12:32, 1Jn 4:18, Rom 5:5,
He will bind the sacrifice to the altar Psa 118:27,
He will help us in our unbelief Mar 9:23-24,
He will give us Godly confidence with the faith of Christ Php 3:3, Heb 10:35,
He will never leave or forsake us, for great is His faithfulness, Heb 13:5, Lam 3:22-23].

Clothed in Christ: The Scriptural Journey from Eden’s Fig Leaves to Revelation’s Fine Linen – Part 1

[Study Aired June 10, 2025]

Introduction

Throughout Scripture, clothing is more than mere fabric—it is a profound theological design woven into the story of redemption. From the moment nakedness came to light in Genesis to the triumphant marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation, garments serve as tangible symbols of spiritual realities. They represent covering sin and righteousness gained, shame and salvation, defilement and glory. In the Bible’s grand narrative, to be clothed or unclothed signifies one’s spiritual state before God. As we trace the progressive use of garments from Genesis to Revelation, a consistent message emerges: God Himself provides the necessary covering for sin, ultimately clothing His people in the righteousness of Christ. We will explore that redemptive journey—beginning with the fig leaves Adam and Eve wore (Genesis 3:7) and culminating in Christ’s royal vesture bearing the title “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16). Along the way, we will examine key transitions in this framework: the holy garments of Israel’s priesthood, the filthy garments of Joshua in Zechariah’s vision, Isaiah’s promise of salvation as a robe of righteousness, the radiant clothing of Christ at the Transfiguration, the poignant details of Jesus’ crucifixion garments. In doing so, we will consider the original Hebrew and Greek terms (such as kĕthoneth H3801 and endúō G1746) that deepen our understanding of these texts. The goal is to gain spiritual understanding of garments—showing that to be “clothed in Christ” is the ultimate fulfillment of this biblical theme.

Eden’s Coats of Skins: The First Redemptive Covering

Humanity’s story of clothing opens in the Garden of Eden with a dust-formed pair whose nature was natural— “of the dust, earthy” (1 Corinthians 15:4549)—and therefore subject to shame, mortality, and sin. When Adam and Eve became conscious of their condition, they instinctively tried to mask it: “They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:7). Throughout Scripture, fig leaves represent every flesh-driven attempt to hide sin—external, fragile, and fruitlessness (cf. Jesus’ judgment on the leafy yet barren fig tree, Matthew 21:19).

Throughout Scripture, fig leaves become the Bible’s shorthand for do-it-yourself righteousness. Their broad, pliable shape allows for a quick makeshift covering, yet they wilt within hours—an apt picture of the flesh’s short-lived solutions to guilt. Jesus highlights the symbol when He approaches a leafy fig tree hungry for fruit; finding none, He condemns its false display: “Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever” (Matthew 21:19; cf. Mark 11:13–14). Though it was not the season for ripe figs, a fig tree in full leaf should have borne early fruit; its leaves falsely advertised life while offering nothing of substance. This living parable exposed the spiritual hypocrisy of those who appeared righteous outwardly but bore no fruit of repentance or faith—mirroring Adam and Eve’s fig-leaf covering that could not hide their sin (Genesis 3:7). The curse was not merely on the tree but on what it represented: self-righteous religion void of the spirit’s work. As the tree withered from the roots, so too would the lifeless system of outward show without inward transformation. It was a solemn warning that only the righteousness provided by God—Christ Himself—can truly clothe the soul and bear fruit unto life.

The prophets strike the same note: Micah laments that he searches the fig tree for early figs but finds only leaves (Micah 7:1), while Hosea likens Israel’s idolatry to fleeting first fruit that disappoints (Hosea 9:10). In every case, abundant foliage without fruit represents outward religion, rituals, moral effort—that looks promising yet cannot nourish or remove sin. Adam and Eve’s leafy aprons are therefore the Bible’s earliest example of self-manufactured cover-ups, and the rest of Scripture exposes the futility of such flesh-sewn garments.

God immediately exposed the futility of such self-coverings by providing a radically different garment: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). The Hebrew kĕthoneth (כְּתֹנֶת, H3801) denotes a tunic covering the whole body and later refers to priestly linen (e.g., Exodus 28:4). Its root means “to cover,” declaring that only a God-given covering can address dust-man’s shame.

From fig leaves to skins—three spiritual lessons

These contrasting garments teach three intertwined truths. First, self-effort is inadequate: fig leaves wither quickly, just as any righteousness stitched together by the flesh (Isaiah 64:6) “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Second, atonement requires life: although Genesis 3:21 mentioned above does not detail it, the verse presupposes the death of an innocent creature, foreshadowing Christ, who “condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). Third, covering anticipates transformation: the provisional skins look ahead to the day when dust will be “clothed upon with our house from heaven” (2 Corinthians 5:24) “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

Every subsequent God-given garment—priestly linen, prophetic mantle, white raiment—extends this pattern of atonement, mediation, and promised spirit-clothing, culminating in the fine linen granted to the Bride of Christ.

Holy Garments of the Priesthood: Glory and Beauty Set Apart

Moving forward in history, we encounter another significant set of garments: the holy vestments of the Levitical priesthood. Under the Old Covenant, God established an entire system of sacrifices and mediators (the priests) to deal with Israel’s sin, and He was exceedingly specific that those priests be properly attired. “And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty” (Exodus 28:2). These priestly garments—described in detail in Exodus chapters 28 and 29 were not optional or merely ornamental; they were sacred attire symbolizing the sanctity required to approach a holy God. Aaron the high priest wore a richly decorated ephod, a breastplate with precious stones (engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel), a mitre with a gold plate inscribed “HOLINESS TO THE LORD,” and underneath it all, a fine linen tunic (a kĕthoneth) and fine linen undergarments (Exodus 28:4, 39-43). Each piece carried meaning. For instance, the mitre’s golden plate signified that Aaron bore Israel’s guilt and needed holiness on his forehead so the people would be accepted. “And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre, it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.” (Exodus 28:36–38) The bells on the hem of his robe signalled his movement in the Holy Place “that he die not” (Exodus 28:35), underscoring the peril of approaching God without due preparation. Every garment proclaimed that set-apartness and purity were required in God’s service.

Not only did these vestments convey consecration they foreshadow the ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ. All the garments worn by the Old Testament priests were symbolic of being set apart for God’s work of atoning for sin. Compliance with this God-ordained “dress code” was mandatory: “Aaron and his sons must wear [the garments] … so that they will not incur guilt and die” (Exodus 28:43). The elaborate and beautiful nature of the high priest’s attire taught Israel that the work of mediation was glorious, and that the mediator needed to be holy. At the same time, the very need for special garments spoke of humanity’s separation from God—sinful man cannot walk into God’s presence “as he is,” but must be clothed in holiness not his own. The Israelites, seeing their priests robed in white linen and gold, carrying sacrificial blood, had a continual visual reminder of the cost and necessity of atonement. Hebrews 4:14 calls Jesus our “great high priest”, and unlike Aaron, Christ is perfectly holy and needed no sacrifice for Himself. Yet on the cross He fulfilled all that the priestly garments signified, carrying out God’s plan of atonement. These garments symbolized the complete holiness God requires of His mediators.

The material of the priestly clothes is significant as well—fine linen, especially for the tunic and mitre. Linen in Scripture symbolizes purity and righteousness. (Rev 19:8) “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints”. The tunic of fine linen (again a kĕthoneth) was a reminder that God’s servants must be clothed in purity to minister before Him. In fact, the Hebrew word for fine linen (shesh H8336) is used for the splendid white garments of kings and priests. The continuity of symbolism is striking what began as God covering Adam with a kĕthoneth continues as God clothes His priests with kĕthoneth tunics of linen. The same covering scheme threads forward, now in the formal worship life of Israel. Thus, the priestly garments stand as an early instalment in the “the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10) that God is preparing for His people. They point both backward (to Eden’s skins) and forward (to the perfect righteousness in which believers will be clothed). God used these distinctive garments to set His spiritual leaders apart, instilling reverence and depicting, in a tangible way, the holiness without which none can see the Lord. Every time a priest donned his ephod, or a high priest dressed in his full ceremonial dress on the Day of Atonement, it was a living parable of the Gospel: sin requires a covering, holiness is needed to draw near, and God Himself provides what is necessary for atonement.

Filthy Rags Exchanged: Joshua the High Priest in Zechariah 3

Moving from the law to the prophets, the vision of Joshua the high priest in Zechariah 3 provides a dramatic illustration of God’s redemptive undressing and dressing of a sinner. Zechariah, a post-Babylonian prophet, was shown the current high priest Joshua standing before the Angel of the Lord in the heavenly court—except Joshua was utterly defiled. “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel” (Zechariah 3:3). This scene is startling: the very person who represents the people before God is dressed in filthy clothes. The Hebrew term for “filthy” (צֹאִים, tsō’îm H6674) is extremely strong, indicating utter vileness; indeed, it implies garments fouled with excrement. The high priest’s robes, meant to be clean and holy, are instead depicted as nauseatingly unclean. Satan stands at Joshua’s right hand to accuse him (Zechariah 3:1) “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.”, pointing to the glaring fact of his defilement. Here is Israel’s sin vividly portrayed—their mediator is unfit; their sins have left even their priest in squalor. All hope would seem lost were it not for the mercy and authority of God revealed next.

In the vision, the Angel of the Lord rebukes Satan and then issues a gracious command: “Take away the filthy garments from him.” To Joshua the Angel says, “Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment” (Zechariah 3:4). This is a gospel moment in the Old Testament. The filthy clothes are removed—symbolically, Joshua’s iniquity is taken away—and he is clothed anew with pure vestments. The text goes on to describe a “fair mitre” set on Joshua’s head and the Angel of the Lord standing by, signifying divine approval (Zechariah 3:5) “And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So, they set a fair mitre upon his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.” We have here an enacted parable of justification: God removes the sinner’s filth and clothes him in righteousness not his own. Joshua could do nothing to clean himself; God had to command the cleansing. The “change of raiment” given to the high priest represents forgiveness and a restored state of purity, allowing him once again to minister before God. It is worth noting that this is not merely individual but representative—Joshua’s cleansing signifies God’s grace to Israel, preparing them for service after the exile. Nonetheless, on an individual level, it powerfully prefigures how every believer is saved: we stand in filthy rags until God, by chastening grace, removes our sin and clothes us in righteousness.

The significance of dirty clothes was not new to Zechariah’s audience. Isaiah had earlier declared, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Humanly speaking, even our best deeds are defiled. But Isaiah also prophesied a solution (as we will see in the next section): God providing garments of salvation. Zechariah’s vision picks up that promise and dramatizes it. One cannot help but see in Joshua’s stripping and re-clothing a foreshadowing of the work of Christ. When Jesus died and rose again, He took away our iniquity and provided for us the garments of salvation—His own righteousness credited to us, often spoken of in the New Testament as a robe or clothing (e.g., Matthew 22:11-12; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ takes our sin upon Himself and in return clothes us with His perfect righteousness, a thought consistent with Zechariah’s imagery. The significance of Joshua standing there in filthy clothes is that he could not serve God in that state; similarly, we cannot stand before God clothed in the soiled garb of our sin. But God’s response — “I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee” — is the essence of the Gospel. Zechariah 3 thus stands as a pinnacle of Old Testament hope: sin removed, and new attire given by the Lord’s decree. It anticipates the time when everyone, once dressed in muck, will be clothed with righteousness.

Garments of Salvation and the Robe of Righteousness: Isaiah’s Prophecy

The Book of Isaiah provides some of Scripture’s most beautiful clothing imagery, explicitly linking garments with salvation and righteousness. Writing about a century before Zechariah, the prophet Isaiah looked forward to the restoration God would bring to His people. In Isaiah 61, a chapter heralding the mission of the Messiah and the restoration of Israel, the prophet exults in God’s saving work using the language of being clothed. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10). Here is a clear statement that salvation is something God puts on us—He clothes us with it. The parallelism in this verse equates “garments of salvation” with “robe of righteousness,” reinforcing that to be saved is to be made righteous in God’s sight, and this is depicted as a comfortable, beautiful garment given to the redeemed. Isaiah 61:10 further illustrates it with bridal imagery: “as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels”. Isaiah uses this picture to convey the glory and joy of being arrayed in God’s salvation. Just as a wedding garment is a source of joy and honor, so the righteousness God bestows is precious and splendid.

Isaiah 61:10 resonates deeply as a description of imputed righteousness—the doctrine that God covers believers in the righteousness of Christ, like a pure white robe. The Hebrew word for “clothed” (labash H3847) and “covered” (ya’at H3271) in this verse are strong terms indicating that God Himself is wrapping the individual in these garments. One does not clothe oneself here; “He hath clothed me… He hath covered me.” Earlier in Isaiah, there is a promise that “He hath covered me in the shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2) and an invitation to “put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem” (Isaiah 52:1). The idea is consistent: God provides the clothing of redemption, and His people are to receive it with joy. Isaiah 61:3 also famously speaks of “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,” another exchange God grants to the brokenhearted. All these instances convey a divine transaction: God giving something to cover, to beautify, to transform. The robe of righteousness imagery in Isaiah 61:10 directly prefigures the New Testament revelation that our righteousness is not from works but from God through faith. Philippians 3:9 echoes this desire “to be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness (filthy rags), which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness (Bridal garment) which is of God by faith.” It is as if Paul is saying: “I took off my filthy self-righteous rags and now I’m dressed in the righteousness God gives.”

Significantly, Isaiah’s use of bridal imagery (“as a bride adorns herself”) connects to the final book of Scripture, Revelation, where the Bride of Christ is arrayed in fine linen (we will come to that in our next study). Isaiah’s prophecy stands as a bridge between the old and new, law and gospel. It assures us that joy and rejoicing come when God clothes us in salvation. No longer naked and ashamed as in Eden, no longer in filthy rags as in our sin, we can exult: “He has covered me!” There is almost a sigh of relief in Isaiah’s voice, as if he’s saying, “Despite my unworthiness, look what God has done—He dressed me in the radiant garments of His saving grace.” It’s a far cry from Adam hiding in the bushes with fig leaves; it’s the prodigal son wearing the best robe the father could bring out (Luke 15:22). Thus, Isaiah 61 prepares us for the New Covenant reality: to put on Christ’s righteousness as a garment. When we read this verse in the light of Christ, we understand that the garments of salvation are nothing less than the righteousness of Jesus applied to us, and the robe of righteousness is in fact the Lord Himself whom we “put on.” Small wonder that Isaiah begins, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord” — for being clothed by God’s grace is our greatest joy and the essence of the gospel.

[Click here for part 2.]

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Awesome Hands – part 81

“The judgments” Part L

July 8th, 2015

We’ve now arrived at chapter 23 of Exodus, and this chapter is the last chapter covering the judgments given to Moses to give to the Israelites.

We are going to cover the first verse of chapter 23 today. While covering this verse, we are going to dive into the topic of righteousness and just what it is that scripture refers to when we talk about righteousness, and its counterpart, unrighteousness.

False reports and unrighteous witnesses

The verse being covered today is stated in the KJV this way:

Exo 23:1  Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked(H7563) to be an unrighteous witness.

The first verse we will cover in this study focuses on a false report and an unrighteous witness. We are also told not to put our hand with someone that is wicked thereby causing us to be an unrighteous witness.

However, the full meaning of this verse is somewhat “hidden from view” when we consider what it is we are being told.

“Thou shalt not raise a false report” is fairly obvious. Don’t tell lies or provide false evidence against someone. Your reasons can never be good enough to lie about someone else even if you think they deserve it in some way.

As an example of this, even if you know that a person is known to do evil things themselves, we should never try to take vengeance to ourselves and lie about that person in a situation where they haven’t actually done the evil they are being accused of by you.

“Put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness” is the second part of this admonition to also not join someone else who is “wicked” in a “wicked act” of some sort. When we do this we become an unrighteous witness.

There are a few points I want to focus on in this verse to try and help us have a fuller understanding of what we are to apply to ourselves in our daily lives taken from the admonitions in this verse.

Firstly, what is it to be wicked or who is considered wicked? Instead of relying on my own personal definition of what “wicked” is I am going to look toward scripture for this definition.

H7563 (adjective)
râshâ‛
raw-shaw’
From H7561; morally wrong; concretely an (actively) bad person: –  + condemned, guilty, ungodly, wicked (man), that did wrong.

H7563
râshâ‛
BDB Definition:

1) wicked, criminal
1a) guilty one, one guilty of crime (substantive)
1b) wicked (hostile to God)
1c) wicked, guilty of sin (against God or man)
Part of Speech: adjective
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H7561
Same Word by TWOT Number: 2222b

H7563 “Rasha” comes from H7561 which means:

H7561 (verb)
râsha‛
raw-shah’
A primitive root; to be (causatively do or declare) wrong; by implication to disturb, violate: – condemn, make trouble, vex, be (commit, deal, depart, do) wicked (-ly, -ness).

The first Hebrew word H7563 meaning “condemned” or “guilty” is an adjective which comes from the verb H7561 which means to “condemn” or “condemning”.

A perfect example of this can be found in 1 King 8:32.

1Ki 8:32  Then hearH8085 thouH859 in heaven,H8064 and do,H6213 and judgeH8199 (H853) thy servants,H5650 condemningH7561 the wicked,H7563 to bringH5414 his wayH1870 upon his head;H7218 and justifyingH6663 the righteous,H6662 to giveH5414 him according to his righteousness.H6666

1Ki 8:32  Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

You could just as easily exchange the word “wicked” with “condemned” in 1 Ki 8:32 so that it would say, “Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants “condemning the condemned” .

The word “wicked” used in our verse today is used 252 times  in the OT as “wicked”, but if you exchange those words with condemned you’ll still get the full meaning out of what the Holy Spirit inspired to be written for our admonition.

Judgment begins….

So, if this is a spiritual concept which we can see in the Old Testament, then we should be able to confirm it in the New Testament.

Let me ask you who it is that condemns or doesn’t condemn? Judges judge therefore judges condemn or don’t condemn i.e. that execute “judgments”, “condemnations”, etc.

When we search for the word condemn in the New Testament, along with the words “wicked” and “condemned,” we find some very informative verses to think about.

Mat 16:4  A wicked(G4190) and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

Mat 16:4 is an example of the word wicked being used, but the majority of the time the word is used as “evil”.

G4190
ponēros
Total KJV Occurrences: 76

evil, 52

Mat_5:11, Mat_5:37, Mat_5:39, Mat_5:45, Mat_6:13, Mat_6:23, Mat_7:11, Mat_7:17-18 (2), Mat_9:4, Mat_12:34-35 (4), Mat_12:39, Mat_15:19, Mat_20:15, Mar_7:22-23 (2), Luk_6:22, Luk_6:35, Luk_6:45 (3), Luk_7:21, Luk_8:2, Luk_11:4, Luk_11:13, Luk_11:29, Luk_11:34, Joh_3:19, Joh_7:7, Joh_17:15, Act_19:12-13 (2), Act_19:15-16 (2), Rom_12:9, Gal_1:4, Eph_5:16, Eph_6:13, 1Th_5:22, 2Th_3:3, 1Ti_6:4, 2Ti_3:13, 2Ti_4:18, Heb_3:12, Heb_10:22, Jam_2:4, Jam_4:16, 1Jo_3:12, 2Jo_1:11

wicked, 17
Mat_12:45, Mat_13:19, Mat_13:38, Mat_13:49, Mat_16:4, Mat_18:32, Mat_25:26, Luk_19:22, Act_18:14, 1Co_5:13, Eph_6:16, Col_1:21, 2Th_3:2, 1Jo_2:13-14 (2), 1Jo_3:12, 1Jo_5:18

bad, 1
Mat_22:10

evils, 1
Luk_3:19

grievous, 1
Rev_16:2

harm, 1
Act_28:21

lewd, 1
Act_17:5

malicious, 1
3Jo_1:10

wickedness, 1
1Jo_5:19

1Jn 3:12  NotG3756 asG2531 Cain,G2535 who wasG2258 ofG1537 that wicked one,G4190 andG2532 slewG4969 hisG848 brother.G80 AndG2532 whereforeG5484 G5101 slewG4969 he him?G846 BecauseG3754 his ownG848 worksG2041 wereG2258 evil,G4190 andG1161 hisG848 brother’sG80 righteous.G1342

1Jn 3:12  Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

Luk 19:22  And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

1Co 5:13  But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

Seeing that “wicked” used in the New Testament can be used interchangeably with the word “evil”, what word conveys the concept we see in Exodus 23:1 of the “wicked” or “condemned”?

Exo 23:1  Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked(H7563) to be an unrighteous witness.

G2632
katakrinō
Total KJV Occurrences: 19

condemned, 8
Mat_27:3, Mar_14:64, Joh_8:10, Rom_8:3, 1Co_11:32, Heb_11:7, Jam_5:9, 2Pe_2:6

condemn, 7
Mat_12:41-42 (2), Mat_20:18, Mar_10:33, Luk_11:31-32 (2), Joh_8:11

damned, 2
Mar_16:16, Rom_14:23

condemnest, 1
Rom_2:1

condemneth, 1
Rom_8:34

Mat 27:3  Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

Mar 14:64  Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

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?

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:

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Mar 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned(G2632).

Rom 14:23  And he that doubteth is damned(G2632) if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Rom 2:1  Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

You’ll notice that those who are condemned are JUDGED to be condemned. To be “damned” is to be condemned and being condemned comes via the VERB “condemn”, the action of condemning. Why is this important?

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn(G2919) the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

The Greek word G2912 is used many times in the NT as “judge”.

G2919
krinō
Total KJV Occurrences: 117

judge, 45
Mat_7:1-2 (2), Luk_6:37, Luk_12:57, Luk_19:22, Joh_5:30, Joh_7:24 (2), Joh_7:51, Joh_8:15-16 (3), Joh_8:26, Joh_12:47-48 (3), Joh_18:31, Act_4:19, Act_7:7, Act_13:46, Act_17:31, Act_23:3, Rom_2:16, Rom_2:27, Rom_3:6, Rom_14:3, Rom_14:10, Rom_14:13 (2), 1Co_4:5, 1Co_5:12 (2), 1Co_6:2-3 (2), 1Co_10:15, 1Co_11:13, 2Co_5:14, Col_2:16, 2Ti_4:1, Heb_10:30, Heb_13:4, Jam_4:11, 1Pe_4:5, Rev_19:10-11 (2)

judged, 26
Mat_7:1-2 (2), Luk_6:37, Luk_7:43, Joh_16:11, Act_16:15, Act_24:6, Act_25:9-10 (2), Act_25:20, Act_26:6, Rom_2:12, Rom_3:4, Rom_3:7, 1Co_5:3, 1Co_6:2, 1Co_10:29, 1Co_11:31-32 (2), Jam_2:12, 1Pe_4:6, Rev_11:18, Rev_16:5, Rev_19:2, Rev_20:12-13 (2)

judgeth, 9
Joh_5:22, Joh_8:50, Joh_12:48, 1Co_5:13, Jam_4:11 (2), 1Pe_1:17, 1Pe_2:23, Rev_18:8

determined, 7
Act_3:13, Act_20:16, Act_25:25, Act_27:1, 1Co_2:2, 2Co_2:1, Tit_3:12

judgest, 6
Rom_2:1 (3), Rom_14:3-4 (2), Jam_4:12

called, 2
Act_23:6, Act_24:21

condemned, 2
Joh_3:18 (2)

esteemeth, 2
Rom_14:5 (2)

judging, 2
Mat_19:28, Luk_22:30

law, 2
1Co_6:1, 1Co_6:6

question, 2
Act_23:6 (2), Act_24:21

at, 1
Mat_5:40

avenged, 1
Rev_18:20

concluded, 1
Act_21:25

condemn, 1
Joh_3:17

condemneth, 1
Rom_14:22

condemning, 1
Act_13:27

damned, 1
2Th_2:12

decreed, 1
1Co_7:37

ordained, 1
Act_16:4

sentence, 1
Act_15:19

sue, 1
Mat_5:40

thought, 1
Act_26:8

Why have I taken all this time to try and point out what being “wicked” is when all we are trying to do is see what the “judgment” is that the Lord gave to Moses to give to the Israelites?

Here is the answer to that question:

Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned (JUDGED): but he that believeth not is condemned (JUDGED) already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation (JUDGMENT), that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, BECAUSE THEIR DEEDS WERE EVIL(G4190).
Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21  But he that DOETH TRUTH cometh to the light, that his DEEDS may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Jesus Christ is said to come not to condemn or judge the world, but why and how can that be true?

Joh 3:17  For God SENT NOT his Son into the world to condemn(G2919) the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 12:46  I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Joh 12:47  And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, HATH ONE that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Witnesses in court…

I could speak and preach volumes about the “last day”, the day of the Lord. I could go on and on about judgment beginning at the house of God.

However, what I want to bring home for you today is that if you care at all about the resurrection of the dead, if you care at all about the being “holy and blessed” to take part in the “first resurrection”, then you better be caring about HOW it is we are told WE can take part in it!

There is a clue about this tucked away for us in the verse we started off with today.

Exo 23:1  Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness

Witnesses are very important in scripture. Indeed, we are witnesses for Jesus Christ. If our Head Jesus Christ came not to JUDGE the world, but to save it, what method did He use to do so?

He witnessed to us all what the WILL of God was. He witnessed to us ALL who it was He represented. If we are His body, the church of the living God, then we too have been given this role to live out.

Notice these verses:

Act 24:14  But this I confess unto thee, that after THE WAY which THEY CALL HERESY, SO WORHSIP I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
Act 24:15  And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Joh 5:25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, AND NOW IS, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (G2920).

The same word used here as DAMNATION is the word JUDGMENT.

G2920
krisis
Total KJV Occurrences: 48

judgment, 39
Mat_5:21-22 (2), Mat_10:15, Mat_11:22, Mat_11:24, Mat_12:18, Mat_12:20, Mat_12:36, Mat_12:41-42 (2), Mat_23:23, Mar_6:11, Luk_10:14, Luk_11:31-32 (2), Luk_11:42, Joh_5:22, Joh_5:27, Joh_5:30, Joh_7:24, Joh_8:16, Joh_12:31, Joh_16:8, Joh_16:11, Act_8:33, 2Th_1:5, 1Ti_5:24, Heb_10:27 (2), Jam_2:13 (2), 2Pe_2:4, 2Pe_2:9, 2Pe_3:7, 1Jo_4:17, Jud_1:6, Jud_1:15, Rev_14:7, Rev_18:10

damnation, 3
Mat_23:33, Joh_5:29 (2)

accusation, 2
2Pe_2:11, Jud_1:9

condemnation, 2
Joh_3:19, Joh_5:24

judgments, 2
Rev_16:7, Rev_19:2

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver THE GODLY out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

Notice, it is one who puts their EFFORTS, their hand, with the wicked who is then called UNRIGHTEOUS.

Who else are the unrighteous?

G94
adikos
Total KJV Occurrences: 12

unjust, 8
Mat_5:45, Luk_18:10-11 (3), Act_24:15, 1Co_6:1, 1Pe_3:18, 2Pe_2:9

unrighteous, 4
Luk_16:11, Rom_3:5, 1Co_6:9, Heb_6:10

Act 24:15  And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust (G94).

Luk 16:11  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

Rom 3:5  But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)

1Co 6:9  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

Notice one of the spiritual admonitions we have for NOT being unrighteous and BEING righteousness in the “eyes of God”. It is found in Hebrew 6:10.

Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though WE THUS SPEAK.
Heb 6:10  For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Heb 6:11  And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

The lesson from today’s study is that judgment must begin at the house of God. Jesus tells us that He came not to judge the world and that the world has one that judges them.

Judgment will take place for the entire world when their DAY of VISITATION comes, but that day is NOW for the House of God and must be so if we are to obtain unto the resurrection of the just… the righteous.

However, we are indeed JUDGED NOW but we JUDGE ourselves with what the Word of God says our deeds should be versus what they are.

We are not to give a false report which is judging improperly. We are also not to “put our hand with the condemned” and become an unrighteous witness for the Lord.

Our “ job” after coming to the knowledge of our Lord and God is to hearken diligently to the Words of the Lord and BELIEVE the Word of God when we are told things such as BELIEVE on Him and that He does indeed know how to deliver the Godly out of temptations.

Faith is integral to this process because the Faith of Christ Jesus is the righteousness of God. I’ll sum up this study with these verses:

Php 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS OF GOD BY FAITH:
Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I FOLLOW AFTER, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Hello Mike,

I’m not trying to be a pain in the neck, but I really want to understand a few things, and I honor your wisdom in these matters.

I have been reading about the 7 laws of Noah and have found that according to scripture, the “Ten Commandments” applied to the 12 tribes of Israel/Jacob and the “Laws of Noah” pertained to the rest of humanity. If this be true, why do most gentiles appear to drift towards the 10 and not the 7. Matter of fact, I have been a believer for about 5 years, and I have never heard of the 7 prior to about 4 days ago.

I am not attempting to be “legalistic” but these “laws” are mentioned in the bible and I want to know the relevance to all of God’s inspired to us.

Take care Mike, If you have any insight in this matter please drop me a line.

Thanks,

K____

Hi K____,

It is good to hear from you again.

I have long been aware of the covenant that God made with Noah. I well remember what a shock it was for me, a sabbath keeping, holy day keeping, clean and unclean meats observer (back when I was in the WWCG), being shown that God had told Noah that he could eat “anything that moved.”

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

Now Paul had said that what was said to Abraham before the law could not be disannulled by the law:

Gal 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

The Noahic covenant was much more than 430 years before the law of Moses. Following the principle Paul reveals in Galatians 3:17 “The law which was [1000 years?] after cannot disannul [this] covenant which was confirmed before of God in Christ.”

The Truth be known, the law of Moses never did ‘disannul’ the Noahic covenant. God still has and still honors that covenant. He “will never again destroy the earth with water.” “Every moving thing that lives” is still “meat for you.”

It was only Israel that was affected by the law of Moses. That entire experience was “as types of us.” The entire history and economy of Israel was not for their benefit. Rather, it “happened to them, and they are written for our admonition…”

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

With all of this in mind, now read the next two verses of Galatians 3:

Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added [“Added” to what? To the already existing Noahic covenant] because of transgressions [of the already existing yet unrevealed ‘law of the spirit’.], till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Now to be honest with you, I am not familiar with “the seven laws of Noah.” If you have some information on these seven laws, I would love to see it.

The answer as to why the whole Gentile Christian world is drawn to the law of Moses instead of the Noahic covenant is given by Christ Himself in Matthew 13. When the disciples asked Christ why he spoke in parables, He told them that the purpose was “lest they [the multitudes who come to see and to hear Christ] should be converted and I should heal them.”

In other words God, contrary to what we are told by orthodox Christianity, is not at this time trying to save this world. The reason the Gentile world “drifts toward the 10” is because the 10 “are not for a righteous man, but for the lawless…”

1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners.

God has no intention of saving this world at this time. On the contrary, he has deliberately blinded the world to His Word.

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.

Joh 12:39 Therefore they [God’s people] could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
Joh 12:40 He [God] hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

What better way to blind those who think they have God’s Truth than to have them all believe that this “Law… not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless” is the true “law of the spirit.” It is not! Read The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit.

I hope I have answered your question and that this is of some help to you.

Mike

Video Links

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

Introduction

Our Lord has chosen Zophar, the youngest of Job’s tormentors to give us one of the most descriptive prophecies of the fate of our self- righteous old man. That fate is to be cast into the fires which are every single one of our Lord’s Words, by which we are told all mankind must live (Mat 4:4). This is the first part of the “all things [ which] come alike to all, [ and the] one event [ the destruction of our “old man” which is common] to the righteous and to the wicked”.

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

It is given to very few to accept the truth that “as is the good, so is the sinner”, that “all things” which pertain to “the beast, the false prophet, the man of sin” are all addressed to that beast, false prophet and man of sin who is by nature within every man who has ever been “in Adam”. “All things come alike to all” includes all things that are in the world, all things that have to do with life, all things present, and all things to come are ours, they all “come alike to all”.

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;

“All things are yours… the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours” is a rather all encompassing statement. But Zophar has not been granted to read Ecclesiastes or 1 Corinthians. It is in this capacity that Zophar is the type and shadow of each of us as before our own eyes are opened to see and understand the truth that is Ecc 9:2 and 1Co 3:21-22. This is us when we are steeped in all the self- righteousness of the various harlot daughters of Babylon the great.
In our last study Zophar was very hasty to tell Job just how astounded he was that after being told what an extreme sinner Job obviously was by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, that Job would dare to suggest that it was Zophar and Eliphaz and Bildad who had better prepare to be judged.
Zophar has already told Job:

Job 20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
Job 20:6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
Job 20:7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
Job 20:8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

Zophar’s words throughout this entire chapter are a perfect description of the fiery trials of those who are granted to be judged first, and to die daily to all that is our “old… man of sin” within us all. The only difference between God’s elect and the non- elect is that the ‘fire’ which purifies all, God’s ‘fiery’ Word, does its purifying work in His elect first so God can and will use His firstfruits to be the judges and the purifying fire that is the lake of fire.

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 4:17 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?
Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. [ This is the “devouring fire” of this verse:]
Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Who is this “devouring fire” in whom the righteous dwell?

Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Psa 104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

“Our God is a consuming fire” and you and I dwell in Him:

Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

When we are granted to understand and know and believe that ‘Christ is in His Father, and we are in Him, and He is in us”, then we will understand how the righteous “shall dwell with the devouring fire” and be right at home in that “devouring fire” which “is… our God”. We are comfortable and at home in the fire only because our old, carnal mind has been devoured by that very fire, and through that fiery destruction of our old man our new man is being born. It sounds contradictory and impossible, but it is scriptural, and it is the Truth. God’s elect are all “that man of sin” before that man begins dying daily as the new man begins to “grow in grace and knowledge” daily within us.

Joh 3:30 He [ Christ within us] must increase, but I [ our old man] must decrease.

This is the message of scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Here are a few scriptural examples which demonstrate this process is common to all men:

2Sa 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man [ of sin]. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life [ maintains his own integrity and his own righteousness] shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
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.
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

The truth of God’s Word is that all men have the same experience in which only the details vary. The Truth of God’s word is that we must all “suffer [ the] loss” and destruction of our “old man… the first man Adam”.

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

That “one event” is the death of whom we were when we “were by nature children of wrath”. If we maintain, along with Job and the masses, that the “one event [ and the] all things” of Ecc 9:2 is simply the experience of physical death, then we are denying that ‘all things’ concerned with the world are ours. ‘We are denying that all things’ concerned with life are ours, and we are denying that it is our own old man who must be destroyed in death. But the scriptures emphasize that “all things are ours… all… things present, or things to come; all are ours”:

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;

It is the old man in every man who is a “brute beast” which was “made to be destroyed”.

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
2Pe 2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Neither Job nor his friends would have ever thought of themselves as ever being mere beasts. That is not how a self- righteous spirit thinks.
Nevertheless the scriptures call us “the beast… that man of sin… the son of perdition… that wicked” which must be revealed for what he is before he can be destroyed by the spirit of the Lord’s mouth and with the brightness of His coming.” Consequently the masses of mankind who loudly proclaim that they have never blasphemed and will never experience the wrath of God, are not being judged in this age and will not be part of that “blessed and holy first resurrection”.

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

“That day” refers to the “day of Christ” (verse 2), which is the day of our judgment. That judgment does not begin until we see ourselves for the ‘fallen away’ apostates we are. Only then is it revealed that we “are the man… of sin”. From that day ‘the sword does not depart from our house’, which is what we need to accomplish the destruction of “that wicked… man of sin” sitting on the throne of God within the temple of God, which we are.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

This destruction must be accomplished in all men of all time, and that destruction is accomplished through the pouring out upon the kingdom of our beast, the seven plagues of the seven angels. As we have seen, “No man can enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels is fulfilled” (Rev 15:8).
It is given to Zophar in his parting words to Job to describe for us the effect of these seven last plagues upon the kingdom of the beast within all men.

Job 20:16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.

John the Baptist called the religious leaders of his day a “generation of vipers”:

Mat 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

A viper is a poisonous serpent, and the serpent is the symbol of the Adversary, Satan.

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.

While we are absorbing all the false doctrines by which “that old serpent… [ by] which [ he] deceives the whole world”, we are ‘sucking the poison of asps and being slain by the viper’s tongue’.
It is instructive to know that the Hebrew definition for the word ‘asps’ means ‘to twist’, as in twisting the word of God.

H6620
pethen
peh’- then
From an unused root meaning to twist; an asp (from its contortions): – adder.

When God’s word is twisted and perverted, it becomes poison and deadly and destructive to our spiritual health.

2Pe 3:16 As also in all his [ Paul’s] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Job 20:17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

The word translated ‘rivers’ here is better translated ‘a small stream’ and the word translated ‘floods’ is what we would call a ‘river’. ‘He shall not see the small streams that are dug from the larger river to water much larger areas. “The brooks of honey and butter” are symbols of true prosperity, being the products of that which is generated from the streams which come from those rivers.
Our old man will never see or understand the blessings that are produced by the rivers of living waters which can come only from the spirit of God in “the belly” of the new man.

Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Joh 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Only after we come out of Egypt and have fought the giants and the inhabitants of the land, do we come to know true prosperity.

Exo 3:17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

This all paints a picture of great prosperity which shall not be the inheritance of our self- righteous old man.

Job 20:18 That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.

When we are being judged, all these plagues are realized in this age as the Lord tells us through the prophet Haggai:

Hag 1:5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
Hag 1:6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

Haggai’s prophecy tells Israel they are being cursed because they have been busy building their own homes while neglecting the Lord’s house. A self- righteous spirit does the same thing spiritually. That spirit is building its own spiritual temple and is sitting on the throne of God within that temple, and while neither Job nor Zophar know it, they are both self- righteous, and are building their own righteousness instead of acknowledging the righteousness of God in bringing us to see that we are by nature very self- righteous.

Job 20:19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

Of course Zophar is accusing Job of literally oppressing the poor, but we know that these are words with a personal, internal, spiritual application for us (Mat 4:4). Our old man is guilty of oppressing and forsaking the new man, the “poor in spirit” man within us. We have “violently take away… the temple of God” which indeed, ‘we did not build’.

Job 20:20 Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

Pro 23:5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

If we are being judged, we will not prosper in our rebellion against our judge. We cannot ‘feel quietness… nor save that which we desired’.

Job 20:21 There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

Our old man and his whole world are made manifest for the emptiness they are.

Job 20:22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
Job 20:23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

“In the fulness of his sufficiency… when he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of His wrath upon him”. This is God’s modus operandi. This is His way of doing things. When we are at the peak of our physical self- righteous accomplishments, then, if we are loved by God as His elect in this age, He strikes us down and crushes us to powder. Only then will we give him our undivided loyalty and attention, and ask “What will you have me to do, Lord?”. The apostle Paul is a perfect example of our Lord’s M. O.

Act 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

We may think we are serving God in our self- righteousness (Pro 16:2), but we are fooling no one but ourselves. God is not fooled for one split second.
“It [ God’s wrath] shall rain upon him while he is eating” means that while we are exalted in our own self- righteousness and are ‘eating’ its self- pleasing fruits, as we are glorying in our own accomplishments on our own ‘road to Damascus’, God strikes down our old man and crushes him to powder.
It is all the work of the Lord Himself. Even our self- righteous and evil thoughts are given us “from the Lord” via evil spirits which are given that commission. We must be sinners before we can come to see our need for a redeemer.

1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
Psa 94:11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Pro 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
Pro 20:24 Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart [ the heart of our self righteous old man] from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Job 20:24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
Job 20:25 It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrorsare upon him.

“He shall flee from the iron weapon and the bow of steel” because a self- righteous man thinks that he does not need God. So God Himself is not standing with our old man. He is the enemy of our old man. God strikes terror into our hearts for our own good. We will listen to Him when He wants our attention.

Lev 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Lev 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Pro 1:24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Pro 1:25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
Pro 1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

Pro 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Only after we are brought to see the self- righteous man within, will we be given to listen attentively to every word out of His mouth. Then when He gives it us to do so, this promise is given us:

Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

Job 20:26 All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

In scriptural symbolism, the light is Christ and the knowledge of the Truth, which is Christ. Darkness is the absence of that knowledge, the absence of Christ.

Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Of course, if Christ is indeed in us, we too, become “the light of the world”.

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

When we do not know the Truth, we are in darkness, and darkness necessitates that we live in the wickedness which brings on us our own chastening birth pains:

Pro 5:22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

When this process begins within us, it becomes both a physical natural experience as well as a mental and spiritual experience, where our own conscience witnesses against us and torments us, until we are brought to our “wits’ end.”

Job 20:27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

This is “the heaven… and the earth of our old man” which “heaven” is being “purified”.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God speaks to us concerning our self- righteous old man as “Judah and Jerusalem”.

Isa 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

He then calls them the “heavens, [ and the] earth”.

Isa 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
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.

The heavens God is purifying with the blood of Christ is the kingdom of God within His elect:

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

This “kingdom of God” is also referred to as “the kingdom of heaven” because Christ’s sacrifice purifies our “heavens”.

Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

But “the kingdom of the heaven… within you”, must be cleansed with better sacrifices than the blood of bulls and goats.

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Christ is not entered into the pattern but into “the heavenly things themselves… into heaven itself”. And exactly where is Christ at this time? Here is where Christ is to be found at this time, “till the end of the age”:

Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

At this point in Job’s story, neither he nor Zophar know any of this. Nevertheless Job and Zophar are given to see the fate of their self- righteous old man, even though they are completely unaware of the curse of self- righteousness.

Job 20:28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his [ God’s] wrath.
Job 20:29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

What a revelation! “That wicked” man is our old man (2Th 2:4-8). If we deny that our old man needs to “fulfill… the seven plagues of the seven angels” to qualify to enter into the temple of God, then our self- righteous old man will never be destroyed.

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels [“the wrath of God”] were fulfilled.

It is only “in the day of His wrath” that “this… the portion of [ our self- righteous] wicked [ old] man” is inherited and in which he is destroyed. So our old “marred… vessel of clay” is doomed, and our old man will be destroyed. This is his “portion”.
Next week, if the Lord wills, we will hear again from Job, as he continues to contend with, reprove, and condemn his own Creator as he defends himself again the false accusations of his friends.

Job 21:1 But Job answered and said,
Job 21:2 Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations.
Job 21:3 Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on.
Job 21:4 As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?
Job 21:5 Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth.
Job 21:6 Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh.
Job 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
Job 21:8 Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
Job 21:9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
Job 21:10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
Job 21:11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
Job 21:12 They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
Job 21:13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
Job 21:14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
Job 21:15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
Job 21:16 Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
Job 21:17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.

Video Links

Study Aired June 24, 2012

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

Introduction

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Job 42:8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is how this verse is translated in the ASV:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

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

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

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

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

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

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

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

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

King David confesses to having been wicked:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eze 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

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

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

Video Links

Job 15:14-27 The Heavens Are Not Clean In His Sight

Job 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
Job 15:15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
Job 15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
Job 15:17 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;
Job 15:18 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:
Job 15:19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.
Job 15:20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
Job 15:21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
Job 15:22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
Job 15:23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
Job 15:24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
Job 15:25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
Job 15:26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:
Job 15:27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

In today’s study we continue to see ourselves as Eliphaz who for the second time is quick to condemn those who are suffering as “sinners above all who are in Jerusalem”. That is how Christ describes for us this spirit of Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. Here is the spirit that is in each of us by nature:

Luk 13:1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luk 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Those words are directed to you and to me while we are under the bondage of the spirit of Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. These men typify all men who look down on those who they perceive to be less righteous than themselves. According to the dictates of many who are still in Babylon, all who are not being physically blessed are sinning against God and are responsible for their own trials.
If it is true that God himself makes us all wicked men for our own day of evil, then we have no right to look down on anyone, and the Truth is:

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

If it is true that you and I are not responsible for our own sins, then we have no cause to hold each other responsible for any of our misdeeds, and that is exactly what the scriptures teach:

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

If there is a God- ordained and sustained “law of sin” working in our members, then none of us is responsible for our own actions. This in no way denies that we will give an accounting of our wicked and sinful actions in these vessels of clay, but it does say that we are not responsible for our own sins, and therefore we have no reason to look down on what God has done in the lives of any other of His children.
There are ‘four’ men here because the number ‘four’ is the Biblical symbol for the whole of either heaven or earth:

Mar 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

What is becoming clear is that Job is not the only person in this group of four men who is “full of confusion”.

Job 10:15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;

Apparently Eliphaz is just as confused as Job. Here is what he said during his first discourse with Job:

Job 4:7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
Job 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

The implication was that Job’s own sins were responsible for the suffering Job was enduring. But now Eliphaz, while still intent upon condemning Job for his sins, confesses that mankind in general is neither ‘clean’ nor ‘righteous’.

Job 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

Eliphaz was certainly “born of a woman” but as is always the case with us all while we are in Babylon, he makes so many truthful statements concerning what constitutes mankind and the state of all who are “born of woman”, but we always think our truthful statements apply to others instead of ourselves. The scriptures agree with Eliphaz, but as only mankind is capable of doing, Eliphaz states the Truth, but then he applies it to anyone and everyone but himself. Nevertheless the scriptures teach that this is a universal Truth.

Psa 14:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psa 53:1 To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
Psa 53:2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
Psa 53:3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

That is God’s assessment of all flesh. Three times we are told without reservation “there is none that doeth good, no, not one”. That is why we are also told:

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Job 15:15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.

Without the work of the spirit of God in the fleshly body of His Son, there would be no hope for anyone who has ever been in a body of “sinful flesh… and blood”.

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:

We have demonstrated many times that the flesh of Christ was just as much “in the likeness of sinful flesh” as your flesh or my flesh, and that it was the supernatural power of the spirit of His Father which restrained Him from sinning while in that body of “sinful flesh”. Christ’s flesh of itself could not resist sinning any more than our flesh can. Christ Himself tells us this is so:

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

God put no trust in Christ’s flesh, but instead He gave Christ His spirit without measure to assure us that we would have a spotless sacrifice for our sins.

Joh 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

So “man born of woman” is neither clean nor righteous. This is the condition of all flesh and of all “men born of woman”:

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

Our heavenly Father never depended on the flesh of Christ to redeem mankind. He used that flesh, but He was depending only upon Himself, His own spirit within a body of sinful flesh, the flesh of our Savior, to live a spotless life and then to die for our sins.
Here it all is out of Christ’s own mouth:

Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

“There is none good but… God… I can of mine own self do nothing…” So was Christ perfected while in a body of “sinful flesh”? Is it possible to be perfected while in a body of flesh? Let’s let Christ Himself answer that question:

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

No, not even Christ was perfected until “the third day”, the day of resurrection. So Eliphaz has made a profound statement – “Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.” Yet he cannot see that his own words apply to himself as well as all other men. This is a simple and basic spiritual truth.
But “the things of the spirit” are hidden and veiled by the flesh, even by the flesh of Christ:

Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

So with the death and resurrection of our Savior we are finally given to know that the physical realm is more than just a history lesson. We are now granted to understand that the physical heavens are nothing more than a type and a shadow of the spiritual heavens of the scriptures, which are located within each of us. It is into that inward heaven that our Lord has entered and is even now in the process of cleansing and purifying:

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [ the blood of bulls and goats]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself [ our hearts and minds], now to appear in the presence of God for us:

So if Christ says of Himself that “there is none good but… God”, and He tells us plainly that He will not be perfected until “the third day”, how true then must be these words of Eliphaz:

Job 15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

Is this true? Is mankind really abominable and filthy? Are you and I by nature ‘abominable and filthy’? What do the scriptures teach? I will repeat:

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

And to that I will add:

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

So yes, it is true, mankind is abominable and filthy [ and he] drinketh iniquity like water”, and without a sacrifice for his sins mankind would be doomed to destruction.

Job 15:17 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;

Each man wants his words to be heard. He wants to declare the things he has seen. Job has told his three friends what he thinks of their observations and their admonitions, and he too, wants them to hear his words:

Job 13:1 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.
Job 13:2 What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.
Job 13:3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
Job 13:4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.
Job 13:5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.
Job 13:6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.

What is missing in the “pleading of [ the] lips” of both Job and his detractors is the truth of these verses of scripture:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

God simply has not yet revealed to these men, who are types of us while we are in the Babylonian Christian world, that He has deliberately “made us… marred in the hand of the Potter” for the purpose of building within these clay vessels a spiritual temple for His dwelling place, and that when that temple is built, then these clay vessels must be dispensed with and destroyed. Here is how Christ expresses this process:

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that y e 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.

We have all “defiled the temple of God”, and we must all “lose [ our] life” in order to find it. Until that Truth is revealed to us, like Eliphaz we judge our brothers as if God’s judgment were something we can and should somehow avoid. That is what Eliphaz means when he tells Job:

Job 15:18 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:
Job 15:19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.

What Eliphaz is telling Job, is what Babylon tells us all. Eliphaz sees physical blessings as proof of God’s approval of the way we are conducting our lives, and physical trials are proof only of how displeased God is of how we are conducting our lives. He is telling Job that wise men have always taught this doctrine, and have always passed this wisdom on to their children.
“Unto whom alone the earth was given and no stranger passed among them” must apply physically to Noah and his sons, and therefore it must spiritually apply to all the descendants of Noah, who still hold to that doctrine:

Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, [ which knows no strangers] the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Eliphaz, as the type of the church which is still in the world, does not like the gospel of Christ which teaches the necessity of losing our lives before we can hope to find life. The spirit of Eliphaz loves the false doctrine of a substitutionary death which eliminates the necessity of being “crucified with Christ”, and “fill[ ing] up in my body that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ”.

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Eliphaz was the original ‘prosperity evangelist’. He was, as we all are at first, devoid of understanding the need for “dying daily” (1Co 15:31). All trials of our faith are proof positive to the Eliphaz within us of a man who is a sinner above all in Jerusalem, rather than proof that all in Jerusalem are sinners who must be judged.

Job 15:20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
Job 15:21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
Job 15:22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

This is a very seductive message which “the first man Adam” finds very appealing. After all who wants to endure the words of those three verses? Who wants to be “hated of all men… lose [ his] life… [ have his] enemies… be they of his own household”, etc.? Eliphaz sees Job’s judgment as something he does not need because of his own righteousness. So he continues to describe Job’s position to him.
Because of spiritual immaturity, with which we all struggle as spiritually “carnal… babes in Christ”, Eliphaz, is incapable of understanding that the troubling of “an evil spirit from God” precedes the judgment of all men just as surely as King Saul preceded King David, and as surely as the first man Adam precedes the last Adam.
Why did King David lust after Bathsheba? He did so for the same reason Joseph’s brothers sold him into Egypt and for the same reason there is “evil in the city”.

Gen 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

If it seems sinful to us for God to ‘make wicked men for their day of evil’ (Pro 16:4), ‘create evil’ (Isa 45:7), ‘make us to err from His ways’, and send evil spirits to make this all happen (1Sa 16:14-15), then we are still both Job and Eliphaz, contending with, reproving, and condemning God for His ways. We all do that in our own time:

Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

But we are all blinded to those words while we tell these words to others who we see as less honorable than ourselves.

Job 15:23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

Here is the New Testament way of expressing the point Eliphaz is imputing to Job because of his sins:

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

Job 15:24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

Job himself had already told us that the thing he had feared was exactly what had happened to him.

Job 3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

While the love of God which our Savior taught was unheard of in the Old Testament, the effects of not knowing that love were well known by Job as the type of us before we know what is the love of God:

1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Once again, Eliphaz does not know that mankind must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Mat 4:4). He does not know or believe that “all things, the world, life, death, things present, and things to come are all ours (1Co 3:21-22), and it had not yet been revealed that the time is at hand to keep the things written in the words of this prophecy (Rev 1:3 and 22:7). So he condemns Job for the things that must necessarily be within his own sinful flesh:

Job 15:25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
Job 15:26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:
Job 15:27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

Eliphaz, being at ease in this life, thinks of himself being above ever contending with, reproving, or condemning his Creator. He thinks that Job’s former prosperity had caused Job to forget his God, and to have “strengthened himself against God”. God Himself tells us that this is exactly what we all do under such circumstances. Moses told Israel that is what they would do, and Jeremiah told them that was what they did. Remember you and I are Israel.

Deu 32:15 But Jeshurun [ a name for Israel] waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

Jer 5:7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
Jer 5:8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.
Jer 5:9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

In our own way we all live out every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Those who are given to do so will rejoice in knowing what is the secret of God which He has revealed to only very few.
Next week, Lord willing, we will see the rest of Eliphaz’s accusations against his friend, Job.

Job 15:28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.
Job 15:29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.
Job 15:30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
Job 15:31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.
Job 15:32 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
Job 15:33 He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.
Job 15:34 For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.
Job 15:35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

Video Links

Job 10:1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
Job 10:2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
Job 10:3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
Job 10:4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
Job 10:5 Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days,
Job 10:6 That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?
Job 10:7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
Job 10:8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
Job 10:9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
Job 10:10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?

Introduction

Job has confessed that he is a sinner, and in the same breath he questions why God is doing what He is doing to him:

Job 7:20 I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?

In this study we will show that what is happening to Job is, according to Job himself, the Old Testament type and shadow of God’s wrath being poured out upon the self- righteous beast within us all, which is typified by Job’s self- righteousness.
Here is Job’s own assessment of what God is doing to him.

Job 14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
Job 16:9 He [ God, verse 11] teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he [ God] gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy [ God Job 19:11] sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
Job 19:11 He [ God] hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.

God’s wrath IS His judgments:

Job 19:29 Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
Job 20:23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
Job 20:28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

Even after admitting in the previous chapter that God has “kindled His wrath against me”, as we have just quoted in Job 19:11, in his self- righteousness, Job does not realize that he is speaking of himself in these verses:

Job 21:16 Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
Job 21:17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
Job 21:18 They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.
Job 21:19 God layeth up his iniquity for his [ the wicked] children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.
Job 21:20 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

Just like us, Job has witnessed his own destruction and still cannot admit that “drinking” the cup of God’s wrath is constructive and is for his good so he can “enter the temple” of God (Rev 15:7-8). He knows he is under God’s wrath, but he does not know why. He does not know that he was “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin” (Psa 51:5).
“He shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty”. Is that not exactly what God tells us concerning “all” of His own people, as well as “all 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;

“To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation…” God is intent upon the destruction of our “old man”. He is in the process of destroying Job and “bringing him back to the dust”. It is through the destruction of His own people with whom He is dealing in His wrath that He will save them. It is His own habitation with whom He is dealing in His wrath.

Jer 25:28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
Jer 25:29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye [ God own people, His own habitation] shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
Jer 25:30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

Job still cannot see that it is HE who is “wicked”, but he does know that God’s wrath is for the wicked:

Job 21:30 That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.

Are you and I the wicked Publican? Are you and I the wicked woman caught in the very act of adultery? If we are granted to see these people in our own flesh, then it is only because we were all first the spiritually blind, self- righteous Pharisee, typified by Job, who at first, like Job, could not see any of that wickedness within himself.
Yes, indeed, God’s wrath is “reserved to the day of destruction [ of] the wicked” who is within us all. Job is the type of all those who do not think that God’s wrath is needed or intended for them.
Job is the perfect type of all of us when we first see 1Th 5:9 as the only verse in scripture that matters concerning God’s wrath. Like Job, we all, before we can see “the sum of God’s Word” (Psa 119:160, ASV) on the subject of His wrath, are spiritual Pharisees who will not acknowledge any need for God’s purifying wrath to be poured out upon their own wickedness.
Let’s look at that verse in 1Th 5, and see what it is really saying:

1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Indeed, it is all of mankind who is not appointed to wrath but to salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Neither is mankind appointed to death, but to salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Joh 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
Joh 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

“Never see death… shall never die”??? How is that accomplished? It is accomplished in the same way that we are “not appointed to wrath but to salvation”. The way we “shall never see death” is “through death”, through “dying daily” (1Co 15:31), and being “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20″. That is also the way “we are not appointed to wrath, but to salvation”. Without first knowing and fulfilling God’s wrath “no man can enter into the temple” of God.

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues [ G4127, plege] of the seven angels were fulfilled.

There is no blessing promised to anyone who does not keep these words written in this 15th chapter of the book of Revelation.

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

In this study we will see how Job’s suffering God’s wrath lines up with the seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God. It is very instructive to be aware that the Greek word translated ‘plagues’ in Rev 15 and 16 is the exact same word translated ‘stripes’ in these verses:

Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes [ G 3127, plege], shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

The first plague – a grievous sore

Job is covered with “a grievous sore”:

Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
Job 2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

Such is the first vial:

Rev 16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Rev 16:2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

The second plague – upon the sea

Job reveals that the ‘sea’ is within us. He sees Himself as a marked man and an enemy whom God is intent upon destroying.

Job 7:12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

The second vial is poured out on “the sea”.

Rev 16:3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

The third plague – makes the waters deadly

The life- giving waters of the word of God instruct us about the destruction of our “old… first man, Adam”. It was those very waters , the words of God, which were now turned against him and were destroying the “old man”, Job.

Job 12:14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
Job 12:15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
Job 12:16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.

The third vial is poured out upon the rivers and fountains of water, and they become deadly to our old man:

Rev 16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Rev 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Rev 16:6 For they [ Saul of Tarsus, you and I] have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Rev 16:7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

There it is in plain English. God’s wrath is “Thy judgments”, and what do God’s judgments produce when they are “in the earth”?

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 [ God’s wrath, Rev 16:7] are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

The fourth plague – great heat

In his rebellion against God, Job is “burned with heat”.

Job 30:29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
Job 30:30 My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.
Job 30:31 My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.

The fourth vial ‘scorches men with great heat”.

Rev 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

The fifth plague – full of darkness

Job was tormented in his darkness. Darkness is the Biblical symbol of a lack of knowledge and of confusion. Job is in great darkness, and in great affliction:

Job 30:26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
Job 30:27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
Job 30:28 I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.
Job 30:29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.

This lack of understanding torments us all. This darkness is the pouring out of the fifth vial upon the kingdom of our ‘old man… the first man Adam”. When we reprove, contend with and condemn God for His ways in our lives, we are blaspheming God ‘because of our pains’.

Rev 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

The sixth plague – dries up the waters

When the waters of God are dried up in our lives, the lies of Babylon “out of the mouth of the dragon… the beast… and the false prophet” flourish. At the same time that those life- giving words are “overturning” and destroying our “old man” with all his lies, they are in the process of bringing forth a “new man” .

Job 12:15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
Job 28:4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.

It is the dragon himself whom God has sent to afflict Job. Job’s physical boils are no more painful to him than are the false accusations and the mental torment of his friends. Both Job and his friends are lacking the nourishing life- giving waters of the knowledge of God. They are “dried up”, and the “kings of the east” will destroy our old kingdom, just as God used Satan to destroy Job’s ‘kingdom’; just as He used King Cyrus to destroy ancient Babylon, and just as the kingdom of our beast will also be ‘destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming’ (2Th 2:8). But we will be deceived by the miracles performed by the beast, and in that state, and at that time we, with Job, will turn against and condemn our own Creator. Job was very physically prosperous before he was afflicted through Satan and of God. But that time of prosperity was merely a time in which Job was being set up to be destroyed. It is God Himself who sends “the spirits of devils, working miracles” and causes us to err and hardens our hearts against His ways” and brings us all to our own ‘Armageddon’ and the death of our “old… first man Adam”.

Rev 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. />

The seventh plague – On the ‘air’

According to our Lord, the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the heavens and the fowls of the air are the symbols of “the wicked one” who snatches away the word of Truth.

Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Mat 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Yet this is exactly the source to whom Job would send us to learn of God:

Job 12:7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

“The air” is the invisible realm of the spirit, and it is true that these all know that God is and that He is sovereign,

Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
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:

Nevertheless they have not been granted to either know our Lord or His Father as He wants us to know Him, even though Christ is hinted at by Elihu here in this book of Job:

Job 33:23 If there be a messenger with him [ Christ], an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness [ Christ]:
Job 33:24 Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom [ Christ].

It is the “thunder” of God which judges the things that are in “the air”. Here is some of that ‘thunder’ that God poured out on Job’s ‘air’.

Job 37:1 At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place.
Job 37:2 Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth.
Job 37:3 He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
Job 37:4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard.
Job 37:5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
Job 40:9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

The spiritual lies of Satan, “the prince of the power of the air”, tell us that God is not a loving God and that He has no right to “scourge” us as He does (Heb 12:6-7) or to treat us as He does. It is these lies which Job believes, because he is the Old Testament type of us while we are having the scourging of the seven last plagues of God’s wrath poured out upon us. It is the lies of the “Prince of the power of the air” which we and Job believe which give God the “occasion” He is seeking to pour out His wrath upon “the cities of the nations… and great Babylon” within Job and within each of us.
God does not “thunder [ with] the noise of His voice… and His lightning” just to impress us. When He ‘thunders marvelously with His voice’, and He directs… His lightning unto the ends of the earth”, the lies of the prince of the power of the air are revealed for what they are beyond any shadow of a doubt even within the hardest and most rebellious heart, and those lies are destroyed on the spot. God’s work is a process, but it is “a short work” that the Lord does upon the earth.

Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

It is through “His wrath” that the Lord is working with Job and with us:

Job 20:28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

While it may seem like an eternity to us, as it did to Job, from God’s perspective it is but for “a little moment”, and it is “a short work”.

Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
Rom 9:28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

To all of us and to Job, the type and shadow of those who “keep the things written” in the revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev 1:3), it does not seem like either “a little moment” or “a short work”. Like us, Job has no rest day or night while being judged in God’s presence:

Job 7:13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
Job 7:14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
Job 7:15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.
Job 7:16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
Job 7:17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
Job 7:18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
Job 7:19 How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?

“Depart from me… let me alone till I swallow down my spittle” That is the spirit of “the prince of the power of the air” with which we reprove our Potter in whose hands we are. It is in this very spirit that Job continues to contend with God:

Job 10:1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

Job says “I will speak in the bitterness of my soul”. We all do that, but in doing so, we are being set up for our own destruction. It seems we simply cannot learn our lesson at this particular time in the revelation of Jesus Christ within us:

Job 9:18 He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.

It is better to say ‘I am vile… I will speak no more’ (Job 40:4). But we continue in our stubborn self- righteous reproofs of God:

Job 10:2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
Job 10:3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?

“Show me why you contend with me”, we demand. We, as a piece of pottery, can condemn our Maker, but we think He has no right to condemn us? We can contend with Him, but we want Him to answer us and tell us why He is contending with us? We can condemn men who oppress other men, but what right do we have to condemn God for doing what He wants to do with His creatures? What right do we have to accuse and condemn Him for “despising the work of [ His] hands and shin[ ing] upon the counsel of the wicked”?

Job 10:4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
Job 10:5 Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days,
Job 10:6 That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?

We are truly confused when we dare to ask such foolish questions of our God. God does not see as men see. If He did, we would never have eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and we would all still be naked in the garden of Eden, blissfully unaware that we were “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin” (Psa 51:5). Most Christians to this day want to have the blissful ignorance of Eden.

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Job and we know the answer to those questions, but our self- righteousness, and our “bitterness” will not permit us to keep our mouth shut. God is not “enquiring after our iniquity, and searching after our sin”. What He is doing and what will happen is that He will eventually show to Job and all of us just how self- righteous we are in daring to put Him on trial and condemn Him for His ways. God is “searching” for nothing, rather He’s simply revealing to us everything that is within us.

Job 10:7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.

“You know I am not wicked”??? That is what is within us! No, God knows that we are all wicked. Here is what God knows, and this is what we at first, typified by Job, do not know. This is what the orthodox Christians as well as all the rest of mankind do not yet know:

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my member s, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

At first Job has no clue that “sin dwells in me… and brings me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members”. How did that sin get there “in my members”? It got there through “another law in my member s, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members‘.
Where did this “law of sin” come from? It is of the utmost importance that we become aware of the answer to this question or we will remain as ignorant of God and His ways as was self- righteous Job. James gives us the answer to this perplexing question of who is the giver of this “law of sin [ which is] in our members”:

Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

God alone is the “one Lawgiver, who alone is able to save and to destroy…” Job does not know what that “one Lawgiver” is in the process of doing. In his ignorance he continues to attempt to reason with God and to convince God that flesh and blood is not all that bad a creation. After all flesh and blood are God’s own handiwork:

Job 10:8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
Job 10:9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
Job 10:10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?

While it is obvious that Job had been given the knowledge of the sweet smelling savor burnt offering, it is yet apparent that he was completely unaware of these verses of scripture:

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 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.

Job knows nothing of life coming only “through death”. He certainly is not aware of the advantage of dying daily while we are yet in these vessels of clay. We all know of God, long before the depth of this Truth is realized within us:

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Col 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Christ did not die to the sins of the flesh so we could live in those sins. He died to the sins of the flesh so He could fill up in our flesh what is ‘behind of His sufferings’. He died to the sins of the flesh so He could come into our bodies and die daily so we too, could be “crucified with Christ”, and be raised up again with Him to “walk in newness of life… until the redemption of the purchased possession”.

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 Certainly not! We died to sin– How shall we live any longer in it?
Rom 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life.
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:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

“The redemption of the purchased possession” necessitates the death of “the first man Adam”, who is typified by Job, until God comes and changes his heart and mind,
“Will you bring me into the dust again?” The answer is a resounding “Yes, indeed” we are all to be ‘brought to dust again” for this simple reason:

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will cover these verses of Job which reveal the utter confusion we all must come to know before we will be granted to know what God is doing with His creature:

Job 10:11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.
Job 10:12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.
Job 10:13 And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.
Job 10:14 If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
Job 10:15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;
Job 10:16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.
Job 10:17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.
Job 10:18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!
Job 10:19 I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
Job 10:20 Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
Job 10:21 Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
Job 10:22 A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.

Mike,
Taken from last Sunday’s study…

“But just as the law of Moses is so often mistaken for the law of God, so too, those who subscribe to that law of bondage, as we all have in the past, are easily mistaken for the body of Christ. The Truth is that when we were in Babylon we hated the truths that Christ taught.”

How can you say… ‘when we were in Babylon we hated the truths that Christ taught?

We, while we were in Babylon thought we were following the Lord completely. We loved the Lord, as we knew Him… which is exactly the way He had us believe.

We know now that what we learned about the Lord, and how we acted, was wrong… but only to a point. We were doing and acting just as the Lord instructed us… running around trying to save the world for Him. We loved our ‘gifts of the spirit’… laying on of hands, etc.

I just can’t figure out why doing good works for the Lord while in Babylon was a bad thing. We had to go thru that or we could never begin to understand the truth.

Now, I have to admit that in running around saving people was working more for ourselves, not as much for the Lord as we would like to believe, but for our own glory, as to how many crowns we could earn… and showing others how religious we were, and how much we knew. But, nevertheless, that was also His doing.

So, how can you say… we hated the truth while in Babylon?

J____

Hi J____,
Thank you for your question.
You ask:

… how can you say… we hated the truth while in Babylon?

Yes, as you indicate, it is God who, via the agency of the Adversary, causes us to sin. The Adversary works through the “law of sin and death” which law God causes to work in our members.

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [ how] to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

God is the only lawgiver that exists.

Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

But God places that law of sin within us as earthen vessels simply because He is “seeking an occasion against” the flesh which He first made us to be.

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make [ it].
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.

What is it that “was of the Lord”? It was Samson’s marriage to a Philistine worman of Timnath, and that was contrary to God’s own law.

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

But those words had proceeded out of God’s mouth and so Israel had to live them just as we to live out those words. All of God’s “Thou shalt not…” commandments are, in the final analysis, nothing less than prophecies of what we will do.

Jdg 3:5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:
Jdg 3:6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
Jdg 3:7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
Jdg 3:8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.

So there are really two separate creations, the first natural, and the second spiritual. But the second creation depends upon and is subsequent to the first creation. God makes us carnal, of the dust, earthy and naked, first. Then He destroys that earthen vessel and makes it again, as seems good to the Potter to make it (“a spiritual body”).

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

You ask:

I just can’t figure out why doing good works for the Lord while in Babylon was a bad thing. We had to go thru that or we could never begin to understand the truth.
Now, I have to admit that in running around saving people was working more for ourselves, not as much for the Lord as we would like to believe, but for our own glory, as to how many crowns we could earn… and showing others how religious we were, and how much we knew. But, nevertheless, that was also His doing.
So, how can you say… we hated the truth while in Babylon?

That isn’t what “I say”, it is what Christ says. The most insidious of sins is what we are guilty of while we are in Babylon. It is the sin of self righteousness. That was Job’s sin. Just read Job 29 if you have any doubt about that. Job is all of us with all of our own ‘good works’. It is our good works and our “righteousnesses” which “are filthy rags” to God.

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

The fact that it is all predestined by God, does not change the fact that it is “an unclean thing” or a “filthy rag”, and the fact that we are predestined to think of “our [ Babylonian] righteousnesses” as ‘good works’ which will glorify God, does not change the fact that in reality we hate Christ’s doctrine. C
Isaiah doesn’t say that our ‘ un righteousnesses are as filthy rags’, he says they are indeed righteousness, but as long as we insist that they are ours and not His works in us, then we are guilty of that most insidious of sins, the sin of self righteousness. While in Babylon we all believed in the false doctrine of free will. We all refused to acknowledge that Christ’s doctrines are true, and according to Christ, we may believe on Him, but if we do not do what He says then it is Christ who tells us that is the same as hating Him and wanting Him dead.

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;

“Those Jews that believed on Him”, are a type of Babylonian Christians today who say they believe Christ, but will not do what He tells us all to do. Here it is, and it is right out of Christ’s own mouth:

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.

Yes, I too certainly thought Christ’s words were important to me while I was a Pentecostal, while I was in the World Wide Church of God, and while I was attending the Concordant Publishing Concern’s Bible conferences. But the Truth of the matter was that “Christ’s words had no place in me” while I was associated with those organizations which simply “were not given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God” (Mat 13:10-11).

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

Now look at that verse in its context:

Joh 8:40 But now ye [ Christians who claim to be Christians, and still teach people to kill their enemies] seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, [ even] God.
Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Why are we all first “of our father the devil?”

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

I hope that answers your question.

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Hey Mike,

Just had a quick question about free will. How does:

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

… correlate with:

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.?

I noticed that the next verse in Philippians says:

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

Is God working out our salvation for us, or are we working out our “own salvation with fear and trembling?” Does God give us choices even though HE knows the decision(s) and outcome(s) will be?

Thanks,
D____

Hi D____,

Thank you for your question. You ask:

Is God working out our salvation for us or are we working out our “own salvation with fear and trembling?” Does God give us choices even though HE knows the decision(s) and outcome(s) will be?”

Since you noticed that the next verse in Philipians 2 tells us that we work out our own salvation because “it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”, then it should be clear that what we have been given is merely the illusion of free will. The reality is that it is God who is working all things after the counsel of His own will.

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:

Joseph’s brothers, as well as Adam and Eve, Cain, Pharaoh, Jacob and Esau, King David and all other Old Testament patriarchs, kings and prophets, as well as all men of all time, all feel that we are making decisions based upon our own judgment and our own will.

Joseph’s brothers are typical of us all. They were fully convinced that it was their own decision which had placed Joseph as a prisoner and a slave to the Midianites who had sold Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard.

Gen 37:28  Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty [pieces] of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Gen 39:1  And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.

This all appears to the natural man to be the logical consequence of the actions of Joseph’s brothers’ decision to sell him to the Midianites, who are also called Ishmaelites/Ishmeelites.

Is that the real reason those things happened as they did? Is that the real reason things happen as they do in our own lives? In other words, is it true that we have a free will and that our entire future hangs upon our decisions? If that is the case, then we are all doomed because this is the truth of God’s Word, both the Old and the New Testaments.

Psa 14:2  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, [and] seek God.
Psa 14:3  They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one.

Rom 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 3:12  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

The truth is that Joseph’s brothers, just like you and me and all of mankind of all time, simply have the illusion of a free will.

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I [am] Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For these two years [hath] the famine [been] in the land: and yet [there are] five years, in the which [there shall] neither [be] earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8  So now [it was] not you [that] sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Joseph does not deny that his brothers sold him into Egypt. He twice reminds them that they did so. “You sold me hither.” In the same breath he declares that it wasn’t really their work at all, but it was God’s work.

We are also told ‘work out your own salvation because it is God who is working both our will and our actions for His own good pleasure.’

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.

Ephesians 1:11 tells us that we are predestined to do what we do, and we know that Adam was predestined to do what he did because we are told that Christ “was slain from the foundation of the world”, and we were called in Christ “before the world began”.

Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

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

It does us no good at all to sit back and do nothing just because we have learned that everything we do was predestined. So we are told to “work out our own salvation because it is [really] God who is working in us to do His good pleasure.”

The knowledge of God’s sovereignty will always drain a babe in Christ of his desire to pray or to work out his own salvation. Somehow our old man reasons that if God knows that everyone in a burning building will be saved from that fire, that therefore there is no need to go in and save those people trapped in that burning building. However, as that slovenly attitude works its evil in us and we continue to reap its fruit of “hiding our  talent” and enduring that judgment, we soon learn that we need to be increasing our talents, as if we were “working out our own salvation.”

So God really is working out our salvation, but whether or not we realize it, He is also the one who causes us to sell our brother and to sell our Lord and to deny our Lord. Ephesians 1:11 is a two- edged sword, as is all of God’s word.

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

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.

That “two-edged sword” reveals that God really is working all things after the counsel of His own will… together for good.” But ‘all things’ is a two-edged phrase which really does include all things; not just the good things. That is how our very sins become fire, jacinth and brimstone, to purify and cleanse us of all the wood, hay and stubble and all the tares that are our old man.

Rev 9:17  And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses [were] as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
Rev 9:18  By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

In other words, it will be our own words and our own sins which will be used by God to purify and reprove and cleanse us. Even the words of Babylon are a two-edged sword which will judge us and bring us out of Babylon.

Pro 5:3  For the lips of a strange woman drop [as] an honeycomb, and her mouth [is] smoother than oil:
Pro 5:4  But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, [which is] thy sword:

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

Luk 19:22  And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, [thou] wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Our own false doctrines certainly are smoke, but they will also become fire and brimstone which will chasten us and cleanse us of those very same doctrines, just as Joseph’s brothers’ fear of revenge was used to torment them for seventeen long years even after they had been told that their sin against their brother was really God’s Work.

What is the truth? The Truth of God’s word is that “He is working all things, (including our sins), after the counsel of His own will… together for good.”

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.

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:

Twice we are told in Romans 7, “It is no more I that do it.” That is the same thing Joseph said to his brothers back in Genesis 45:4-8 and 50:20. If “It is no more I that do it” , then how can I be held accountable or responsible for what “is no more I…?” The truth of God’s Word is that we are not held either accountable or responsible. What the scriptures teach is that even thought we are not held accountable or responsible, we are nevertheless required of God to “give an accounting of our stewardship”.

Luk 16:2  And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

Mat 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Joseph’s brothers were not held accountable for their actions against Joseph, but they were required to give an accounting of those actions and acknowledge their sins which God had “worked after the counsel of His own will.” Their time of torment, believing that Joseph might take his revenge upon them at just any moment, is the Old Testament type and shadow of the lake of fire administered upon them by their elect brother.

I hope all these verses and examples have served to demonstrate with the power of God’s own words, what is meant by “work out your own salvation for it is God working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”

Your brother in Christ,
Mike