Heb 9:11-17 “But Christ Being Come an High Priest of Good Things to Come” – Part 5

[Study Aired December 24, 2020]

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 
Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 
Heb 9:15  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 
Heb 9:16  For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 
Heb 9:17  For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Last week’s study discussed the redemption process God’s elect are blessed to go through in this life. The process of redemption and the holiness it produces is something that comes at the expense of our carnal old man being destroyed, meaning our carnal mind that was represented by the forty and six years (4+6=10 number for flesh) that it took to build the temple in Jerusalem. Christ told those of His day, “Destroy this temple…and in three days I will raise it up.” “But he spake of the temple of his body” which we are (1Co 3:16, Rom 12:5) where the new mind of Christ is freely given to those who are called and chosen by God (Heb 9:15) to receive His spirit (Joh 2:19-22, Psa 127:1, 1Co 2:16, Mat 13:11).

Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Joh 2:20  Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
Joh 2:21  But he spake of the temple of his body.
Joh 2:22  When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain [“I will raise it up”].

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

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.

There is no amount of time specified for how long it will take to “destroy this temple” but Christ’s life, which is that temple that we’re talking about, was destroyed at a specific time and paralleled with the oblations and sacrifices which were taken away in the middle of the week in Daniel 9:27. This reminds us of how God’s judgment was taken out of the earth when Christ died, leaving the elect with the other half of Christ’s ministry. It takes our filling up what is behind of His afflictions, symbolized by the second half of that week (Col 1:24), in order to be made ready to be kings and priests. Our lives are judged and made ready through that judgment to rule and reign under our Lord (Isa 26:9), accomplished by the holy spirit. This righteousness learned is the righteousness of the saints which is represented by the fine linen (Rev 19:8) God gives to Christ’s bride “for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready”.

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

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

This thought of Christ raising up the church, “the temple of his body” which we are (1Co 3:16, Eph 2:4-6), introduces the first verse of our study which reads, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.” The building up of the body of Christ is the “greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands” and can only come about by our being granted the power to overcome “trespasses and sins” (Eph 1:1-2, Joh 8:36) which left us dead when “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.” Christ is our example of “being come an high priest of good things to come” by overcoming those powers and principalities. He would later give His disciples the same power, through God’s spirit, to start to overcome (Joh 16:7, Joh 8:36,  Jas 4:7-17). These verses in John 16:7 and John 8:36 explain how we can fulfill these verses in James 4:7-17. It is the most humbling process we are going through (1Pe 4:12), but God tells us to not grow weary of His correction (Pro 3:11) and that nothing is going to separate us from His love if we are being humbled “under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (Rom 8:28, 1Pe 5:6).

Joh 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Jas 4:9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

It is through “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” that we are blessed “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” where we are raised “according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Eph 4:6). It is this love that we have toward one another, supplied by each joint that builds up God’s temple, which witnesses to the world that the “three days I will raise it up” process of judgment the church is going through is something that is being made manifest in the church as He abounds toward us in all wisdom and prudence (Eph 4:16, 1Pe 4:17, Eph 1:8, Eph 3:10).

We are reminded in these verses of Ephesians about the truth that He has “predestinated” us (Eph 1:5, Eph 1:11) “unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” [and it is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom and therefore we are not to fear but rather rejoice that we are being saved through this process that causes us to lose our life but gain the new life of Christ within us (Luk 12:32)].

Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his 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:

We are being saved, or redeemed “through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace^G5485“, and it is that grace or favor that is called the “riches of his grace” because His favor is demonstrated through those who are being chastened and scourged and judged in this age so that we can be “accepted in the beloved” (Eph 1:6). God has “abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself” (Col 1:27). God purposed to make this wisdom and knowledge known or manifest through the church, and it is through the “riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering” that we are able to be led unto repentance, otherwise it would not happen (Eph 3:10-12, Rom 2:4).

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Eph 3:12  In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

“For a testament is of force after men are dead” (of verse 17) is a true statement for God’s elect as well if we see ourselves as dead to sin and alive in Christ (Rom 6:11), which is the only way we should see ourselves (Gal 2:20) being in constant need of “casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2Co 10:5). We can work toward that mark through Christ who makes this all possible as we “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Php 3:14).

God gives the elect great incentives to want to put off the flesh today, working within the body of Christ where His grace is abounding in our lives where sin abounded (Rom 5:20). This is all happening to those who are bound to the altar (Psa 118:27), being those who first trusted in Christ unto the saving of our souls (Heb 10:39, 1Co 10:13). Christ was saved for the elect’s sake, and we are being saved for the world’s sake who are being reserved unto judgment in the lake of fire (2Pe 2:9, 2Pe 3:7). If God is judging us in this age, we are being preserved through His judgments that He does not hold back or reserve against our old man of sin as He will against those who will be judged in the second resurrection.

Rom 5:20  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

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

Heb 10:39  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

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

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:

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

The things that we build and take pride in through this life are represented by that first temple which took forty six years to build (Joh 2:20). It is through the destruction of the fleshly mind of the first Adam represented by that temple that we can become a new creation on a new foundation Jesus Christ. Very few will be blessed to experience this judgment in this lifetime that will result in our seeing “a greater and more perfect tabernacle” formed which is made by the hand of the master Potter (Jer 18:4). It is His vessel, His workmanship that He is cleansing through a lifetime of fiery trials, much tribulation, affliction, persecution, along with chastening, scourging and yes, pruning, represented by the tearing down of that old temple that was made “with hands“, independent of the knowledge that God is sovereign and in control of all things. That first temple we are is not made according to the pattern shown in the mount but is the marred vessel God deemed necessary to fulfill His purpose within us (Exo 25:40, Rom 9:20, Jas 4:14-16).

Exo 25:40  And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

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?

God has made all things through Christ (Col 1:16-17), and is working all things according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). It is God the Father “who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us” who is showing us His love by receiving us through the chastening and scourging of this life (Heb 12:6) which we can endure through Christ (Php 4:13) so that we are no longer “dead in sins” but rather “quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)”. Our goal in this life as God’s elect is to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” knowing that God is able to purge our conscience from all sin and make us “meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2Ti 2:21). By following these commandments of our Lord we can become more “prepared unto every good work” (2Ti 2:21-26).

2Ti 2:21  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work [Mat 20:23, Rev 19:7].
2Ti 2:22  Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2Ti 2:23  But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
2Ti 2:24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

The “good things to come” spoken of in this first verse of our study have already begun to manifest in the lives of those who have God’s holy spirit within them as “the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” (Eph 1:14). Christ is working in us both to will and to do of our Father’s good pleasure (Php 2:13), to make us a “more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building”. Christ himself, who is the author and finisher of our faith, knows how to make this building, this body, this temple, come together as a “whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Heb 12:2, Eph 4:16, Rom 5:5).

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 
Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

Christ’s life was precious in the sight of His Father (1Pe 1:19) who said “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mat 3:17, Joh 1:29). Christ always pleased the Father, and we are told, “He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” Christ was declaring the Father whom we cannot see physically (Heb 11:27) but could see through Christ’s declaration of Him, with His words and actions (Joh 1:18, Joh 14:9-11). Today we are being sent as Christ was sent (Joh 20:21), which is also pleasing to the Father as we declare Christ as lively stones that give witness to the fact that we abide in heavenly places with Christ and our Father (1Pe 2:5, Joh 14:20).

All the “blood of goats and calves” and “the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling” were for our sakes. They were symbolic, ritualistic exercises that are types of Christ who would offer Himself once for the sins of the world. These sacrifices were not able to cleanse the conscience of the one doing the sacrificing, and yet just going through those motions as we did in Babylon made our flesh feel appeased; that somehow we had done something that made us acceptable to God such as taking “the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh” (Luk 18:21-22). We know that nothing we do in our flesh makes us acceptable to God and that we are only accepted through the beloved (Eph 1:6-7). That is the great take away from these verses that we need to hold onto. We are unprofitable servants who have done that which is expected of us (Luk 17:10), both in our immature days as a babe in Christ offering sacrifices to God in the earth, and then becoming a more mature sacrifice to the Lord as we learn that the only sacrifice He is concerned about is our presenting our entire life as a living sacrifice to the glory of God (Rom 12:1-3).

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

The actions of those priests did not have eternal consequences, only earthly consequences that never cleansed the conscience of the one making the offering. When Peter was inspired to say to Christ, “To whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (Joh 6:68), he was speaking above his understanding in declaring what these words tell us: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit (Joh 6:63) offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

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

Heb 9:15  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 

We will “receive the promise of eternal inheritance” if our high priest, Jesus Christ, “is the mediator of the new testament” within us (Col 1:27), giving us the power to lay down our life (Rev 11:3) “that by means of death” both Christ’s death and our being given to die daily and being buried into His death (Rom 6:3-4), we can be redeemed “of the transgressions that were under the first testament“, which represent our own righteousness being shown in all those carnal ordinances we just read about that cannot cleanse our heavens. Those offerings of goats and bulls and heifers were all patterns of what Christ was going to do in the lives of those who were predestined to be bound to the altar in this age so our heavens can be purged of all ungodliness (Heb 9:23, Tit 2:12-13).

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.

Tit 2:12  Teaching 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;

Heb 9:16  For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 
Heb 9:17  For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Christ said this same point with these verses:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Joh 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Let’s look at the last three verses of tonight’s study in the Easy-to-Read version:

Heb 9:15  So Christ brings a new agreement from God to his people. He brings this agreement so that those who are chosen by God can have the blessings God promised, blessings that last forever. This can happen only because Christ died to free people from sins committed against the commands of the first agreement.
Heb 9:16  When someone dies and leaves a will, there must be proof that the one who wrote the will is dead.
Heb 9:17  A will means nothing while the one who wrote it is still living. It can be used only after that person’s death.

With that in mind, we can see that the prophesies in the book of Daniel serve to confirm Christ’s words which were written for the elect to give us encouragement at this time. (Dan 9:25-27, Dan 12:8-13, Joh 16:7, Joh 8:36).

Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem [Think of Jerusalem above, the mother of us all (Gal 4:26)] unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks [69]: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

[‘Troublous times’ is the time of judgment that must come upon all men in their appointed time, and it begins at the house of God, starting with our Saviour whose flesh was judged during a very outwardly troublous time. The outward circumstances reflected what was going on in Christ’s heavens just as God’s elect must endure through perilous times. We are as Christ “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Heb 9:27, 1Pe 4:17, Ecc 7:2, 1Co 15:31, Job 5:7, Isa 53:3, 1Jn 4:17)]

Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks [62] shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

[Christ was cut off at 62 weeks, which represents the foundation or rock that he told Peter the church would be built upon (2×6=12) (Mat 16:18, Joh 12:24). Christ did not sacrifice His life for Himself but for us (“Messiah be cut off, but not for himself” Dan 9:26). Christ made a way for us by being judged in His flesh 69 (Dan 9:25), but it was going into “the holiest of all” which happened when Christ died in the symbolic 62nd week that we then had a high priest who could and can “save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him” (Rom 5:10, Heb 7:25).

The complete ministry of Christ (7) is seen in these numbers as well 69-62=7 notwithstanding God completed this work in Christ so that the greater works than these could be accomplished within the body of Christ starting on Pentecost “For a testament is of force after men are dead” which is why Christ told us “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”. The “much fruit” that is brought forth is the life of Christ being manifest within the church, and Abraham and his one seed is the parable which explains this truth for us that will one day apply to all of God’s creation (Gal 3:16, 1Co 15:22). That holy seed is called to do greater works than Christ as we fill up what is behind of His afflictions “for his body’s sake, which is the church” that one seed that is being used to bring healing to those whom God drags to Christ and His body (Joh 14:12, Col 1:24, Joh 6:44)].

Dan 12:8  And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
Dan 12:9  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end [Luk 10:24].
Dan 12:10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand [2Ti 3:13].
Dan 12:11  And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, [in the midst of the week (Dan 9:27)] and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days [1290].

[This period is a type and shadow of when the man of perdition is realized in our own heavens who must be destroyed by the brightness of His coming through judgment (2Th 2:8)].

Dan 12:12  Blessed is he that waiteth [Rev 20:6, Rev 1:3], and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days [1335].
Dan 12:13  But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

All of these numbers point to the life of Christ and His Christ who are predestined to be in that blessed and holy first resurrection (Rev 20:6), blessed to be judged now in order be those who “first trusted in Christ” (Eph 1:12) “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” [1335-1290=45]. The numbers 4 and 5 when added give us 9, which is why we would be blessed to endure through this period knowing that this judgment must antecede our going onto perfection on the third day if our Father in heaven has determined this to be the case (Mat 20:23).

These are the “good things to come” that “Christ being come an high priest” is able to work in the lives of those who will be blessed to see this verse fulfilled in their lives through Him (Luk 13:32).

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

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

1Co 15:42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

PART I (Aim High) Psa 105:1-8
PART II (Get the big picture) Psa 105:9-15
PART III (Keep your eyes moving) Psa 105:16-22
PART IV (Always have an out) Psa 105:23-37
PART V (Make sure people see you) Psa 105:38-45

PART IV (Always have an out)

Psa 105:23 Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
Psa 105:24 And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.
Psa 105:25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
Psa 105:26 He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.
Psa 105:27 They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
Psa 105:28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.
Psa 105:29 He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.
Psa 105:30 Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.
Psa 105:31 He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.
Psa 105:32 He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
Psa 105:33 He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.
Psa 105:34 He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,
Psa 105:35 And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.
Psa 105:36 He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.
Psa 105:37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

This is the fourth part of our five part study entitled “Oh give thanks unto the LORD” with the subtitle “Always have a way out”. The verses we will look at in this study show us that it is God who sends us into Egypt, which typifies our body of sinful flesh or death, and it is Christ who is our “way out” of the wilderness of sin and the reason we “give thanks unto the LORD” for that deliverance that we know is a life time process of overcoming and enduring until the end.

Psa 107:22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.[Php 4:4] 

Psa 116:17  I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. 

Psa 50:14  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:

Lev 22:29  And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will. 

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 

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.  

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 

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

God likens our thankful spirits to an offering or sacrifice because He knows that in order for us to be truly thankful for what God has done for us, we have to experience the sacrificial life of Christ working within us both “to will and to do of his good pleasure”, as He causes us to put off our flesh, not trusting in ourselves, but through the holy spirit we are given the power to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God through Christ. These are the promises we are to hold fast unto and give thanks to God for (Rev 2:25, 1Co 10:13, Mat 20:23, Jer 49:12, Jer 25:28).

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

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.  [“pay thy vows unto the most High” Act 19:3-5-12, Rom 6:3, Gal 3:27]
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.

We pay our vows to God through Christ into whom we were baptized, and because we are baptized into Christ’s death, we can therefore be a living sacrifice living by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and died for us (Gal 2:20-21).

When we rejoice always in the Lord and give thanks to God for this process of grace to which we have been called, we are in effect not frustrating the grace of God or murmuring as they did in the wilderness.

Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 
Php 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 

Exo 16:2  And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

Num 14:2  And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 

Part of ‘aiming high’ and ‘getting the big picture’ is knowing who we are (1Co 3:16), where we have come from (Hos 11:1, Gal 6:16, 1Jn 4:17), where we are going (Rev 18:4, Php 3:14-15, Rev 11:8), and how we’re going to get there (Php 4:13). God’s word gives us that that vision and paints a picture of stedfast hope through our hope of glory Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith (Col 1:27, Heb 12:2, Joh 18:9). He is the one who has begun a good work in us and will finish it unto the glory of our Father in heaven (Php 1:6, 2Co 4:7, 1Co 2:5). Keeping our eyes on the promises (2Pe 1:4) and not getting distracted by the cares of this world is what we are to help each other do as the body of Christ (1Pe 5:7, Luk 10:36-37, Gen 4:9) and the spirit of God is working within each member, each joint is supplying to that end in love (Eph 4:16), providing vision that we will need, spiritual meat in due season, to build us up so we can lay hold of eternal life “a way out” a narrow way out through Jesus Christ (1Ti 6:12, Mat 7:14). God is faithful and He will always provide a way through Christ so that we can “Always have a way out“.

Psa 105:23 Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

The previous verses (Psa 105:17-22) talked about Joseph as a type of Christ as well as the elect who are given a life of much tribulation in order to cease from sinning and put off the flesh (Act 14:22, 1Pe 4:1). It was Joseph (type of Christ and the elect) as well as Israel (type of the elect) who were marred in the hand of the Potter which is what coming “into Egypt” or sojourning in “the land of Ham” typify.

Light has to come out of darkness, and Christ came to reveal the light of our Father (Joh 17:25-26, Mat 11:27, Rom 8:14-16) as well as demonstrate through that power of the holy spirit which He had without measure (Joh 3:34) that He and we can be more than conquerors through him (Rom 8:37) as we sojourn together out of this world (Rev 18:4, 1Pe 2:9) toward the Kingdom of God that we now have within us in earnest (Luk 17:21, Eph 1:14).

Psa 105:24 And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.

It is God’s people who are given increase from Him and without that increase from God alone who supplies it, we would never be “stronger than” our enemies, but He who is in us is greater than him who is in the world within us, and we are being given victory over our enemies within so that we can fulfill His purpose for us on earth as it is done in heaven. That purpose cannot manifest within the body of Christ unless his judgements are in our earth so we can learn of his righteousness.

1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 
1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 

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 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 
1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 
Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.

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

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?

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

What we have just looked at really demonstrates how we can “Always have a way out” even as we go through an experience of evil that God gives us for our growth and maturing in Him (Ecc 1:12). In other words, we can’t increase unless we are humbled in him and under his mighty hand (1Pe 5:6).

Psa 105:25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.

This verse reminds us that God is sovereign over the hearts of all men “He turned their heart“, and He uses all of His creation for our sakes (2Co 4:15) to mature us in Him (Psa 103:20, Psa 95:4). Christ tells us we will be hated of all men for His name’s sake (Mat 10:22), and that at the end of the age the subtlety of the devil will become more and more evident against His children (Gen 3:1, Mat 24:24, 2Ti 3:13). We need to therefore arm ourselves with the mind of Christ today and not think it strange when these days come upon us (1Pe 4:1, 1Pe 4:12), because our Lord has set them in motion to the glory of our Father who will see us through all that has to transpire for our sakes as it did for Christ (Luk 21:18, 1Jn 4:17, Luk 24:7, 1Co 10:13).

Psa 105:26 He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.

Right after we are told of this persecution which is prophesied to come upon us, we are also told we will “always have a way out” or “but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”, and that way out is typified by “Moses, his servant” and “Aaron whom he had chosen“. This is the most important of all points that can be made in connection with how we are going to be able to endure until the end, and as always it is through Christ and the collective work of the body of Christ that Christ is working within us (Php 2:13). It is a work that is working out together for the good because of God’s love which is being shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 8:28, Rom 5:5) and casting out any fear and doubt so that we can be more than conquerors through our Lord and His body, typified in this verse as Moses and Aaron (1Jn 4:18).

Psa 105:27 They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

Christ is showing us “his signs among them” and His “wonders in the land of Ham”, and all flesh is represented by this land of Ham where Christ witnesses to our gentile flesh within (Col 1:27, Gal 2:2).

God’s elect understand that all these signs and wonders which have been performed only typify the greater work of believing that we can now see and hear the words of our Lord and what the spiritual intent of those signs and wonders mean (Joh 14:12, Joh 6:29, Php 1:29). Those same signs and wonders in the land of the unconverted in Ham are used to keep the world in darkness and looking toward the image of a man on the throne rather than the life of Christ (Mat 24:24, Rev 13:15).

Psa 105:28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.

When we read the following plagues which Moses and Aaron brought upon Egypt, God’s elect see this as something that was needful in our own lives to create the contrast our minds need to see light come out of darkness (1Co 15:46). It is as we just saw in Phillipians 1:29 given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer (through these various plagues) for his sake.

What Israel of old went through was all for our sakes, and it reminds us of the great struggles which we must go through to be freed from the bondage of sin out of which Israel was symbolically leaving as Moses and Aaron continued to turn up the heat provided by plagues that God was giving them the power to bring about.

God is giving us increase today as the body of Christ via those same plagues, represented now by the seven last plagues through which we go ‘is, was and will be’ as we die daily so we can enter into the temple of God where we now spend the rest of our days worshiping our Father and fulfilling His will in spirit and in truth (1Co 15:31, Rev 15:8, Joh 4:23)

Psa 105:29 He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.

Now when we look at these seemingly very negative events in the old covenant, we are blessed to see their “yes” application for us as the body of Christ. 

2Co 1:20  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 

2Co 1:10  Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; 

Turning our waters into blood and taking away our fish is another way of saying the whole stay of bread and water are taken away, and God uses this famine in the land of His people to bring us to our wits’ end so that we cry out for those living waters that can heal us (Luk 15:17).

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, 

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 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Psa 105:30 Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.

The false prophets within must be destroyed, and our land brings forth frogs at its appointed time as God causes us to be deceived. Once those chambers are discovered to be false Christ’s then the experience benefits us as those frogs become meat for us.

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.

Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

1Ti 4:4  For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 
1Ti 4:5  For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

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:

Psa 105:31 He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.

Exodus 8:21-31 explains why God sent these flies and lice “in all their coasts“. These stinging, biting and disease-carrying insects would represent the sin in our members which God can cause to manifest (2Ti 3:13, Amo 3:6, Isa 45:7), and God alone can destroy (Joh 8:36). The flies are air born like the powers and principalities against which we wrestle (Eph 6:12-13), and the lice are throughout all the land of Egypt as is all sin that dwells in our members (Rom 7:23, Jer 22:29, 1Jn 1:8). The reason these plagues were sent upon Pharaoh, who typifies Satan who has control of our land when we are under his control (Rom 6:16), was so that he would not deal deceitfully any more “but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD”.

Exo 8:16  And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

Exo 8:29  And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. 

Psa 105:32 He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.

The next plague which we must endure is the “hail for rain” and the “flaming fire in their land”.

The hail wipes away the refuge of lies in our hearts. The positive use of hail destroying flesh is when the early harvest of barley which represents Christ was bruised. It pleased the Father to bruise Christ for our sakes (Isa 53:10). Notice it says “the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up” right after it speaks of the flax and barley being smitten, revealing that it is only when we are matured and made ready that God can pour out the heavier trials upon us which will wipe away the refuge of lies within us, causing us to fill up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ’s suffering, typified as the barley that was bruised and destroyed by hail.

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 

Exo 9:31  And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
Exo 9:32  But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.  

Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

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:

Isa 52:14  As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

“Flaming fire in their land” and “hail for rain” are paired together to remind us the dream is one (Gen 41:32) and that God’s word which can be likened to rain or fire will destroy and burn up everything which can be burned up or destroyed so there is nothing left. The hardness of our hearts is revealed in the idea of it being hail sent and not soft rain, as God answers us according to the idols of our hearts, so if we think of God as a hard man, His word will come to us and destroy the refuge of lies within us with hard hail, and that destruction of our old man is our salvation, just as the fire by which God says we will be saved (1Co 3:15).

Gen 41:32  And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 

Mat 25:24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 

Psa 105:33 He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.

Now the symbols of our faith and spiritual prosperity in the land are being smote when God references “their vines also and their fig trees” (Joh 15:5, Mic 4:4, Mat 24:32-35). So the signs of the end of our age, the abomination of desolation within us, is connected to the fig tree and how Christ deals with the vine and the fig tree. If Christ is in us, that fig tree is being pruned and showing signs of budding and bringing forth fruit (Joh 15:2), whereas if we are not connected to the vine which represents Christ (Mat 24:32, Mat 21:19), then the fig tree is cursed because it cannot bring forth any fruit if it is not connected to Christ (Joh 15:5).

The “trees of their coasts” represent those things which have been established, but in the earth and not in the heavens, spoken of as “the trees of their coasts”. Man’s entitled heart lays claim to all the things which belong to God, and they need to be taken away and only given back after we acknowledge that everything which we have has been given to us by our benevolent Father who owns it all and who has the right to give and take away and to make a vessel of honor or dishonor as it pleases Him (Psa 50:10, Job 1:21, Rom 9:21).

Psa 105:34 He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,

Moses spoke as God’s servant and typifies an earlier version of the angels in Revelation 16 who pour out “…the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth” (Rev 16:1).

When God destroys something in our earth, He does so in a very systematic and thorough way, “by little and little” (Exo 23:30) which is how His goodness is revealed within those in whom he is working in this age (Psa 33:5, Rom 2:4).

In this case, after the hail and fire and destruction of vines, fig trees and trees, God goes after whatever remains with two symbolic creatures that attack, one from the heavens and the other from the ground without number, just as the earlier example of flies and lice.

What we must ask our Father to help us remember is that we can “always have a way out” not to escape the trial, but to endure through it and see and understand and accept the good in it (1Co 10:13, Pro 3:11, Heb 12:5).

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

Pro 3:11  My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
Pro 3:12  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

Psa 105:35 And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.

The purpose behind the locust and caterpillers is to take away “all the herbs in their land” and to devour “the fruit of their ground”.

God destroys the herbs in their land and the fruit of their ground to remind us that these herbs and fruits must not be the only thing being produced in our lives. When we glory in that which God does through us, or are of Paul or Apollos (1Co 4:7, 1Co 3:4), our land is cursed because we are still babes giving suck and not able to receive the strong meat that we need to mature us for the heavier trials of this life which are promised to come (Mat 24:19, Mar 4:17, 1Co 3:3). So God gets our attention and takes away even what we thought we had so that, God willing, we repent and receive the counsel given to us in (Mat 25:29, Rev 2:5, Rev 3:3). We may diligently give our whole life in non-meat like issues, as far as God is concerned, leaving us as babes [tithe of mint and anise and cummin] as a result of neglecting the meatier or weightier matters of the law, which are represented by judgment, mercy, and faith (Mat 23:23). There is a very sobering message connected to this eating of herbs and devouring of fruit of their ground.

Psa 105:36 He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.

The culmination of all these plagues which occurred for our sakes (2Co 4:15) is explained in this verse that speaks of how God “smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength“. If our Father did not do this, we would never be able to say that we “always have an out” a way to endure and go through the temptation that we must resist unto the shedding of blood through Christ our saviour (1Co 10:13, Heb 12:4, Joh 12:24, Rom 5:10).

God takes away “the firstborn in their land” “the chief of all their strength” and use the life of Reuben, who was the first born of Jacob as a type of our first perverse earthly and sensual spiritual relationship with the church who is supposed to be our mother, Jerusalem above (Gen 49:3, Gen 35:22, Gal 4:26). God determined from the foundation of the world who his first fruits, the “firstborn in their land”, would be. We become the first born in God’s kingdom only because God has shown mercy to us by smiting that part of us which wanted to have preeminence among the brethren, and he destroys that spirit in us and takes away “the chief of all their strength” from within us so that we become of the generation who have no confidence in the flesh and see His strength made perfect through our weakness (Php 3:3, 2Co 12:9).

Psa 105:37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

This last verse of our study plays well into the thought that we “always have an way out” and that we ought to always “give thanks unto the LORD” for making that provision, just as he did for Israel by having the Egyptians spoil them with this very symbolic “silver and gold” (Exo 12:36, Luk 1:28). The end result of all the plagues they endured along with the Egyptians, who were “glad when they departed”, was the bread that was brought about by the destruction of all the giants in their land through those plagues (Num 14:9). The silver represents the repentance of our life as we ‘come out of her my people’, and the gold is the righteousness of Christ which is forged through the fiery trials that were endured through the gift of His ointment and salve that made that possible (Rev 3:18).

Not one of us will be a “feeble person among their tribes” is speaking of the spiritual condition in which the Lord is going to have the bride of Christ, once she has made herself ready by the grace and faith of God.

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

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at our last part of our study as we look at why it is so critical that we “make sure that people see you” in this life in the way which Christ would have us be lights in this world.

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Psa 105:38 Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them. 
Psa 105:39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night. 
Psa 105:40 The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 
Psa 105:41 He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.
Psa 105:42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. 
Psa 105:43 And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:
Psa 105:44 And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people; 
Psa 105:45 That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD. 

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 79

“The judgments” Part J

May 29th, 2015

We have covered many of the “judgments” the Lord gave to Moses to give to the Israelites and now we have arrived at the “first fruit judgment”.

This is an important judgment because it signifies to us that the Lord considers the first fruit very important.

On the surface it may seem like a straight forward judgment, but as we look into the words given to us to obey, and weigh them against the sum of the Word, we will notice some interesting spiritual applications that apply to us all today.

The First Fruit

Exo 22:29  Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
Exo 22:30  Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

When we cover the different “types” of first fruits mentioned in these verses, we will notice there are similarities and differences between each “type” of first fruit.

The first similarity is between the ripe fruits and the liquors. With these two groups, there is no delay to offer them to the Lord. These first fruits are things which are from the earth and are grown, cultivated and “driven” from the earth.

The second similarity is between the firstborn of the sons, oxen and sheep. These three types are all beasts and are things which are “born”, but fruits of the earth are also things that go through a dying process in order to bring forth life and the “next fruit” after its kind.

The first group is offered AFTER it has matured, while the second group referenced as beasts, is offered before it is even off its mother’s milk.

Let’s look at the first group and see what some of the important attributes of it are.

So important is the “first fruit of the land” to the Lord! I am going to read out of Deuteronomy and ask you to pay attention to who was FIRST to be established by the works the Lord had done.

Deu 26:1  And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;
Deu 26:2  That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.
Deu 26:3  And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.
Deu 26:4  And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
Deu 26:5  And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:
Deu 26:6  And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
Deu 26:7  And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:
Deu 26:8  And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:
Deu 26:9  And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deu 26:10  And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:
Deu 26:11  And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

Notice that it is the GREAT nation of Egypt which the Lord established in order to SACRIFICE them so that the “kind of firstfruits” could be established.

Mar 4:26  And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
Mar 4:27  And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
Mar 4:28  For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
Mar 4:29  But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

It is SEED that is cast INTO THE GROUND which must happen in order that LIFE can happen.

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

Egypt is an earlier form and type of Babylon, and Babylon is the physical representation of the SPIRITUAL Babylon we all must partake of in order to be ‘CALLED OUT OF HER”.

Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

We all are the kind of first fruits which must first partake of the FIRST FRUIT in order to be given life, but WHAT HAPPENS to the FIRST FRUIT?

The first fruit is sacrificed.

It is the first fruit of the land which is offered/sacrificed so that the Lord continues to bless the REST of the fruit that comes in.

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.

Egypt is sacrificed so that the nation of Israel can be born. Physical Babylon is sacrificed so that the remnant of Israelites could be saved.

That pattern continues on so that Jews were converted to Christians and then sacrificed so that the early church could be established. The early church was given over to an apostate mindset so that the true people of God could immerge and continue to serve him.

We are told to “come out of her my people” because we are to see OURSELVES as what we are being CALLED out of! Yes, we start off AS BABYLON (being babes in Jesus Christ) so that the Lord can call us out of spiritual Babylon which calls us her home.

You may be asking yourself how it is I can be comparing Jesus Christ to Egypt or Babylon? How can I be saying that Jesus Christ is a first fruit like Egypt and Babylon? One is a negative application and the other is a positive, but Jesus Christ contained both within Himself.

The difference with Jesus Christ and the rest of all of humanity is that He contains the is, was and will be of the WHOLE SUM of the PLAN of God.

Here is who Jesus Christ is.

Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Rev 1:19  Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

Rev 2:8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Rom 11:16  For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

With Jesus Christ’s own words He claims to be the FIRST and the LAST.

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

Jesus Christ had to deal with the first man Adam as well as the LAST man Adam because Jesus Christ was BORN as a son of man as well as a Son of God.

Jesus Christ SACRIFICED the first so that the LAST could be given LIFE.

Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

At the beginning of this study I stated, “The first similarity is between the ripe fruits and the liquors. With these two groups, there is no delay to offer them to the Lord. They are things which are from the earth and are grown, cultivated and “driven” from the earth.”

When the process the Lord has put in place is complete, He demands we give Him back what He alone has caused to come to fruition.

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.

The Greek word used here to “bringeth forth” reveals a lot about this spiritual process.

G5342

pherō̄

Total KJV Occurrences: 63

bring, 17

Mat_14:18, Mat_17:17, Mar_7:32, Mar_8:22, Mar_9:19, Mar_12:15, Luk_15:22-23 (2), Joh_15:2, Joh_15:16, Joh_18:29, Joh_21:10, 2Ti_4:13, 2Pe_2:11, 2Jo_1:10, Rev_21:24, Rev_21:26

brought, 17

Mat_14:11 (2), Mar_1:32, Mar_4:8, Mar_6:27-28 (2), Mar_9:17, Mar_9:20, Mar_12:16, Luk_5:18, Joh_4:33, Joh_19:39, Act_4:34, Act_4:37, Act_5:2, Act_14:13, 1Pe_1:13

bear, 4

Luk_23:26, Joh_2:8, Joh_15:4, Joh_15:8

bringing, 3

Mar_2:3, Luk_24:1, Act_5:16

came, 3

2Pe_1:17-18 (2), 2Pe_1:21

beareth, 2

Joh_15:2 (2)

bringeth, 2

Joh_12:24, Joh_15:5

reach, 2

Joh_20:27 (2)

bare, 1

Joh_2:8

bearing, 1

Heb_13:13

carry, 1

Joh_21:18

driven, 1

Act_27:17

endure, 1

Heb_12:20

endured, 1

Rom_9:22

forth, 1

Mar_4:8

go, 1

Heb_6:1

laid, 1

Act_25:7

leadeth, 1

Act_12:10

moved, 1

2Pe_1:21

rushing, 1

Act_2:2

upholding, 1

Heb_1:2-3 (2)

Here are a few of these verses examined a little closer. There is a common theme running through all of these verses.

1Pe 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Joh 15:8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Luk 23:26  And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

Joh 2:8  And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
Joh 2:9  When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
Joh 2:10  And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
Joh 2:11  This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

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.

2Pe 1:17  For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

2Pe 1:21  For the prophecy came NOT in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Joh 21:18  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

Act 27:17  Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.
Act 27:18  And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

It is the Lord Himself who is GLORIFIED by what the LORD HIMSELF does to bring about FRUIT of the EARTH. Just like there is a heaven and earth, they will pass away and in their stead will be a “new heavens and a new earth.”

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

He also requires the FRUIT of the SPIRIT which comes forth from this new SPIRITUAL earth.

Grace is brought, we bear fruit, we bear the cross, we bear the good wine, we bear no fruit of ourselves, a voice came saying this is my Son, prophecy comes via the Holy Ghost, bearing His reproach happens because we are driven outside the camp, we are carried where we don’t want to go, and we are “driven in a boat we have no control over” because it is all being worked out but the counsel of His own will and His own will ALONE.

These are among the reasons why the Lord requires the first fruit “of the land”. Whether a negative or positive application is applied, whether good or evil is caused, it is the Lord ALONE who will work it all out to be GOOD for US!

Gen 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

The Lord wants the maturity of the “fruit” He has caused to happen to be His because it is all His work. When we claim a part of it as our works, then we have sinned in our self-righteousness.

Those are the first fruits of the land, but in order for this process to happen spiritually, the Lord wants us to understand that this is a process that happens and doesn’t happen “overnight”.

The “beasts” have 7 days to go through the complete process of judgment before the new man can be born on the 8th day.

Conclusion

How we can take these sets of the first fruit judgments found in Exodus 22:29-30 and apply them to our lives is that no matter the situation we find ourselves in, no matter the circumstances we are dealing with, the Lord is the one who has already caused the wind to blow to direct your sails before your ever started sailing.

The Lord has already caused you to be “coming out of the country” like Simon the Cyrenian was, so that you can bear the cross of Jesus.

Indeed, the Lord has bid you to the marriage supper of the Lamb so that it can be you who is able to “bear the miracle wine of the Lord” to the “Governor” ruling the hearts and minds of the folks you are being sent to.

Whatever the daily ins and outs of our lives entail, the Lord will redeem the soul of His servants.

Psa 34:22  The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Video Links

Job 24:14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

Job 24:15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.

Job 24:16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

Job 24:17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

Job 24:18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

Job 24:19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

Job 24:20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

Job 24:21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.

Job 24:22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

Job 24:23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.

Job 24:24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

Job 24:25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

Introduction

In our last study Job, the Old Testament type of us while we are being judged, was still attempting to understand the principle revealed in “the parable of the tares of the field”.

Mat 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

We saw that “the time of harvest” is the same as “the day of the Lord” which is the judgment which comes first upon the house of God.

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?

The burning of the tares “first” is the judgment which begins at the house of God. In fact Peter calls this day of judgment which must “first begin at us” a time of “fiery trial which is to try [ us].”

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:

So ‘trials’ and ‘judgment’ are the same in the scriptures just as they are in the natural realm. All legal trials are held before a judge, whose charge is to seek and reveal the Truth. In doing so, it is incumbent upon the guilty to “give an accounting” of what he has done. Then it is the charge of every righteous judge to render his judgment which is intended to make things right which have not been right.

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

Job is the Old Testament type of us as God’s elect. But the story of Job begins while God’s elect are still in Babylon, being physically blessed while under the strong delusion of such false doctrines as the prosperity gospel, and while we are still under the blinders of our own self- righteousness, just before our judgment begins.

Here is Job while he is “at ease in Zion” (Amo 6:1).

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

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.

Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Job 1:2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

Job 1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Just like those who are “at ease in Zion”, as Job we “put far away the evil day [ thereby] causing the seat of violence to come near”.

Amo 6:3 Ye [ Job, the type of you and me] that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

We all strive to become comfortable in this life, before we seek to be judged by our Creator.

Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

What Job reveals to us of ourselves is that we just naturally fear the day of judgment, and we just naturally “put far away the evil day”. In doing so we “treasure up to ourselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God“.

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.

Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

The message of this book of Job is an expanded version of the judgment of Babylon within us which is mentioned in the last of the seven plagues:

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 14 has already informed us that this “cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath” is “the hour of His judgment… [ it is] the fall of Babylon… [ it is] the smoke of [ our] torment”, and then this same chapter informs us that all of this comprises “the patience of the saints, [ and] the keeping of the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus”. Let’s read those verses and understand what we are reading:

Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

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

“Her fornication” is the occasion which God is seeking to pour out on Babylon within us, “the wrath of God”. So “the wrath of God” and “the wrath of her fornication” are one and the same, as is made clear in the seventh plague of Rev 16:19:

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. [“the wrath of her fornication”]

The last part of Rev 14 informs us that all of this takes place at “the [ time of the] harvest of the earth”.

Rev 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

Rev 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

Rev 14:16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

Rev 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

Rev 14:18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

Rev 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

So now we know that the harvest, the burning of the tares, the separating of the sheep from the goats, the wrath of God on Job (in type) and on us (in spiritual reality), and the day of the Lord, are one and all the “day of judgment” and “the patience of the saints… and the faith of Jesus” (Rev 14:12) which must come upon all men of all time, “each in his own order… beginning first at the house of God” (1Co 15:23, 1Pe 4:17, Mat 4:4, 1Co 3:21-22, and Rev 1:3).

This is the principle revealed to us in the parable of the tares which we, as Job, could not understand at that time in our walk. So we, as Job, ask why God would not lay folly to those who were so guilty of that folly. Not only do we ask why God does “not lay folly to them”, we also ask why he even goes as far as to bless that folly and those men of such foolishness, while cursing our old man.

Job actually answers his own question, but because he is incapable of applying his answer to himself, his great knowledge just puffs him up and is of no personal application or value. After all, Job is a man of great integrity in his own mind.

Here is his own answer to the reason God is blessing Job’s enemies while cursing Job:

Job 24:23 Though it be given him [“the sinner” vs. 19] to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his [ God’s] eyes are upon their ways.

Job 24:24 They are exalted for a little while [ the sinner], but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

This has great personal application for us all because:

Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

Job’s entire experience reveals to us that we are first very offended with God’s ways and His way of thinking. Here is what God Himself tells us about our own natural way of thinking:

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Eze 18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

Has God given us, like King David, to see that ‘We are the man’ who has done all these things?

Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God [ God’s chastening] leadeth thee [ that would be me and you] to repentance?

Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;[“The sword shall not depart from [ our] house”]

Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

But as typified by Job, we see none of these spiritual truths, and we simply do not yet “know God or His Son”. Consequently we do not yet know what “life eternal” is.

Job 23:3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!

Job 23:8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:

Job 23:9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

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

But until that day of coming to know God arrives, as it is written in our book, we continue to complain to God of His unequal ways (Eze 18:25), and for treating us as if we were sinners.

Job 24:14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

The previous verse told us that the wicked despise the light of day:

Job 24:13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

“The light” exposes the murderer and the thief for what they are. So “they… rebel against the light”. “They” are of their father the devil, and it is His works which they will do. It is always first “they”, and at first it is never you or me.

So what does this “thief” do?

Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

“The thief” who is first [ our] “father the devil”, is not capable of revealing our beastly nature to us, and he has no desire to have us to “suffer loss” so we can be “saved… by fire”, which is the very purpose and function of this whole story of Job.

Instead this is what our self- righteousness produces within us:

Job 24:15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.

Job 24:16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

This is the perfect description of what we, as typified by King David’s adultery and murder, have done within our own lives, when we question “the goodness” of our Lord which “leads [ us] to repentance”. King David “waited for the twilight, saying, No man shall see me”, and when he was doing that he “knew not the light”, all the while considering himself to be the king and the representative of that light. Job’s self- righteousness has within us the very same end. We “reprove, contend with, and condemn” God (Job 40:1-8). This is what Job, the type of our own “old man” does:

Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God [Psa 107:21-31] leadeth thee to repentance?

It is God who has made us to err and hardened our hearts from His fear (Isa 63:17), yet we are not even aware of what we are doing. It is actually in our Job- like self- righteousness that we, like King David, act like this:

Job 24:17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

“If one know them” refers to the murderer, the thief, and the adulterer of verses 14-15. It was God’s own people who killed Uriah and Christ. In other words, it is you and me who have done that. It is we who have been the murderer, the thief and the adulterer, and God is justified when He judges us and determines that our old man is not worthy of life, but his destruction is the fit channel through which our new man will be born. Christ knew the murderer, the thief and the adulterer within us all, and indeed He was “in the terrors of the shadow of death”.

Here is how the holy spirit describes what “the terrors of the shadow of death” worked within Christ:

Mat 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Here is Luke’s version of Christ while He was “in the terrors of the shadow of death”:

Luk 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

So Job, as the Old Testament type of us, continues to lament the unimpeded blessings of the wicked. At the very same time, he is granted to understand that those blessings of the wickedness we commit in this life are temporal, while our future destruction is just as certain as our present blessings, and that destruction is permanent.

Psa 92:6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.

Psa 92:7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:

Here is the fulfilling of that principle of letting the tares grow with the wheat “until the time of the harvest”, at which time, the tares are gathered first and are cast into the fire to be burned.

Job 24:18 He [ the wicked, our old man] is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

Job 24:19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

Job 24:20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

“He is swift as the waters” refers back to the murderer, the thief, and the adulterer of verses 14 and 15. “He knows not the way of the vineyards”, alludes to the fact that the murderer, the thief and the adulterer within us preys upon the efforts of others who labor to bring forth fruit.

“The drought and heat” are the judgments that brings our old man to “the grave”.

Here is what happens in the time of the harvest, when the time finally arrives for “their portion [ to be] cursed in the earth”:

Psa 37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Psa 69:22 Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare [ the blessing of our old man], let it become a trap.

The phrase “as the fat of lambs” demonstrates the principle upon which God operates. This is the very principle which is so frustrating to Job. It infuriates Job, who is the type and shadow of us, that God literally blesses our old man while persecuting our new man. Here is that very principle revealed in the book of Genesis. Remember, Ishmael is the son of the bondwoman. He is the type and shadow of God’s rejected anointed, carnal seed of Abraham, and this is what God tells us of this type of our own rejected anointed seed of Abraham, our old man:

Gen 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

Ishmael became “a great nation”, long before Isaac’s seed became a mere 70 souls whose descendants became the slaves of the Egyptians. Ishmael’s descendants had multiple cities and a capital before the type of the new man even began to flourish. The same is true of the next type of God’s rejected anointed, seed of Abraham, who was Esau. Esau also became a great nation, before Israel ever began to flourish. Esau met Jacob with 400 men from his nation which was called Edom, a name for Esau.

Gen 36:1 Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

Gen 36:19 These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.

So it is God Himself who blesses our old man and makes him a great nation within us, while at the very same time outwardly persecuting and subduing the new man within us, just as our Savior was killed by His own people, but was resurrected from among the dead to become the victor over the old man within us all.

This is what Job cannot yet receive. Job, the type of us, thinks that outward works are sufficient to please God, but being the physical seed of Abraham and being outwardly circumcised does not change the heart of anyone. Isaac is the Old Testament type of those who are supernaturally born of God’s spirit. Those who are not born by the will of man, but are circumcised in their hearts, in the spirit, are “as Isaac was, the children of promise.”

Gen 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

Gen 17:22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

Gen 17:23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

Here is Paul’s commentary on these verses of Gen 17:

Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren [ Gentile Galatians, you and me], as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

Gal 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

So now we know what God is doing with Job, the type of us, as we are being judged and as we are coming to see that it is God who blesses our old man who is the enemy of our new man.

Job continues his description of his enemies, not yet aware that these enemies are one and all within himself, and are hiding behind the giant of self- righteousness of which we, as Job was, are completely unaware.

Job 24:21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.

Job 24:22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

Job 24:23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.

Job 24:24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

“Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he rests”, is the revelation of this same principle at work. It is God who blesses our old man, while persecuting and killing our new man. “Yet His eyes are upon their ways. They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low, [ and] are taken out of the way as all other.

Now Job poses this question:

Job 24:25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

It is given to our self- righteous old man to see many of the principles upon which God operates. The very last thing any of us sees is that the worst enemy we have in this age is not anyone without, but is that beast we face each morning in the mirror. Like Job and like King David, we see the moat in our brother’s eye, but we cannot see the massive beam of self- righteousness within ourselves.

But God does see that massive beam, and it is the fuel for a great fire to be kindled within us, as it was in King David, and as it was in Job.

Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou [ God] mightest be justified when thou speakest [ the Truth of God’s sovereign judgments in all things], and be clear when thou judgest.

Here is where this verse is quoted in the New Testament. Here is the answer to Job’s question, “Who will make me a liar?”:

Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings [ God’s judgments], and [ we] mightest overcome when thou [ and I] art judged [ by God].

Paul is quoting Psa 51:4 where David is confessing that God is indeed justified in sending the sword upon his house for the sin he committed in going after another man’s wife, killing that man and acting for nine long months as if he had done nothing wrong.

Here was the sin of King David, here is the sin of Job, and here is our sin:

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.

The solution to this lukewarm, self- righteous condition (Rev 2:14-15) is to “buy of me gold tried in the fire”, and that “gold tried in the fire” for King David and for us all, is this blessed gift from our loving heavenly Father, articulated here in 2Sa 12. That “gold tried in the fire” is our heavenly Father’s free gift, and He is justified in judging us thusly:

2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

As always, anything that is bad news for our old man is good news for our new man. It is the greatest blessing ever given to the penitent “new man” when it is granted to us that “the sword… never departs from [ our] house”.

The way you and I ‘kill Uriah and take his wife to cover our sins’ is by settling for being half- hearted in our service to our Lord instead of “saving alive nothing that breathes” of the giants like self- righteousness which are just naturally within our own lives (Deu 20:16). It is by reproving God for judging us instead of confessing that it is we who have lied to ourselves concerning our own corrupt, self- righteous spiritual condition. “[ We] art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”, and we think we are “rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing”.

Deu 20:16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

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.

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

When we maintain our own righteousness, we are making God a liar, because God tells us that He is our righteousness.

Jer 51:10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

It has not yet happened but we will get to the point where Job will acknowledge his own sad condition and will accept with gratitude the wonderful works of God within his life. But this takes a divine intervention within the lives of us all.

Once again we will jump ahead to see exactly where it is we are headed:

Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,

Job 40:2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,

Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.

Job 40:5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Job 40:6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

Job 40:7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Next week, If the Lord wills, we will hear Bildad’s last feeble attempt to point his own self- righteous finger at Job. Because it is such a feeble attempt, we will also hear a little of Job’s self- righteous answer as he demonstrated that he too, can point his finger at Bildad.

Job 25:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

Job 25:2 Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places.

Job 25:3 Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?

Job 25:4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

Job 25:5 Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.

Job 25:6 How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?

Job 26:1 But Job answered and said,

Job 26:2 How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?

Job 26:3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?

Job 26:4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

Job 26:5 Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.

Job 26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.