The Book of Romans, Part 23 – Continuing Down the Romans Road to Salvation

[Study Aired December 26, 2023]

Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. 
Rom 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 
Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 
Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 
Rom 10:12  For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 
Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

As we continue our study of Romans in chapter 10, it is crucial to frame our review within the broader context of the relationship between Christ’s teachings, as articulated especially in Matthew chapter 5, and the reflections of Paul in Romans 1-9. Christ addresses the essence of the law, emphasizing its continuity and fulfillment through His arrival. This sets the stage for a shift from a mere physical adherence to the law towards a deeper, spiritual worship. Paul, in his writings in Romans 1-9, lays the groundwork by unraveling the universal predicament of mankind’s sinfulness and the insufficiency of observance of the law of Moses for justification. Both Christ and Paul converge on the theme of righteousness exceeding mere external compliance and underscore the transformative power of faith, paving the way for a spiritual understanding of worship that transcends ritualistic traditions.

Against this backdrop, Romans chapter 10 emerges as a pivotal segment in Paul’s discourse. This chapter serves as a bridge between the foundational principles established in the preceding chapters and the practical implications of faith in Christ. In Romans 10, we witness Paul delving into the significance of faith in salvation and the proclamation of the Gospel. As we review the verses of this chapter, it is essential to discern how Paul’s teachings align with Christ’s call for an inward transformation and the surpassing righteousness that comes through faith. Together, Matthew 5 and Romans 1-9 provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the profound shifts that underscore the transition from a legalistic, physical worship to a spiritual worship grounded in the redemptive work of Christ.

The following is a comparison between Christ’s teachings and Paul’s teachings.

The Purpose of the Law and Fulfillment

Matthew 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 

Rom 2:12-16 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Gal 3:21-25 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

How is the law fulfilled?

Rom 13:8-10 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Jas 2:8-10 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Internal Righteousness

Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.

Circumcision of the Heart

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The Universality of Sin

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

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

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Transformation of the Heart

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Rom 5:8-10 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

The Call to Perfection and Holiness

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Romans 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

In Jesus’ teachings, a recurring theme emerges, emphasizing not the nullification but the fulfillment of God’s laws. This aligns with Paul’s insights in Romans, where he conveys the concept of judgment, asserting that everyone, irrespective of their familiarity with God’s laws, will face judgment. This means it’s not just about understanding God’s laws, but actually putting them into action. This idea matches with what Jesus talks about when He discusses doing what is right. Moreover, when Jesus talks about nurturing a pure heart, this goes along with Paul’s discussion on the necessity of an internal spiritual transformation, indicating a complete change within our inner man. Both narratives underscore that authentic righteousness surpasses external adherence to rules and necessitates a genuine transformation of the heart. Paul’s assertion that faith in Jesus is crucial for alignment with God parallels with Jesus’s commentary of excelling in following God’s laws. These narratives converge on a central message of living out faith, prompting a change in both heart and conduct. The call for perfection by Jesus and Paul’s encouragement to pursue righteousness and holiness through faith, collectively point toward a changing pattern — a transition from adherence to a physical law to an embrace of a spiritual law. Lastly, the all-encompassing theme of love, particularly for those who may not reciprocate it, underscores a unified lesson on faith, virtue, and compassion, implying a profound transformation from a law rooted in physical observance to one grounded in a spiritual understanding.

Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Paul is restating his hope for his “kinsmen in the flesh”. He knows that in the ages to come they will be saved but he desires them to repent of the old and accept the new now if the Lord wills.

Rom 9:3-5 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Rom 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 
Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Who shall ascend up to heaven? Who shall descend into the deep? We do not have to go anywhere to find Christ. If you are Christ’s, then He is dwelling within you.

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

Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek according to the flesh. We are all sinners and must be changed in order to enter into the kingdom of God.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Joh 3:3-8 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

Going back to an earlier study in Romans discussing the doctrine of “The Romans’ Road”. We now have seen all the verses involved in this doctrine. Here are the verses.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

All we have to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and we shall be saved. Of course, I speak as a fool if you take this in the literal sense. What is “calling upon the name of the Lord?” Our way of life is how we call upon the name of the Lord. Christ in us will cause us to walk differently than the rest of mankind. We will lay down our lives for each other, which is the ultimate sacrifice. The trouble with this doctrine is they truly do not believe that everyone will call upon the Lord and be saved. The scriptures say differently.

Isa 45:23-25 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

As we know this is all done in its proper order.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 2:9-11 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.

1Co 15:20-26 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Gospels In Harmony, Part 138 – The Eighth Day We Become New Creatures

Mark 16:14 Luke 24:31-43 and John 20:19-31

[Study Aired May 9, 2023]

Luke 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 
Luke 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? 
Luke 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 
Luke 24:34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. 
Luke 24:35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Luke 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
Luke 24:38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Mark 16:14b and (he) upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
John 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Luke 24:41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
Luke 24:42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
Luke 24:43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 
John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was arrested and sentenced to death by crucifixion by the Roman authorities, with the support of the Jewish leaders who felt threatened by His teachings. Jesus was stripped, beaten, and mocked before being nailed to a cross, where he died after several hours. His body was taken down and placed in a tomb, which was sealed with a large stone.

On the third day, Jesus’ tomb was found to be empty, and He appeared to the women first, then to His disciples. He had risen from the dead, fulfilling the prophecies, demonstrating His divine nature. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has triumphed over sin and death, providing a path to salvation for all who believe in Him.

Now Thomas tells the disciples that he would not believe them until he “touched” Jesus. In a previous study we saw that Christ could not be “touched” until he had ascended to the Father, showing us there is a proper order of salvation. Having ascended to the Father, Christ now sits on the right hand of God and was given all power and authority to rule “the elect” of the kingdom of God. Christ is now opening the eyes of his disciples. 

Luke 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 
Luke 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? 
Luke 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 
Luke 24:34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. 
Luke 24:35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

Jesus opened their eyes and vanished out of their sight. At this time the disciples do not understand the significance of His vanishing. They still believed the kingdom of God being set up on the earth was imminent. Their eyes being opened was only the beginning of many years of coming to understand Christ’s true message of ruling the things of the spirit and not the things of the flesh.

1Co 15:35-44 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

Continuing with our verses. 

John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Luke 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
Luke 24:38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Mark 16:14b and (he) upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

What is Christ’s meaning when he says “spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have”? Is Christ contradicting what Paul said in Corinthians 15? Christ is not contradicting Paul. At this point the disciples are not able to understand the “things of the spirit.” We all have to experience the flesh before we can experience the spirit.

1Co 15:42-50 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Why would Christ “upbraid them” if he knew they would not believe.

Mark 16:14b and (he) upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

He did this to show the elect of God that it is through much tribulation we enter into the kingdom.

Acts 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Christ tries again to get them to believe. They still will not believe.

Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
John 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Luke 24:41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
Luke 24:42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
Luke 24:43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Now Thomas, doubting Thomas as he is nicknamed, definitely does not believe Christ is risen from the dead.

John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 
John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus Christ was arrested, sentenced to death by crucifixion, and buried in a tomb. On the third day, His tomb was found empty, and He appeared to His disciples, showing them the wounds on his hands and side. Although initially afraid and unsure, the disciples recognized Jesus and were overjoyed. He ate with them, opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and gave them the Holy Spirit to empower them to spread the good news of his resurrection. Even Thomas, who initially doubted, eventually saw and believed. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus conquered sin and death and provided a way for all who believe in him to have eternal life.

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

[Study Aired May 14, 2022]

Jer 38:1  Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
Jer 38:2  Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
Jer 38:3  Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.
Jer 38:4  Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
Jer 38:5  Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
Jer 38:6  Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
Jer 38:7  Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
Jer 38:8  Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying,
Jer 38:9  My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
Jer 38:10  Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
Jer 38:11  So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
Jer 38:12  And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
Jer 38:13  So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Jer 38:14  Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
Jer 38:15  Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
Jer 38:16  So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
Jer 38:17  Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
Jer 38:18  But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
Jer 38:19  And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.
Jer 38:20  But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
Jer 38:21  But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:
Jer 38:22  And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.
Jer 38:23  So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
Jer 38:24  Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
Jer 38:25  But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
Jer 38:26  Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.
Jer 38:27  Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
Jer 38:28  So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.

The first verse of this chapter names the four princes who are now seeking the death of the Lord’s prophet Jeremiah:

Jer 38:1  Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,

Among these four princes is “Jucal the son of Shelemiah”. This is the same Juhucal the son of Shelemiah who is one of the two men the king had sent to ask Jeremiah to “Pray now unto the Lord our God for us” in the previous chapter:

Jer 37:3  And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us.

Just as it was with Christ and all who follow Him, Jeremiah had the experience of having people, who at one time regarded him as a prophet of God, just suddenly decide that he is not a prophet of God but is a traitor to the Lord and His people. As we all know such a turn of events is a gut wrenching ‘experience of evil’:

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

Jeremiah was in the same situation that anyone today is in if he or she is obedient to Christ and the things He told us to do. This is what Christ commands and expects of anyone who claims to know Him and who appropriates His name and calls themself a ‘Christian’:

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Those words are the equivalent of telling us today that we are not to resist evil, just as Jeremiah was instructing those of His day. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what Christ has instructed us to do in the verses immediately preceding the two verses we just quoted here in Matthew 5:

Mat 5:38  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

None of these words are in any way patriotic. Not one orthodox Christian minister would agree with Christ’s commandment that those who claim His name are to “resist not evil”. Neither did any of the leaders of Judah agree with the words of the Lord, which He gave to Jeremiah, telling the people of Judah while being besieged by the armies of Babylon that they should all “go forth unto the Chaldeans”:

Jer 38:2  Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

‘Going forth to the Chaldeans’ signifies that we acknowledge our self-righteous transgressions:

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

When we acknowledge our self-righteousness and our transgressions, we must realize that such a confession accepts the judgment that comes with that confession and acknowledgement of our iniquity and our sins:

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

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day [of judgment] shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

The ‘fire’ which tries our works is the Word of God, and that word includes the seven last plagues of His wrath which must be fulfilled in the life of every man, now in “this present time” or in the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment.

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

‘Entering into the temple” signifies our salvation, and that is the meaning of “he shall have his life for a prey and shall live”. Here is verse 2 again:

Jer 38:2  Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

What we are being told is that we will ‘go forth to the Chaldeans’. That is going to happen, and it is to our advantage to do so now rather than wait for the Lord to judge us at a later judgment:

Jer 38:3  Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.

What Christ is telling us is that if we submit our lives to His chastening hand via the sword of our enemies, He will deliver us. Our worst enemy in this life is that beast we see in the mirror every day. If we submit to acknowledging our iniquities and our transgressions and judge ourselves in ‘this present time’ then He will deliver us from death, “When [we] awake with His likeness”. Our enemies, including our own ‘old man’, are actually nothing less than His chastening hand:

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him [“the wicked who oppress” us (vs 9)] cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
Psa 17:14  From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
Psa 17:15  As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

King David did not say, “I shall be satisfied in this life.” He did not say, “I shall be satisfied when I see my enemies reap what they have sown in this life.” Instead he is actually telling those who are ‘given eyes that see’, that it is we who will be the first to be judged by “thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world” (our own flesh included, Rom 7:17-21), and reap what we have sown in this life at this “present time”, and then we will be rewarded by being given the gift of “the resurrection of life… the blessed and holy… first resurrection (Rev 20:6) as opposed to “the resurrection of judgment”:

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Even the Old Testament prophets realized there was a “better resurrection” of the dead and that there was life after this life:

Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

It does not read ‘We without them’. It reads “they without us should not be made perfect”. That “better thing” is for us. The “better thing” is not for them; it is only for us. The “better thing [is] for us” because no one in the Old Testament will be in the first resurrection. The “blood of bulls and goats” could not take aways sins, and the Savior had not yet been sacrificed:

Heb 10:4  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Those in the first resurrection will be perfected without the men and women of the Old Testament, and we will be perfected through death and resurrection before them. We know this is true because Christ made it crystal clear that even the least in the kingdom of God would be greater than John the Baptist who was as great as any Old Testament man who had ever been “born of women”:

Mat 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

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

Such an honor comes only through “much tribulation” and through being rejected and “hated of all men” in “this present time”.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

We will not enter into the kingdom of God through a life of ‘coffee and doughnuts’ nor through the lies of the ministers of the so-called ‘prosperity ministries’ which appeal to our flesh but are the death of our new man.

Notwithstanding it is true that the blessings and glory bestowed on those “chosen… few” who endure “much tribulation” and are given to have a part in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, will far outweigh “the suffering of this present time”:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

That is the spiritual message we are to get out of this agonizing event in the history of the nation of Judah. If we are willing to be “hated of all men” because we are obedient to the Words of our Lord to love our enemies and follow in His steps and do all the things He said we are to do, then we “shall be saved”:

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

This experience of Jeremiah demonstrates that those who obey our Lord will indeed “be hated of all men for [His] name’s sake”. ‘His name’ means His doctrine, and His doctrine is what is hated by all men.

Jer 38:4  Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Jeremiah was seeking their best interests. However, it is completely understandable how the natural mind cannot receive a message which encourages it to submit to the chastening hand of the Lord through the sword of evil men.

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

It is only natural for any patriotic individual to place their citizenship on this earth above their invisible heavenly citizenship. Heavenly citizenship is about as meaningful and valuable to our natural man as Esau’s birthright was to him when he was hungry:

Gen 25:31  And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
Gen 25:32  And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Gen 25:33  And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Gen 25:34  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

‘Jacob’ means ‘supplanter’, and that is what he did to his elder twin, just as our new man is in the process of supplanting our carnal-minded old man who has no appreciation for the promise of future invisible, spiritual blessings in reward for present physical suffering. Just like Esau we are selling our birthright for a bowl of pottage when we put patriotism above obedience to Christ’s commandments. Our old man considers it only natural to hate and to want to destroy our new man who our old man considers to be a traitor:

Jer 38:5  Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.

King Zedekiah is telling The Truth. He typifies our rebellious carnal mind. As such, he truly is helpless to save the Lord’s people from their enemies. This fact is expressed in these words in the New Testament:

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

We of ourselves are completely helpless against the beast that is within every man and every woman.

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man [There is no article in the Greek before the word ‘mankind. There is only the Greek word (G444) ‘anthropos’, mankind]; and his [‘anthropos’, mankind’s] number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Jer 38:6  Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

Being placed in a pit, in scripture, just as Joseph was put into a pit by his ten brothers, symbolizes entering the realm of death:

Job 17:16  They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.

Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

However, the Lord had provided Jeremiah with “friends of the unrighteous mammon” in the person of one, “Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house.” The Lord caused Ebedmelech, to go out of the king’s house, out of the house of the very symbol of our old man, and plead for Jeremiah’s life:

Jer 38:7  Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
Jer 38:8  Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying,
Jer 38:9  My lord the king, these men [the princes] have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.

In this betrayal by King Zedekiah of the Lord’s servant we are informed that there is no water in the pit (vs 6). That is exactly what we were told in the story of the betrayal of the Lord’s servant Joseph:

Gen 37:23  And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;
Gen 37:24  and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

Just as in the story of Jeremiah, the Lord had provided Joseph ‘a friend of the unrighteous mammon of this world’ in the person of his oldest brother, Reuben:

Gen 37:19  And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Gen 37:20  Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
Gen 37:21  And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life.

The same king who could not refuse the princes’ desire to kill Jeremiah now cannot refuse Ebedmelech’s petition to save Jeremiah’s life for this reason and for this reason only:

Pro 21:1  The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

That is true for all men of all time, and that is the doctrine of all scripture from Genesis to Revelation.

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

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

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

Because “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord”, because “the preparations of the heart… and the answer of the tongue are from the Lord” and because “it is God that works in [all men] both to will and to do of His good pleasure”, this was “[the Lord’s] good pleasure” for Jeremiah coming from the ‘preparations of the heart’, which the Lord worked in wicked King Zedekiah:

Jer 38:10  Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
Jer 38:11  So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
Jer 38:12  And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

The Hebrew word for ‘old’ in this verse is:

H1094
בְּלוֹי    בְּלוֹא
belô’    belôy
bel-o’, bel-o’ee
From H1086; (only in plural construction) rags: – old.

The words ‘cast clouts’ are translated from the single Hebrew word:

H5499
סְחָבָה
sechâbâh
seh-khaw-baw’
From H5498; a rag: – cast clout.

So both words, ‘belo’ and ‘sechabah’ convey the concept of a piece of cloth that is old and worn… a “rag”. These rags were used to pad the “cords” that were placed under Jeremiah’s “armholes”:

Jer 38:13  So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

It is not adding to the Word of God to say that these words of Psalm 40 applied outwardly to Jeremiah at that time, and they apply to each of us inwardly and spiritually:

Psa 40:2  He brought men a rock, and established my goings.
Psa 40:3  And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Jer 38:14  Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.

Once again, immediately after putting Jeremiah through a severe trial by giving four princes permission to put Jeremiah to death, King Zedekiah wants to know what the Lord has told Jeremiah the prophet. He knows that Jeremiah is the Lord’s prophet because the Lord has made it so clear that He speaks through the prophet Jeremiah. Here is just one of many prophecies the Lord had given Jeremiah which came to pass:

Jer 28:12  Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
Jer 28:13  Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.
Jer 28:14  For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.
Jer 28:15  Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
Jer 28:16  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.
Jer 28:17  So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

The children of the adversary know who belongs to the Lord, as these stories clearly demonstrate:

Mat 8:28  And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
Mat 8:29  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Act 19:13  Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
Act 19:14  And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
Act 19:15  And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
Act 19:16  And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Act 19:17  And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

We are informed that “Sceva, [was] a Jew, chief of the priests” whose seven sons attempted to appropriate the power of our Lord to themselves. The significance of this detail is that it is always prominent men of the churches of the great harlot who “appear as an angel of light” and “as a lamb with two horns”, but they do not know Christ and do not have His power to withstand the adversary. Sceva’s sons are ‘seven’ because they typify a completely apostatized church which is overcome by the adversary.

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

King Zedekiah, like the seven sons of Sceva, has heard of the Lord through the Lord’s prophet Jeremiah. Like the seven sons of Sceva, King Zedekiah has seen the power of the Lord working through His prophet, Jeremiah, but also like the sons of Sceva he himself has no connection to the Lord and attempts to make that connection through his acquaintance with Jeremiah. Knowing who ‘the Lord’s Christ’ is while not knowing Christ Himself, typifies our old man and all who are still under his beastly rulership. God’s elect, as Jeremiah was, are as “a city built upon a hill [which] cannot be hid”. Even the king of Babylon knew that everything the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah had come to pass as the words of “the captain of the guard” reveal:

Jer 40:2  And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.
Jer 40:3  Now the LORD hath brought it, and done according as he hath said [through Jeremiah]: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you.
Jer 40:4  And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go.
Jer 40:5  Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go.

Jeremiah had ‘made friends of the mammon of unrighteousness’ and was now being received into age-lasting tabernacles by the captain of the guard of the armies of physical Babylon, while at the same time physical Babylon was being used by the Lord to chasten “Mystery Babylon The Great”.

That is chapter 40, and it all happened just as the Lord through Jeremiah had said it would happen. Symbolic ‘Mystery Babylon the Great’ was carried away captive to physical Babylon, and the type and shadow of ‘Mystery Babylon’ was burned with literal fire.

What the Lord is showing us in this story is that King Zedekiah, the symbol of our rebellious, self-righteous, old man, our ‘man of sin’, is torn and tormented by being caught between being told by the Lord’s prophet what to do to save himself and his people and his fear of his own people. Like King Saul, who many years earlier had admitted that he “feared the people” (1Sa 15:24), King Zedekiah, and all of mankind, wants to know in advance what the morrow holds, and he comes secretly to Jeremiah, like Nicodemus, for the same reason… “for fear of the Jews”, came to Christ by night:

Joh 3:1  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

1Sa 15:24  And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Jer 38:15  Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?

The Lord has made us to know in advance that this world will reject the witness of being a city built on a hill and being the light of the world:

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

The Lord has already informed us that:

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Those words alone bode ill for our old man even as “we judge ourselves” now, and they also bode ill for this sinful world. We all, just naturally as wicked King Saul, want to know the future in advance even though we know it will not be what our old man wants to hear.

Jer 38:16  So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.

Once again, this is the only reason King Zedekiah pledges to protect Jeremiah from His enemies:

Pro 21:1  The king’s heart [and every man’s heart] is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Again, this is a “preparation of the heart” (Pro 16:1) of King Zedekiah which is “from the Lord” and not from himself.

Jer 38:17  Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
Jer 38:18  But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
Jer 38:19  And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.

“The fear of the Jews” is a phrase we see again and again in the New Testament:

Joh 7:11  Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?
Joh 7:12  And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.
Joh 7:13  Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.

Joh 19:38  And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

Joh 20:19  Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

“For fear of the Jews” is Biblical symbolism for our fear of what the religious leaders of this world will think of us and do to us if we are granted the courage to put the fear of God ahead of our fear of what this world and its religious leaders, our friends, and our families will think of us and do to us for following in His steps and being faithful to the Lord’s Words and the Words of those through whom He speaks following His crucifixion and resurrection.

Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Here is the Old Testament type of our message to this world within us and outwardly today:

Jer 38:20  But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.

The Lord knows that our old man cannot come to Him and cannot hear His words and cannot do the things He says we are to do, but for our sakes He put King Zedekiah through this helpless and hopeless experience of evil:

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

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

King Zedekiah, signifying my flesh and your flesh, simply could not fear an invisible God more than he feared his own physical people. It is not that he would not have liked to do so. It is simply that it was “not given” to Him to do so:

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.

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

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

The Lord is in fact “seeking an occasion against” our old man and against his ways just as He sought an occasion against the Philistines who ruled over the Lord’s people at the time of Samson:

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

Jeremiah knows that King Zedekiah will not go out to the Chaldeans, but the Lord still has Jeremiah tell us the fruit of fearing men instead of fearing God:

Jer 38:21  But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:
Jer 38:22  And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.

These “women that are left in the king’s house”, signify the churches which have taught the word of God in the king’s house. They taught it but did not perceive what they taught. This is another way of saying:

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

Here is how Christ explains these words of the “women of the king’s house”:

Mat 23:1  Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Mat 23:2  Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
Mat 23:3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

Jer 38:23  So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

Just like King Saul when he went to the witch of Endor, Zedekiah now knows what will happen the next day. He has been earnestly beseeched by the Lord’s prophet Jeremiah to set the example for his people by submitting to the king of Babylon, but he is not given to humble himself and obey the words of the Lord. As a type of each of us, he fears the people more than he fears God.

We have all been where Zedekiah is in this story. Except the Lord Himself had made us to submit we would be right where wicked King Zedekiah is… simply not given to fear God more than man:

Luk 12:4  And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luk 12:5  But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell [Greek: ‘Gehennah’ – the lake of fire (Rev 20:15)]; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Jer 38:24  Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
Jer 38:25  But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
Jer 38:26  Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.
Jer 38:27  Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.

These murderous princes had no idea that Jeremiah had once again given their leader the same uncompromising words of God warning him of his and their imminent destruction. Jeremiah knew better than to cast His pearls before these spiritual swine who had just made it clear to King Zedekiah that they wanted him dead.

King Zedekiah demonstrates clearly who it is that he fears, and it is not his God. King Zedekiah signifies our own flesh which “is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be”:

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Jer 38:28  So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.

In type and shadow, Jeremiah was in this world, but he was not of this world. He was made to be “conversant with” and “very good” to the leaders of this world, but he was not in the least affected or leavened by the doctrines of those leaders.

1Sa 25:15  But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:

Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [Greek: ’eon’ – age]; and the reapers are the angels.

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

[Study Aired May 2, 2022]

Exo 8:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Exo 8:2  And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: 
Exo 8:3  And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs: 
Exo 8:4  And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. 
Exo 8:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. 
Exo 8:6  And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 
Exo 8:7  And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. 
Exo 8:8  Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. 
Exo 8:9  And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? 
Exo 8:10  And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. 
Exo 8:11  And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only. 
Exo 8:12  And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 
Exo 8:13  And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. 
Exo 8:14  And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank. 
Exo 8:15  But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. 
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 8:17  And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 
Exo 8:18  And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. 
Exo 8:19  Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. 
Exo 8:20  And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 
Exo 8:21  Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. 
Exo 8:22  And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. 
Exo 8:23  And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. 
Exo 8:24  And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. 
Exo 8:25  And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. 
Exo 8:26  And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? 
Exo 8:27  We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. 
Exo 8:28  And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.
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.
Exo 8:30  And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. 
Exo 8:31  And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
Exo 8:32  And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

All the plagues that the Lord unleashed upon Pharaoh and the people of Egypt are part of His judgment of the old man or the beast within. 

Exo 7:4  But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

It is through these great judgments that we learn obedience and therefore walk in righteousness. 

Psa 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. 

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

Today, we shall review three of the plagues – the invasion by frogs, lice and swarms of flies. All of these judgments which the Lord sent to Egypt led finally to the freeing of the people of Israel from their bondage. Each of the plagues accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent, although on the surface, it may seem that it did not have an impact on Pharaoh. This means that the Lord is working to destroy our old man when He comes to us with the brightness of His words. However, if we look at ourselves, the evil one may want us to think that nothing is happening to our old man. The truth of the matter is that it is being destroyed!! In the fullness of time, we shall see its destruction. This was what Job was referring when he said:

Job 19:26  And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 
Job 19:27  Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 

THE PLAGUE OF FROGS

Exo 8:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exo 8:2  And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:

The Lord’s desire to get rid of the old man (Pharaoh) within us is reiterated here in verse 1 where the Lord told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people go so they can serve Him. As long as the beast reigns within our members, there is no way we can please or serve the Lord. As we are aware, the Lord had sworn by an oath with our fathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that He would give their descendants the promised land, which is our bodies. Knowing this, we must have confidence that irrespective of our circumstance and where we are spiritually, the Lord will put to death the old man (Pharaoh) in order for us to serve Him acceptably. 

Exo 6:8  And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.

Heb 6:13  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 
Heb 6:14  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 
Heb 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 
Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 
Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 
Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 

Having confidence that the Lord will surely cause us to possess the land (overcome the flesh to possess our bodies), all we have to do is believe in the strong hand (His judgments) of the Lord to accomplish it. The stubbornness of the beast, signified by Pharaoh’s resistance to let the people of Israel go from Egypt, brings us to the second plague or judgment in which the whole of Egypt was to be infested with frogs. Frogs in the scriptures signify false doctrines and lies of the evil one as shown in the following verse:

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.

These two hundred million false doctrines and lies (frogs) propagated by false apostles causes us a lot of suffering and pain which leads us to our wits’ end and causes us to cry to the Lord for help. It is all part of the Lord’s way of delivering us from our old man (Pharaoh).

Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 
Rev 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 
Rev 9:5  And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 

Rev 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

Exo 8:3  And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs: 
Exo 8:4  And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
Exo 8:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. 
Exo 8:6  And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 

These frogs infiltrated the homes and even the utensils for preparing food and water of the people of Egypt. This is to let us know that the lies and false doctrines we imbibed are not only through attending the physical churches of this world, but are pervasive in our environment and in our homes. For example, having free will to do what we like is taught in our homes and schools and is one of the main pillars of human wisdom. The frogs being in our homes also means that these false apostles have access to our homes through the broadcast of their programs on TV stations and other forms of media. This is what the prophet Joel alluded to as follows:

Joe 2:3  A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
Joe 2:4  The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 
Joe 2:5  Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 
Joe 2:6  Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 
Joe 2:7  They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 
Joe 2:8  Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 
Joe 2:9  They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 
Joe 2:10  The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

Exo 8:7  And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. 

As indicated in the previous chapter, the wise men and the sorcerers, collectively called the magicians of Egypt, represent the religions of this world (Babylon) and wise men (leaders) of this world. These wise men are whom Paul calls the disputers of this world.

1Co 1:20  Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 

It is no wonder that the magicians of Egypt could bring up frogs. This is the Lord’s doing. Through these false doctrines and lies (frogs), performed with signs and lying wonders of the evil one, we are caused to believe the strong delusion that the Lord sends to us.  This is to give the Lord an occasion to come with His judgment to destroy our old man or Pharaoh.

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

Exo 8:8  Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. 
Exo 8:9  And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? 

Verse 8 indicates that Pharaoh was beginning to concede that he would let the people of Israel go but under the condition that Moses and Aaron take away the frogs. This is to make us aware that the old man or the beast within us is aware that the Lord, who had started His work in us, will bring it to completion. The old man (Pharaoh) is only buying time by coming up with conditions. We all at some point in our walk have experienced the old man within us making us think that if only our afflictions or suffering would stop or certain aspects of our situation are taken care of by the Lord, we would be able to serve the Lord wholeheartedly. However, this is a big lie of the enemy in trying to buy time. The best condition to serve the Lord is the current situation in which we find ourselves. This is what Paul said about it:

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Exo 8:10  And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.

Here in verse 10, Pharaoh said that he wants the frogs to be taken away by the next day (tomorrow). To this Moses responded that it shall be according to Pharaoh’s word. As we are aware, a day in the eyes of the Lord can be a thousand years. This means that dealing with false doctrines and lies (frogs) in our heavens is a process of a lifetime. Moses’ response to Pharaoh means that once we are called and chosen by the Lord, all the lies and false doctrines shall surely be removed from our heavens facilitating the death of the old man signified by Pharaoh’s promise to release the people of Israel after the frogs are taken away.

2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Exo 8:11  And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only. 
Exo 8:12  And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 
Exo 8:13  And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. 

Verse 11 and 13 says that the frogs shall depart (dies) from us, our houses, our villages or our people, our fields and remain only in the river. This means that these false doctrines and lies of the enemy shall depart from our heavens (houses) and from our fellowship of the brethren (villages). It also means that our walk in this world (the fields) shall not be dictated by the lies and false doctrines of the enemy. The frogs being confined to only the river (the river of Egypt and Babylon) is to let us know that the lies and false doctrines shall continue to prevail in the world system and Babylon.

Exo 8:14  And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank. 

This is to demonstrate that when these lies and false doctrines are dealt with by the Lord in our lives, we shall produce an aroma for the world to smell. This fragrance to us is the power of God but to the world, including Babylon, it is the stink of death!!

2Co 2:14  But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 
2Co 2:15  For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 
2Co 2:16  to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 
2Co 2:17  For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Exo 8:15  But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. 

This verse brings to mind the studies in Jeremiah where the Israelites released their servants during the siege by the Babylonians. However, when there was temporal relief in the Babylonian siege, the Israelites brought the servants back to captivity. That is how our old man (Pharaoh) behaves. When we go through suffering and our old man is humbled, we are prepared to obey the Lord wholly. However, when we come out of the suffering, we go back to our vomit.

Jer 34:8  The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them, 
Jer 34:9  that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. 
Jer 34:10  And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. 
Jer 34:11  But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves.

THE PLAGUE OF LICE

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 8:17  And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
Exo 8:18  And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. 
Exo 8:19  Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. 

Lice are parasitic insects that attach themselves to humans and feed on human blood. We know that blood is life. So, these lice take our life away. In other words, they put us to spiritual death. In verse 17, these lice came out of the dust of the earth which represents mankind.

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

So, these lice are evil workers used by the Lord to judge us. This is affirmed by the scriptures as we see that the two creatures that feed on blood are lions and dogs. This is shown as follows:

Num 23:24  Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. 

1Ki 21:19  And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

1Ki 22:38  And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake. 

The Lion in Numbers 23:24 represents people. The dogs symbolize evil workers in Babylon or the assembly of the wicked.

Php 3:2  Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

Psa 22:16  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

What this means is that the Lord’s judgment by lice represents the unleashing of evil workers who come with their false doctrines and lies and make us worse off (make us spiritually dead). They feed on people (parasites) and make them worse off.

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

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 
Rev 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 
Rev 9:5  And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

THE PLAGUE OF FLIES

Exo 8:20  And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 
Exo 8:21  Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. 
Exo 8:22  And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. 
Exo 8:23  And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
Exo 8:24  And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.

Flies are part of the broad insect family such as house fly, mosquitoes, locust, etc. According to Strong, a swarm of flies consists of various categories of flies. In the scriptures, flies are used by the Lord to judge His people. For example, during the time of the prophet Joel, the Lord used locust to judge His people as follows:

Joe 1:2  Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? 
Joe 1:3  Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 
Joe 1:4  That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. 
Joe 1:5  Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 
Joe 1:6  For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 
Joe 1:7  He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

As indicated here in Joel, the use of swarms of flies is therefore to destroy the trees and grass. They destroy the trees by attacking the food source of trees (barking the trees white including the branches – Joel 1:7). We know that flesh is grass and that human beings are also represented by trees. The plague of swarms of flies unleashed by the Lord therefore represents the destruction of our flesh (grass) and that of our source of the word of the Lord. As stated in Exodus 8:24, the land of Egypt got corrupted because of the swarms of flies. In other words, our bodies become more defiled by the plague of swarms of flies.

Psa 78:45  He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.

Isa 40:6  The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 

Exo 8:25  And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. 
Exo 8:26  And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? 

Pharaoh urging Moses and Aaron to go sacrifice to their God in the land of Egypt is another way of saying that we should love the world while at the same time serving our Lord. When we offer ourselves to serve the Lord and at the same time, we cling to the world, then the love of the Father is not in us.

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. 

Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Moses asked Pharaoh in verse 26 that if the people of Israel sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not be stoned? This is a prophecy by Moses of what will happen to Babylon (the religions of this world). They will be destroyed by the people of this world (Egyptians) as they see that their sacrifice of abominations of this world does not bring them the liberty they had envisioned.

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Exo 8:27  We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. 
Exo 8:28  And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me. 

Our exit from Egypt is to be accompanied by a three-day journey into the wilderness where we can offer sacrifice to the Lord. The wilderness here is the world. Our walk with Christ starts after leaving Egypt, and the three-day journey refers to all that we go through in this life (desert or wilderness) as part of the spiritually maturing process destined for us. This spiritual maturity is accomplished through judgment. It is when we are maturing that we are able to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

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

In verse 28, Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron that the Israelites can go and sacrifice to the Lord in the wilderness, but they should not go far. This is to let us know the mindset of the old man within us. Sacrificing to the Lord and not going far means walking with the Lord but still conforming ourselves to the standards of this world which the Lord hates. Paul gave us an example of how serving the Lord and not going far is all about – we end up turning to the weak and beggarly elements of this world which keep us in bondage. 

Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

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.
Exo 8:30  And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.
Exo 8:31  And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
Exo 8:32  And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

As Moses entreated the Lord to remove the swarms of flies, we are also to cry to the Lord when we go through suffering so that the Lord will provide a way of escape by making us able to bear the temptation. Unfortunately, when the Lord grants us relief from our suffering, our flesh, or the old man, (Pharaoh) has the tendency to go back to its vomit. As indicated earlier, Israelites went back for the servants when there was relief in the Babylonian siege.

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 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

May the Lord grant us the grace to learn righteousness as we submit to His judgment!! Amen!!