1 Samuel 5:1–12 The Philistines and the Ark 

[Study Aired February 2, 2026]

Introduction

Today’s study is about the spiritual significance of having the ark of God in the possession of the Philistines. Before we can understand the study for today, let’s take a look at what the ark represents spiritually. 

The first time the word “ark” appeared in the Bible was when the Lord commanded Noah to build an ark. 

Gen 6:13  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 
Gen 6:14  Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

This ark was a prototype of the ark Moses was required by the Lord to build. There are many similarities between these two arks. The following verses of scriptures bring out what the ark stands for spiritually:

Num 10:33  And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. 

Num 10:35  And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.

2Sa 6:2  And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. 

Jdg 20:27  And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days), 

From these verses, it becomes obvious that the ark of the covenant represents our Lord Jesus Christ, just like the ark the Lord commanded Noah to build is also Christ. When we are in Him, we are delivered from the flood waters of false doctrines, carnality, traditions, human wisdom, etc. 

Gen 6:17  And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. 
Gen 6:18  But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. 

Noah, his wife and sons, and his son’s wives represent the elect who have fled to take refuge in our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to note that it is through the Lord’s judgment of the flood that Noah and all those saved took refuge in the ark. Our Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh is what facilitates our being found in Christ. Noah’s ark resting on the seventh month is another way of saying that the Lord rested on the seventh day from all His work. All of these are to confirm to us that the ark represents the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Gen 8:4  And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 

Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Now let’s take a look inside the ark of the covenant. There are three items – the golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the tables of the covenant. 

Heb 9:3  And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
Heb 9:4  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
Heb 9:5  And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. 

On a positive note, the golden pot containing the manna represents the Lord’s words. It is through the word that we know that we are in Him as He is in us. The Lord commanding Noah to bring food into the ark emphasizes the point that it is through the word of the Lord that we find ourselves in Him. 

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

The next item in the ark was Aaron’s rod. As we are aware, a rod signifies discipline or judgement. Thus, Aaron’s rod refers to the judgment we must go through in order to be found in Christ. As we know, the flood was the catalyst that resulted in Noah and his family being found in the ark or in Christ. It is therefore through the Lord’s judgment that we are found in Him. 

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

The third item in the ark is the tables of stones on which were written the commandments of the Lord. The tables of stones remind us of our spiritual poverty state as we were not able to obey the Lord’s commandments as our hearts were hardened like the tables of stones. To be in Christ therefore, we must first acknowledge that we are spiritually bankrupt as our hearts are hardened like stones. However, through the grace of God, we now have a heart of flesh.

2Co 3:3  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

With this as the basis of our study for today, the lesson will be more understandable in its application to our lives. It is important to note that when Jesus revealed Himself to John at the island of Patmos, John turned to see the voice of the Lord. This means that part of the scriptures deal with what has happened to us in the past. 

Rev 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 

Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;  

Today’s study is about looking behind us to see how the Lord had dealt with us in the past when we passed through the valley of the shadow of death.    

The Ark is Brought to Ashdod

1Sa 5:1  When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 

The Philistines capturing the ark of God signifies our old man or flesh opposing and exalting himself above God as he sits in the temple of God, showing himself as God. 

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

Ebenezer means ‘stone of help’ which is Christ. Ashdod denotes a ravager, who is a person that causes extensive destruction, devastation or ruin. The devil is the ravager. Therefore, the ark of God being moved from Ebenezer to Ashdod implies that when our flesh is sitting in the throne of our hearts and minds, then it means that we have left our first love of Christ and are under the sway of our flesh, powered by the devil. In other words, the devil becomes our father. As a result, we become worse off. This situation is what Paul described as follows:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 
Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. 

When we are ruled by our flesh, we are no longer in Christ. This happened to us during our time in the churches of this world due to the great swelling words of vanity we imbibed which were propagated by the leaders of the church system of this world or Babylon. 

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 

As indicated in Romans 1:25, in our worse state we end up serving the creature instead of the creator. That means that our attention is turned to the things of this world instead of Christ. 

We must understand that the ark being captured by the Philistines is therefore the occasion the Lord is seeking to come to us with His judgment when we are full of the flesh so that we will learn righteousness.

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. 
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. 
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. 

Isa 26:8  In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. 
Isa 26:9 My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 

1Sa 5:2  When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 

As indicated, the Philistines taking the ark of God means that our flesh is the one ruling our hearts and minds, thinking that he is God in the sense that we think that we make our own decisions. 

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

2Th 2:3  Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 
2Th 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

The name Dagon means ‘a fish’ and was a Philistine deity of fertility represented with the face and hands of a man and the tail of a fish. Dagon therefore represents the devil who empowers our flesh. The ark being brought into the house of Dagon and being set beside Dagon therefore means that we are controlled by the god of this world, the devil, as our minds are blinded by him.  

2Co 4:3  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
2Co 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 

1Sa 5:3  And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 
1Sa 5:4  And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 

As the Lord’s elect, we were overwhelmed by the flesh during our time in the churches of this world, but the Lord did not forget us.

Rom 11:2  God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? (ESV) 

In the fullness of time, He will come to us to start the process of delivering us from ourselves (our flesh). The early morning in verse 3 signifies the rising of the morning star in our hearts as the Lord comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. In other words, as we are judged by the Lord through His coming, the flesh is being destroyed. It implies that the influence of the devil over our flesh is reduced. This is what it means for the idol Dagon to fall with its face on the earth before the ark. 

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 

The fact that the people set up Dagon in his place again is to make us aware that the Lord’s judgment is a process as our flesh is gradually incapacitated by the Lord’s judgment of our flesh. The cutting off of the head and palms of Dagon’s hands means that the devil’s influence over our flesh is subdued over time as we learn righteousness. 

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

The Inhabitants of Ashdod Smitten with Emerods

1Sa 5:5  Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. 

Verse 5 shows us another area which had kept us in the dark before Christ came to deliver us, that is, the traditions of men. The mention of the priests of Dagon together with the people of Ashdod not treading on the threshold of Dagon to date is to remind us of the idols of the heart which relate to our belief in the false doctrines of traditions. Our flesh is steep in traditions which robbed us of our ability to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of the Lord when we were in Babylon. Our Lord Jesus pointed this out during His ministry here on earth.

Mar 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 
Mar 7:8  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 
Mar 7:9  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 
Mar 7:10  For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 
Mar 7:11  But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. 
Mar 7:12  And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 
Mar 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Col 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 
Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.  

1Sa 5:6  But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. 
1Sa 5:7  And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

When we are ruled by our flesh, we become like the people of Ashdod. However, as the Lord’s elect, the Lord comes to judge us. The hand of the Lord being heavy upon the people of Ashdod in verse 6 refers to the judgment of the Lord overwhelming our flesh. The Lord destroying the people of Ashdod with emerods signifies the Lord destroying our old man or flesh through His judgment.

Deu 28:27  The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 

As shown here in Deuteronomy 28:27, the flesh cannot be healed. It has to be destroyed. It is insightful to note that when the men of Ashdod saw that the Lord was judging them, they refused to have the ark of the Lord abiding with them. This implies that our flesh will always try to avoid judgment. The hand of the Lord being sore upon the people of Ashdod and upon Dagon their god means the Lord will continue to judge our old man and, in the fullness of time, will judge the devil who empowers the flesh represented by Dagon, the god of Ashdod. 

Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 

1Sa 5:8  They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. 

In 1 Samuel 6:4, the number of the Lords of the Philistines is given as five. 

1Sa 6:4  Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 

The negative application of the number five means famine of the word of the Lord which brings us to spiritual poverty. These five lords represent the various stages of our domination by our flesh which brings us to spiritual poverty through the famine of the word of the Lord. 

Gen 45:11  And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

Gath means ‘winepress.’ Therefore, the ark being taken to Gath implies that we face intense, multi-directional pressures as the Lord’s hand of judgment becomes heavy on us. However, through the grace of the Lord, we are sustained by His power to endure without being completely destroyed. The Lord will not relent in dealing with our flesh until He has destroyed it. All of these pressures are to bring us to learn righteousness so that we will be in Him.

2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;  

1Sa 5:9  And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. 

The Lord continues judging us until our flesh is destroyed. It is important to note that here in verse 9, both small and great were judged with emerods in their secret parts. That is another way of saying that we never graduate from the Lord’s judgment. The small and the great being judged implies that at every stage of our walk with Christ, we are being judged.

Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 

The Ark of God Brought to Ekron

1Sa 5:10  Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. 
1Sa 5:11  So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 
1Sa 5:12  And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven. 

The name Ekron, according to Brown-Drivers-Briggs, means to be torn up by the roots. The people of Ekron crying out because the ark of God of Israel has been brought in their midst to slay them is to let us know that the presence of the Lord (the ark) and judgment go together with the purpose of destroying our flesh by the roots. The fact that there were three cities of the Philistines that were judged by the Lord because of the ark – Ashdod, Gath and Ekron, means that our spiritual maturity is through the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh (significance of the number three). 

The great destruction that took place in the city of Ekron is to remind us that the Lord as the lion of the tribe of Judah will not relent until He has destroyed our flesh through His judgment. The men of Ekron’s cry going up to heaven means that the Lord was going to take action in Ekron. The same thing happened to the Israelites in Egypt when they cried to the Lord because of their oppression. The Lord took action and came to their aid.

Exo 2:23  And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
Exo 2:24  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 
Exo 2:25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

In a similar vein, when we cry to the Lord during our fiery trials, the Lord comes to our aid as He provides a way of escape for us to be able to bear the suffering.  

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. 

We give thanks to the Lord for His unwavering love towards us. Amen!

The Spiritual Significance of Numbers – Eight Signifies New Beginnings, The New Man

[Study Aired January 30, 2026]

Lev 12:3  And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

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

“Another vessel” is ‘a new vessel of clay’, “the new man” in the true “image of Him that created him.”

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man [“another vessel”, (Jer 18:4)], which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

It is “the eighth… beast” which “goeth into perdition.” It is only through his perdition, his destruction, his death, the death of the eighth beast, that he becomes “the image of Him that created him.” “The first man Adam” was never “in the image of God” as the King James Version reads:

Gen 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

As we will see in this study, that verse reveals that God is in the process of creating mankind “after the image of Him that created him” (Col 3:10). God is in the process of creating “the new man”, and it is only that “new man” who is “in the image of Him that created him.”

The name ‘Seth’ is defined as “in the stead of.”

Gen 4:25  And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
Gen 4:26  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

Abel signifies our slain Savior whose ‘blood cries out from the ground.’

Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto [H413: ‘el’, against] thee shall be his desire, and [in the end] thou shalt rule over him.

This Hebrew word ‘H413, el’, translated as ‘unto’ here in Genesis 4:7 is the same word translated ‘unto’ and ‘to’ in this verse of the previous chapter where the Lord is pronouncing judgment against the serpent and Adam and Eve. This verse is His judgment against Eve.

Gen 3:16  Unto [H413: against] the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to [H413: against] thy husband, and [in the end] he shall rule over thee.

Eve’s curse was not that she would want to please her husband. That would be a blessing. Her curse was to oppose and be against her husband. That is indeed a curse. Sin’s desire was not to please God through Cain. That would be a blessing.  Cain’s curse was to be led by “the law of sin in [his] members warring against the law of his mind” (Rom 7:23):

Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

The very next verse following Genesis 4:7 gives us the proper translation of this Hebrew word ‘el’ in the context of the three verses we are considering… Gen 3:16; Gen 4:7 and this verse:

Gen 4:8  And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against [H413: ‘el’, against] Abel his brother, and slew him.

The reason Cain slew Abel was the same reason the Jews slew Christ, and that was the very same reason Joseph’s brother wanted to kill him before Reuben and Judah talked them into putting Joseph in a pit, signifying his death, before selling Him into Egypt. Here is that reason in all three cases, Cain, Joseph and Christ:

Gen 37:2  These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
Gen 37:3  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4  And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Gen 37:5  And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
Gen 37:6  And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
Gen 37:7  For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
Gen 37:8  And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. [His doctrines]
Gen 37:9  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
Gen 37:10  And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
Gen 37:11  And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Joseph was “the son of [Jacob’s… Israel’s] old age” just as we, too, are “called the sons of God” here in “the end of the world, the end of the ages.”

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.

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

They “hated him and could not speak peaceably to him” (Gen 37:4).  His brothers “hated him for his words” (Gen 37:8) “His brethren envied him” (Gen 37:11).

Why did they hate him? They hated him because his father loved him more that he loved his other ten sons. They hated him because the Lord had shown him that he would rule over his ten brothers. They also hated him because he “brought unto his father their evil report” (Gen 37:2):

Gen 37:2  These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah [Dan and Naphtali], and with the sons of Zilpah [Gad and Asher], his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

All of this is mirrored in how Israel received their Savior. They hated Him because His Father loved Him more that He loved the Jews who hated Christ:

Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Their physical ‘brother’ and fellow Israelite brought to His Father their evil report:

Mat 21:12  And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Mat 21:13  And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

The chief priests, the scribes and the Pharisees “envied” Christ because of the multitudes which were flocking after Him and being healed by Christ and His Father:

Mat 27:17  Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
Mat 27:18  For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

Mar 15:9  But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
Mar 15:10  For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.

Joh 11:41  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 11:43  And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Joh 11:44  And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Joh 11:45  Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
Joh 11:46  But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
Joh 11:47  Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
Joh 11:48  If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

Christ’s own nation, His brothers, were definitely jealous of Him, just as Joseph’s brothers had said ‘will this man rule over us?’

Gen 37:8  And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

This is the spirit of “[their] father the devil]” (Joh 8:44) which Christ referred to in His parable of the ten servants and the ten pounds:

Luk 19:12  He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
Luk 19:13  And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
Luk 19:14  But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

The Jews hated Christ because Christ considered them to be of another Father and not of His Father:

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot  hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Eight signifies Christ as both the first and the last Adam:

Gen 5:4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

Luk 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of [the first man] Adam, which was the son of God.

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Physical circumcision signified the beginning of putting off of the sins of the flesh:

Gen 17:12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

Gen 21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.

Eight, in its negative application, signifies the end of our time in service to our flesh:

Jdg 3:8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.
Jdg 3:9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD [after eight years of slavery], the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, [even] Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

King David, a type of Christ, was the eighth son of Jesse:

1Sa 17:12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.

1Sa 17:14 (a) And David was the youngest: [the eighth]

King David’s “chief …captain” slew eight hundred man “at one time”:

2Sa 23:8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

Eight signifies a giving spirit:

Ecc 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
Ecc 11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

It is through the Number eight we approach the temple:

Eze 40:31 And the arches thereof [of the south side of the temple] were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps.

Eze 40:34 And the arches thereof [of the east side of the temple] were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

Eze 40:37 And the posts thereof [of the north gate] were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

Here is the spiritual antitype of these eight steps up to the temple:

Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

There were eight tables for offering the sacrifices, four on each side of the temple. There were four on the north side, and there were four on the south side:

Eze 40:39  And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.
Eze 40:40  And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.
Eze 40:41  Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices.

The firstborn of our herds and of our flocks were to be given to the Lord on the eighth day:

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

The burnt offering and the sin offerings for the days of the consecration of the priests and for the sins of the people were to be offered on the eighth day, after seven days of consecration of the priests:

Lev 8:33 And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you.
Lev 8:34 As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.
Lev 8:35 Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.
Lev 8:36 So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

Lev 9:1 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;
Lev 9:2 And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer [them] before the LORD.

Lev 9:7 And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.

Circumcision, signifying the putting off of the flesh, took place on the eighth day:

Lev 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

“Circumcision… of the heart, in the spirit” takes place only in our spiritual eighth day, the day we begin to be transformed into a new man:

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 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.

Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man [on the spiritual eighth day], which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

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

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

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image [not of the first Adam, but after the image] of him that created him:
Col 3:11  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

The Eighth Man in Micah is Christ “whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting.”

Mic 5:1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Mic 5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
Mic 5:4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
Mic 5:5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him [the Assyrian] seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
Mic 5:6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria [Babylon] with the sword [of the Word of God], and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian [Babylon – “the land of Nimrod], when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

The ”eight principal men” of this 5^th chapter of Micah are the “Christ [of] our Lord.”

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever

Christ comes to us only “when [the Assyrian] shall tread in our palaces (Mic 5:5). Therefore, the new man or “eight principal men” come to deliver us only after we have begun to be judged and are beginning to be purified and consecrated.

The New Testament

John the Baptist and Christ were both circumcised on the eighth day, signifying the fact that He does not come to deliver us until our seven days of being judged and consecrated in these vessels of clay:

Luk 1:59  And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
Luk 1:60  And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

Luk 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Christ appeared to His disciples after His resurrection – “after eight days.”

Joh 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.

Deliverance came to Aeneas, and he began a new life after eight years of being bedridden:

Act 9:33 And there he [Peter] found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.

There were eight people on the ark, and Noah is called “the eighth person.”

1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

Paul was circumcised the eighth day “an Hebrew of Hebrews.”

Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

It is expedient that we understand that the eighth man cannot appear until after seven days of the judging and purifying and consecrating of our old man. That is the meaning of this verse:

Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

Now that we know that the number eight signifies the new man and new beginnings let’s take note of where the word ‘new’ appears in the New Testament:

1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

1Co 11:25 After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it], in remembrance of me.

2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ,  he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. [Circumcised in spirit on the spiritual eighth day]

Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man [the “consecrated man” – Lev 8:33 – and then offer a sin offering], which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: [It was Christ who created them male and female, but they were not yet “after the image of Him that created him” while yet in “vessels of clay”]

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

Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

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

1Jn 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Conclusion:

Eight is the number of the new man, the overcomer who is, “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20) offers himself as a living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1), and fills up in his body what is behind of the afflictions of Christ for His body’s sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24).

Gemstones: The Stones that Don’t Transfer, Part 1

Introduction: The Pattern of God’s Refinement

The Pattern Stated

[Study Aired January 27, 2026]

Throughout Scripture, God reveals His purposes through discernible patterns that testify across covenant and context. These patterns are not imposed upon the text but arise through repeated witness, allowing spiritual realities to emerge as Scripture interprets Scripture. Among these patterns, the progression of gemstones across three biblical contexts—the high priest’s breastplate, the covering of the anointed cherub, and the foundations of New Jerusalem—reveals a consistent truth concerning what belongs to the present order and what abides into the age to come.

The Old Testament establishes the transient nature of the Adamic order itself. David declares before the congregation of Israel:

“For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.” (1 Chronicles 29:15)

This testimony reaches beyond individual mortality to describe the condition of life under the present creation. What belongs to this order is characterized by shadow rather than permanence. Though appointed by God for a time and purpose, it does not abide.

Within this shadowed framework, God instituted visible arrangements that testified to deeper realities. Exodus 28:17–20 describes twelve stones set in gold upon the high priest’s breastplate, each bearing the name of a tribe of Israel. These stones functioned as a memorial before the Lord, representing the people within the ceremonial order established under the Law.

Ezekiel 28:13 presents a different arrangement: nine stones forming the covering of the anointed cherub in Eden. The reduction from twelve to nine appears within a context of judgment and exposure, signaling a refining of what belonged to the Adamic realm. What was once complete in ceremonial representation is now reduced under divine scrutiny, revealing that not all elements appointed for earthly ministry remain intact when judgment is brought to bear.

Revelation 21:19–20 reveals twelve foundation stones of New Jerusalem. While the number twelve reappears, the composition is not identical to either earlier arrangement. This reconstitution declares that restoration does not occur through repetition of the former order, but through transformation. What abides into the age to come is not a return to ceremonial representation, but a perfected reality suited to eternal dwelling.

The sequence—twelve, nine, twelve—draws attention to a governing principle: not everything present within the shadowed order transfers unchanged into what abides. The reduction from twelve to nine, followed by a reconstitution to twelve with altered composition, testifies to God’s refining work. Elements suited only for earthly ministry are removed or replaced, while what fulfills His eternal purpose is brought to completion.

The Governing Principle: Shadow and Substance

Paul articulates this principle plainly:

“Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:17)

Shadow exists for the sake of substance, not alongside it. What functions as shadow testifies to what is real, yet cannot itself become reality. When substance appears, the shadow fulfills its appointed role by yielding its place. This yielding is not failure, but completion.

Read together, these two witnesses, 1 Chronicles 29:15 and Colossians 2:17, establish the framework for this study. The Old Testament declares that what belongs to this present order does not abide. The New Testament reveals where abiding substance is found—in Christ. All structures, arrangements, and representations given within the shadow must therefore be understood according to whether they remain external testimony or find fulfillment in spiritual reality.

It is within this framework that the pattern of precious stones must be examined. Certain stones appear within the priestly order and the Edenic covering because they accurately represent aspects of the external system in which they were placed. Their presence served God’s purpose within the present order marked by shadow. Yet their appearance—or absence—when the eternal city, New Jerusalem, is revealed must be interpreted according to the same principle of shadow giving way to substance.

The Stones Under Examination

Four stones warrant focused attention. Each appears within at least one of the earlier scriptural contexts, yet none stands independently among the foundations of New Jerusalem. Their absence is neither incidental nor arbitrary. Rather, each reveals a specific aspect of the natural order that cannot remain in its original form when what abides is fully revealed.

In Part 1, we examine the carbuncle and the diamond. Together, they reveal two aspects of refinement: external attachment replaced by internal union, and hardness of heart removed while truth finds fulfillment in Christ.

The Carbuncle: External Attachment Superseded by Internal Union

The Carbuncle’s Positions

In Exodus 28:17, the carbuncle appears as the third stone in the first row of the high priest’s breastplate, set alongside sardius and topaz. The Hebrew term bareqeth (Strong’s H1304) conveys the sense of flashing brilliance, likened to lightning. This outward radiance belongs to the realm of visible distinction rather than inward reality, for the kingdom of God does not come with observation.

Jesus Himself warned against locating God’s kingdom in outward signs:

(Luke 17:20–23) “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.” 

The carbuncle’s brilliance thus frames its testimony: external radiance without internal transformation cannot constitute eternal foundation. What shines outwardly may still lack inward habitation.

This stone bore the name of Levi, whose designation Leviy (Strong’s H3878) derives from a root meaning “joined” or “attached.” The origin of Levi’s name reveals the nature of this joining:

“And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.” (Genesis 29:34)

From its inception, Levi’s identity was defined by attachment. Yet this joining operated entirely within the natural realm—a wife’s longing for affection, a mother’s hope for relational security through childbearing. The attachment was real, but it was circumstantial, external, and bound to the flesh.

When we turn to Ezekiel 28:13, the carbuncle appears again—now as the ninth and final stone in the covering of the anointed cherub. Its movement from the third position in Exodus to the ninth position under judgment signals completion rather than advancement. The carbuncle stands both at the outset of priestly service under the Law and at the culmination of the Adamic order as it is exposed. In both settings, it bears the same testimony: joining within the natural order remains external and provisional.

Yet when John beholds the foundations of New Jerusalem, the carbuncle is absent entirely (Revelation 21:19–20). Its omission declares that what once functioned through outward attachment finds no independent place in the eternal structure.

External Joining Under the Levitical Order

Though the tribe of Levi was separated for tabernacle service, only the lineage of Aaron was appointed to the priesthood. This distinction itself testified to the nature of external joining under the Law. Priestly identity was determined by physical descent and ceremonial appointment rather than inward transformation. One became a priest by birth, not by regeneration.

As a result, death continually interrupted the priesthood:

“And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death.” (Hebrews 7:23)

Though set apart for sacred service, the Levites possessed no inheritance among the tribes. The Lord Himself became their portion:

“Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.” (Numbers 18:20)

This arrangement testified to a profound truth: the priesthood pointed toward an inheritance in God Himself. Yet under the Law, this reality remained external. The Levites served God in sacred duty but did not enter beyond the veil—joined to holy service, yet separated from the holiest place.

Internal Union Through Spiritual Birth

What the Levitical order could only prefigure, the new covenant provides through internal union. Natural descent gives way to spiritual rebirth. Jesus declared to Nicodemus:

“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)

Priestly identity is no longer inherited through lineage but imparted through regeneration: 

“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13)

Paul describes this union plainly:

“But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:17)

This joining operates at the level of spirit, not ceremony. Believers are not merely associated with Christ; they are incorporated into Him:

“For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” (Ephesians 5:30)

Why the Carbuncle Does Not Transfer

The verdict is clear: external attachment has been surpassed by internal union.

The carbuncle represented joining through natural descent, visible ordinance, and mediated service—each necessary within the shadowed order, yet none sufficient for eternal foundation. When substance arrives, shadow yields its place. External attachment gives way to inward participation. Ceremonial joining is fulfilled through shared life.

The carbuncle does not transfer because what it signified has been fulfilled in Christ—not refined, but transformed. Life is now joined to life, spirit to spirit, the many made one in Him.

The Diamond: Hardness Removed, Truth Fulfilled

The Diamond’s Positions

In Exodus 28:18, the diamond occupies the sixth position, appearing as the third stone of the second row, bearing the name of Zebulun. The Hebrew yāhălōm (Strong’s H3095) derives from a root meaning “to strike” or “to hammer,” an apt description of the gem long associated with extreme hardness. This stone represented Zebulun, whose name Zebûlûn (Strong’s H2074) carries the sense of “dwelling” or “habitation.”

The juxtaposition is instructive. A dwelling is intended to receive, contain, and give rest. Yet hardness defines the diamond’s essential character—unyielding, resistant, impervious. When hardness governs habitation, what should receive instead resists. The dwelling becomes fortified rather than indwelt.

In Ezekiel 28:13, the diamond appears again, now third among the nine stones covering the anointed cherub. Its movement from the sixth position in Exodus to a prominent position under judgment does not signify advancement, but exposure. Hardness is brought fully into view, carried through the Adamic order and set before divine scrutiny. The placement reveals not endurance, but manifestation—resistance exposed rather than preserved.

Revelation 21 confirms the verdict. When the twelve foundations of New Jerusalem are revealed, the diamond is absent (Revelation 21:19–20). What once bore testimony within the shadowed order finds no independent place in the eternal structure.

The Dual Witness of Diamond

Diamond’s defining characteristic—its hardness—bears a twofold testimony. This dual witness explains why the diamond does not transfer into the eternal foundations. What must be removed cannot remain; what it pointed toward finds fulfillment elsewhere.

Hardness as Resistance: The Stony Heart Removed

Scripture identifies hardness as resistance to inward inscription. Through Jeremiah, the Lord declares:

“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars.” (Jeremiah 17:1)

The image is decisive. What is hard enough to engrave transgression permanently is also too hard to receive righteousness. Stone bears record, but not life.

God’s solution is not refinement of hardness, but its removal:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)

What the Law engraved externally upon stone is replaced by what God writes inwardly:

“I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:33)

Paul confirms the transformation:

“Not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” (2 Corinthians 3:3)

This transformation was promised under the old covenant but could not be accomplished through it:

“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” (Deuteronomy 30:6)

“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.” (Romans 2:29)

The removal of hardness is not refinement but replacement. Stone gives way to flesh, external commandment to internal life, resistance to reception.

Hardness and the Word: Resistance Without Root

Hardness also manifests as resistance to the Word itself. Jesus declared:

“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” (Matthew 13:15)

In the parable of the sower, the consequence is made plain:

“But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended” (Matthew 13:20–21)

Stony ground allows surface reception but prevents depth. The Word may be heard, yet it cannot take root where hardness limits penetration. What should be a dwelling becomes a barrier. Reception without transformation yields no abiding fruit.

Permanence Fulfilled: Truth in Christ

Yet to halt at hardness’s negative witness would truncate the testimony. The diamond’s impervious nature also speaks of permanence. What cannot be broken testifies, in shadow, to what cannot be destroyed.

Scripture attributes such permanence not to stone, but to God’s Word:

“The word of our God shall stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

What the diamond symbolized, Christ embodies:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Thus the positive witness of diamond—unchanging permanence—is not preserved in stone, but fulfilled in a Person.

Why the Diamond Does Not Transfer

The verdict is complete and twofold.

Negatively, hardness of heart must be removed. What resists God’s inscription cannot remain where His law is written within. The stony heart yields to a heart of flesh.

Positively, what diamond testified to in shadow—unchanging truth—is fulfilled perfectly in Christ. Permanence is no longer represented; it is embodied.

The stone yields to the Person. External hardness gives way to inward life. Shadow fulfills its purpose by yielding to substance.

Looking Toward Part 2

Through the carbuncle and the diamond, we have witnessed two necessary acts of refinement. External attachment, once expressed through lineage and ceremony, has been surpassed by internal union in Christ. Hardness of heart, which bore the record of sin and resisted God’s inscription, has been removed, while the permanence it symbolized finds fulfillment in Him who is the Truth.

These two stones establish a decisive pattern: elements that belong solely to the natural order—however purposeful within the shadow—cannot constitute eternal foundation. When substance arrives, such representations must either give way entirely or be fulfilled beyond themselves.

Yet not every stone resolves in the same manner. Some aspects of the former order are not merely removed, but transformed. Others mark a condition that reaches its appointed end and does not recur.

In Part 2, we will examine the onyx and the agate. Onyx, which once bore names externally upon stone, does not transfer independently into the foundations of New Jerusalem, yet reappears transformed within sardonyx—testifying that what was once borne outwardly is now written inwardly. Agate, associated with wrestling under the natural order, appears only within the Law’s testimony and then vanishes, declaring that striving reaches its terminus when rest is entered.

Together, these stones will complete the witness begun in Part 1, showing that God’s refining work does not merely remove what cannot abide, but also transforms what He intends to carry forward into eternal reality.

— To Be Continued in Part 2 —

Dan 11:28-45  Be ye not troubled – Part 5

[Study Aired June 6, 2024]

Dan 11:28  Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. 
Dan 11:29  At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 
Dan 11:30  For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. 
Dan 11:31  And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 
Dan 11:32  And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 
Dan 11:33  And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 
Dan 11:34  Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 
Dan 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 
Dan 11:36  And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 
Dan 11:37  Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 
Dan 11:38  But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 
Dan 11:39  Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
Dan 11:40  And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 
Dan 11:41  He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 
Dan 11:42  He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
Dan 11:43  But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 
Dan 11:44  But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 
Dan 11:45  And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. 

This last section we’re going to look at in chapter 11 reveals more historical events, which are spiritual types that point to the spiritual reality of those events being shown in the lives of those who are being judged in this life (1Pe 4:17). We will remain spiritually blinded and lost if we continue to put these verses off onto someone else and not apply them to our own life that must be miraculously convicted of our own self-righteous man of perdition who continues to want to abide on the throne of our hearts and must be kept under subjection as we die daily (Joh 9:41, 1Co 9:26-27, 1Co 15:31).

Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

1Co 9:26  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
1Co 9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

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

Below are a couple of excerpts from the historian I’ve been using that will make it very clear how the religious masses look at prophesy with an outward approach that does not incriminate us personally, as we naturally point to the vileness in others, the classic Adam and Eve approach to dealing with God’s revelation that should be convicting us that there is nothing good within me (Gen 3:11-13, Mar 10:18, Joh 5:30).

Gen 3:11  And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Gen 3:12  And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Gen 3:13  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Mar 10:18  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

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

Excerpt pointing to the Antichrist who is thought of as being one specific man:

He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god: (Dan 11:36) The angel explained to Daniel that this king would blaspheme God and exalt himself until the wrath has been accomplished and what has been determined shall be done.
Above every god: (Dan 11:36) Here we shift from what was fulfilled in the Ptolemies and the Selucids to what will be fulfilled in the Antichrist, the final world dictator. Daniel was told that this revelation pertained to the latter days (Daniel 10:14), and Daniel 11:36 begins to look more towards this final world dictator, who is sort of a “last days Antiochus Epiphanes.” [the author is using the NKJV]

Dan 11:36  And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 

In this section of scripture, God’s judgment upon the body of Christ is represented by “the wrath has been accomplished and what has been determined shall be done.”  It is the antiChrist in each one of us that needs to be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming (1Jn 2:18, 1Jn 2:22, 1Jn 4:3, 2Jn 1:7), and what that brightness does is rip the self-righteous veil off our own hearts that cannot see that all of mankind’s violent and sinful history is a declaration of what is naturally within us and unable to be overcome unless the Lord tears down that marred vessel and makes it anew by the brightness of His coming into our heavens (Jer 18:4, 2Th 2:8).

2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The world is not antiChrist for not believing that Christ entered into this world in His flesh, because many do believe this, including Muslims. However, it is the height of blasphemy to tell anyone that you are Christ’s body and that He has entered into you as the Son of God (Col 1:27, Rom 8:9, Eph 5:30). Christ is our forerunner as one who was rejected by men for the truth’s sake, and as He is, so are we in this world (Joh 8:58-59, Joh 10:31-36, 1Jn 4:17)

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

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

Joh 8:58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Joh 8:59  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

By God’s grace we will continue to “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward” (2Jn 1:8), not denying the Son who is within us and being blessed to abide in Christ so that we can know the Father as well (1Jn 2:23-24, Joh 14:20-21).

1Jn 2:23  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also [Mat 10:32-33].
1Jn 2:24  Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

Christ is in His people cleansing the temple of our beastly nature that wants to hold onto our former belief in free will which could never be driven out of us except it be through His chastening grace upon those few who are being received by God in this age (Joh 2:15-17, Heb 12:6).

Dan 11:28  Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. 
Dan 11:29  At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 
Dan 11:30  For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. 
Dan 11:31  And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 

We understand that the vile person being talked about here represents Antiochus Epiphanes, who is a type of the man of perdition on the throne of our hearts, and as we saw in the previous verses he was in battle against the king of the south who had a very great army (Dan 11:25-27), and yet he did not prevail, meaning the king of the south. This symbolizes how God purposes for us to overcome and sweep the house clean [Antiochus Epiphanes’ victory], only to then “return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land” which is what he does but in the final analysis we read “he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him” (Dan 11:45). These events in the life of Antiochus Epiphanes parallel very well with these words of Christ (Mat 12:43-45). This section of Antiochus Epiphanes’ life reminds us that we are that wicked generation who lose our first love, and the last state of our life is worse than the first for a period of time when we come out of Babylon, represented by the dry places where we seek spiritual rest but find none.

Mat 12:43  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, [victory over king of the south] he walketh through dry places [Isa 3:1], seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44  Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished [“he shall do exploits, and return to his own land“].
Mat 12:45  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation [“yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him“]. 

“At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter” – This verse reminds us that there is an appointed time for all things that God orchestrates for our maturing, and God knows when it is time for us to go into exile and when to come out of it.

“The ships of Chittim shall come against him” – The city of Chittim is mentioned six times in the old covenant in these following verses (Num 24:24, Isa 23:1, Isa 23:12, Jer 2:10, Eze 27:6, Dan 11:30), the number of man, and in particular speak of those who are gentile in spirit, meaning unbelieving. The ships of Tyre and the ships of Chittim represent that period in our life when we were those merchants on the sea plying the waters of Babylon, walking contrary to the Lord (Act 27:4, Lev 26:21), of which must all be destroyed within us.

H3794 kittı̂y    kittı̂yı̂y kit-tee’, kit-tee-ee’   Patrial from an unused name denoting Cyprus (only in the plural); a Kittite or Cypriote; hence an islander in general, that is, the Greeks or Romans on the shores opposite Palestine: – Chittim, Kittim.  Total KJV occurrences: 8

BDB – Definition: Chittim or Kittim = bruisers

Num 24:24   And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever. 

Isa 23:1  The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

Isa 23:12  And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.

Act 27:4  And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. 

Lev 26:21  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

“And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate” – Now we come to this section about the abomination of desolation being placed in the temple (1Co 3:16), and it is an abomination in God’s eyes at this point because we think that we stand by our own power, and this is what pollutes the sanctuary of God when we take credit for anything, whether it be good or evil unfolding in our lives.

Dan 11:32  And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 
Dan 11:33  And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 
Dan 11:34  Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 
Dan 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 

As discussed last week, when we are of the mindset to go along to get along and don’t try the spirits whether they are of God, we become one with and subject to that spirit that we coexist with through flatteries (Rom 6:16-18). This is the ecumenical spirit of the churches today that do not obey the voice of Christ but rather let church doctrine trump their thinking in every instance.

Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 

The only way to overcome that spirit is to see through it by the grace of God and so the very next verses of Romans (Rom 6:17-18) explain to us how it is possible that “they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.“

Rom 6:17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 
Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Our old man is going to fall by the sword if we are being dragged to Christ (Joh 6:44, 2Sa 12:10), and the word of God is a flaming sword that turns every way keeping the way of the tree of life (Gen 3:24). That judgment upon us by the sword of God’s word takes our old man into captivity, spoiling us, which is another way of saying we are purged and made white through Christ, “And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.“

Dan 11:36  And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

Without God’s spirit within us, we will not see the glorious message of the destruction of the man of sin within us in this verse (Dan 11:36) that tells us the natural status of all the world that has been deceived (2Co 4:4) and how we must prosper in that spirit “till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.” The historian we have been reading concludes, as does the majority of Babylon, that Antiochus must have an end-time fulfillment in some final world dictator who is going to come and wreak havoc. Of course this is great news for Satan as he continues to unknowingly reside in the hearts and minds of humanity who are only looking outside themselves for a supposed man of perdition.

The Antichrist: the end times Antiochus Epiphanes.
(Daniel 11:36) The willful king: a shift to a future fulfillment.

Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.

He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god: The angel explained to Daniel that this king would blaspheme God and exalt himself until the wrath has been accomplished and what has been determined shall be done.
Above every god: Here we shift from what was fulfilled in the Ptolemies and the Selucids to what will be fulfilled in the Antichrist, the final world dictator. Daniel was told that this revelation pertained to the latter days (Daniel 10:14), and Daniel 11:36 begins to look more towards this final world dictator, who is sort of a “last days Antiochus Epiphanes.”
We know that everything about this prophecy was not fulfilled during the career of Antiochus Epiphanes. Jesus specifically said the realabomination of desolation was still in the future (Matthew 24:15). The Apostle Paul paraphrased Daniel 11:36 in reference to the coming Antichrist: Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
Antiochus Epiphanes is important, but mostly as a historical preview of the Antichrist. This is why so much space is given to describing the career of one evil man — because he prefigures the ultimate evil man. Antiochus Epiphanes is the “trailer” released well before the Antichrist, who is like the “feature.”
He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god: Antiochus Epiphanes certainly did this in the general sense that all sinners oppose God. Yet he remained loyal to the Greek religious tradition, which revered the entire Olympian pantheon. Antiochus Epiphanes put a statue of Zeus in the temple, not of himself. This statement will be far more precisely fulfilled in the Antichrist, who sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
Shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished: Antichrist will do much damage, but he is on a short chain and will only work into God’s plan. God’s purpose will be accomplished.

Dan 11:37  Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 
Dan 11:38  But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 
Dan 11:39  Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

We are still talking about the man of perdition within us, and the descriptive words given in these verses define how we lived out our former conversation (Eph 2:3) when we were subject to the god of this world and did not have Him who is within us (1Jn 4:4) overcoming Satan, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: ” (1Jn 4:4, Eph 2:4-6). 

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

When we were of our father the devil, we had no regard for God and were without desire for women representing churches. Even if we were in some Babylonian church, our inability to eat his bread and wear his apparel and only want His name (Isa 4:1) is what we are looking at in this verse, “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women.” We also have no regard for the scriptures of old, “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers“, that are able to make us wise unto salvation (2Ti 3:15), because there is only one god and that is ourselves at this point as we put ourselves above all others, “for he shall magnify himself above all.“

The beast gets his power from the dragon (Rev 13:4) so unbeknownst to us in that state of mind where we put ourselves above God, it is all happening as a result of Satan’s spirit that is dominating us at this point in our life. Our subjectivity to Babylon is our worship of the beast who gets his power from Satan making us slaves to sin (Joh 8:34-35) who honor the “God of forces” which should be a small “g”, giving of our wealth, of mind and time and energy, represented by the gold, silver and precious stones, “But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.“

Babylon will fall in time, but for now we read of Satan’s empire that provides fleshly strongholds [“many wonderful works“] for the man of perdition who is given increase, like God does to the elect but in the negative sense of keeping people in the bondage of sin via the glory Satan promises, along with power to rule and divide and conquer the land which is our bodies, but all for personal gain. This is the sense of what we’re reading in this verse, “Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.“

(Daniel 11:37-39) The character and authority of the “willful king.”

He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.

He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women: Based on this, some Bible scholars believe that the Antichrist will be of Jewish descent, and perhaps will also be a homosexual. These things may not be popularly known about the man, but they may be true nonetheless.
But many commentators believe that the desire of womenrefers to Jesus, in that all women desired the honor of bearing the Messiah and understanding “desire” as it is used in Haggai 2:7. Seeing the desire of women as Jesus makes most sense in light of the flow of context.
He shall honor a god of fortresses: The Antichrist will take and hold power with military might and the shrewd use of great riches.

Dan 11:40  And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
Dan 11:41  He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

These last verses which talk about Antiochus Epiphanes are once again describing the spiritual struggle we must go through with the man of perdition on the throne of our hearts, and we are reminded that, as we near the end of this age, the god of this world will have great wrath (Rev 12:12) and consequently so will evil men wax worse and worse (2Ti 3:11-13). The spiritual struggles within us are typified by this verse, “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over” (Mat 24:6-15).

2Ti 3:11  Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; [process of judgment upon the body of Christ represented by Antioch,  Iconium, and Lystra] what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 
2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 
2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 

Mat 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 
Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Whoever will escape out the hand of the adversary has already been written, and Satan’s primary target is the elect as the accuser of the brethren so, “He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: (Mat 22:14, Heb 6:4-6,Mat 24:24) but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.” This statement reminds us that there are a few in their flesh who will be saved, and that salvation will be a narrow escape (1Pe 4:18). Who escapes in this life are those who go through a process of judgment in their flesh, typified by these three groups: “Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.“

(Daniel 11:40-45) The final conflict.

At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

At the time of the end: The angel described to Daniel a confederation of kings coming against this great leader, with a battle in and near the Holy Land.
King of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind: Prophetically speaking, a precise identification of peoples mentioned is difficult. The king of the Southmay be Egypt or represent the Arab community. The king of the North may be the Antichrist’s domain (as the “new Antiochus Epiphanes”) or it may be Russia.
The precise points may be cloudy, but the general idea is clear. The end will be marked by great conflict, culminating in the world’s armies gathering in the Promised Land to do final battle.

Yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him: In the end there is no hope for the Antichrist or for any of his followers.

Dan 11:42  He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
Dan 11:43  But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 
Dan 11:44  But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 
Dan 11:45  And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

These last verses talk about what leads up to the final fall of Babylon, and what becomes very evident at the end of the age is found in Revelation 17:16; “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.”

Antiochus has power and stretches forth his hand “upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.” This describes the power the beast will have over all the corrupt treasures of Babylon and how it will be, over a course of time, that these judgements [3] will be executed upon the harlot, “the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps“, meaning they will be controlled by the beastly man of sin.

These are the typical events that unfold and set the stage for “tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.” Those tidings represent the imminent return of Christ and His Christ that trouble the man of perdition. The east represents where Christ comes from (Mat 24:27), and the north tells us that He is coming with judgment on his mind, which will be executed through the church (Rev 12:5, Rev 2:27).

Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 

Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Now we come to the glorious twelfth chapter of Daniel that points to how Christ will make the bride ready (Rev 21:2) through the strength of God’s power (Joh 17:12, Joh 10:28-29), preparing us to be kings and priests who will be raised incorruptible, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump” (1Co 15:52).

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Joh 17:12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Dan 9:1-27 Seventy Years in the Desolations of Jerusalem

[Study Aired April 25, 2024]

Dan 9:1  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
Dan 9:2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 
Dan 9:3  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 
Dan 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 
Dan 9:5  We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 
Dan 9:6  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 
Dan 9:7  O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 
Dan 9:8  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 
Dan 9:9  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
Dan 9:10  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 
Dan 9:11  Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
Dan 9:12  And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 
Dan 9:13  As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 
Dan 9:14  Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
Dan 9:15  And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 
Dan 9:16  O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
Dan 9:17  Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. 
Dan 9:18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 
Dan 9:19  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. 
Dan 9:20  And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
Dan 9:21  Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 
Dan 9:22  And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 
Dan 9:23  At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. 
Dan 9:24  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 
Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 
Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 
Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. 

There are only two main sections to this ninth chapter of Daniel and two main points being made that we need to consider. The first section, which is the bulk of the chapter, is found in Daniel 9:1-23 which reveals what the power of prayer (Dan 9:3) can accomplish in our lives (Dan 9:3, Jas 5:16, Luk 2:37, Php 1:19). When we draw close to God, we are reminded that He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, and “Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psa 46:1-2).

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 

Luk 2:37  And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day [Act 5:42].

Php 1:19  For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

Daniel’s prayer came from a heartfelt, contrite, and broken spirit (Isa 66:2, Psa 51:17) and it was because of what he understood to be the condition of the nation that such a sighing and crying (Eze 9:4) to the Lord was made. It was “In the first year of his reign [King Darius] I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”  It is in the day of the Lord, typified by the “first year” in this sentence, we recognize that judgment is upon us, the chastening and scourging by which every son of God is received (Heb 12:6), and it is accomplished in seventy years, a number that is connected to the plagues that must be poured out upon us (7×10=70) if we are going to enter into the temple of God (Rev 15:8).

The understanding and the effect on Daniel regarding what he read typifies for God’s elect how His word will be received in our lives (Rev 1:3) at this time of the end, when judgment is upon us, as we see a dying world around us where evil men are waxing worse and worse, causing us to sigh and cry for the abominations of this world, being vexed in our spirit (2Ti 3:13, 2Pe 2:7). We’ve become convinced that there is none righteous only one (Col 1:27, Rom 8:9, Php 1:11, Gal 2:20-21), and that what we see happening in this world tells us what would become of all of us except for the grace of God and the faith of Christ that makes it possible for us to remain undefiled from this world, ‘keeping our garments’ (Rev 3:4, Rev 16:15).

Rev 3:4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

The last section of Daniel chapter 9 has to do with how God is going to completely bring an end to our sins and make reconciliation for our iniquities, meaning us as the Israel of God (Gal 6:16) who are first judged in this life (1Pe 4:17). The confession of Daniel’s sins for himself and for the nation precede the judgment that is then revealed to him with prophetic words explaining how God plans to bring a complete and total end to sin in our lives, and in the lives of all mankind in time (2Sa 14:14). That is the principle point being made – the temple must be cleansed of the abomination that makes desolate, and that cleansing begins with the house of God: “that he would accomplish seventy years [complete and total] in the desolations of Jerusalem [Jerusalem typifying God’s people the Israel of God].”

Bringing an end to sin can only be accomplished by being buried into Christ’s death (Rom 6:3). Then through being raised in heavenly places (Joh 11:25-26, Eph 2:6), we can focus on our head, Jesus Christ (Heb 12:1-2, Rom 12:1-2) who is the way, the truth and the life to whom God has granted us to be dragged (Joh 6:44) in this age so we can be assured that we can overcome and endure to the end (Mat 10:22). 

Dan 9:1  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 
Dan 9:2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 
Dan 9:3  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 
Dan 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

We must set our face toward the Lord God (I set my face unto the Lord God) and seek Him with all our heart, mind and strength. In doing so we are reassured that we will find Him who is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Jer 29:13, Heb 11:6, Mat 6:33).

Our identifying with the reality that we are being judged in this age is being typified by Daniel who is now reading books that Jeremiah the prophet was inspired to write, and it is in the first year of king Darius’ reign that this occurs as a type of the day of the Lord unfolding in Daniel’s life.

As a type of the elect, Daniel is motivated like Noah and is moving with fear setting his ‘face unto the Lord God’, seeking him “by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.”

If we abase ourselves, it will be by God’s power as typified by the two witnesses who also are in “sackcloth” (Rev 11:3) and presenting their whole lives to God as a living sacrifice, which is what an acceptable fast is to God (Isa 58:5-7). With those actions unfolding in our lives, our “prayer and supplications” will be coming from a place of sincerity and from a foundation of good works that are laid up against the time to come (1Ti 6:19) and bear witness to our souls that we are His children being sacrificed for this world (Rom 8:16).

That prayer included a confession (Rom 2:4) and acknowledgement of God being “great and dreadful” and able to keep “the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments.” The keeping of the commandments is what the nation has not been doing. However, after God is done judging all nations, the “great and dreadful” God will accomplish what He has set out to do, and that is to save every soul through judgment (1Co 15:22, Isa 26:9).

Dan 9:5  We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 
Dan 9:6  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

This section of scripture reminds us we serve a merciful God who forgives us for our sinful condition which commits iniquity and acts wickedly and departs “from thy precepts and from thy judgments.” This is our former conversation (Eph 2:3) that needs to be repented of and ruled over the rest of our lives through Christ. God is just showing us what is true for all who don’t have a new fleshly heart that has been written upon by our Lord (Eze 36:26). We will just naturally without the mind of Christ be those who have not “hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.”  Not listening to those whom God has given His word, like prophets of old or people in positions of authority, is expressed in these new covenant verses, and also typified for us in Moses’ life with Korah’s rebellion and all the congregation’s rebellion (2Pe 2:10-11, Num 16:3).

2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 
2Pe 2:11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption [unless God grants repentance (1Ti 1:13)].

Num 16:3  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

Dan 9:7  O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
Dan 9:8  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 
Dan 9:9  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

All of mankind is being indicted with this sentence, “to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee“, and it is only the righteousness of Christ that can wash away all our guilt and sinful condition setting us free from this state of “confusion of faces, as at this day.” No one is excluded from this state of mind described as “to us belongeth confusion of face“; not our kings, our princes or our fathers, “because we have sinned against thee” (Rom 3:23, Rom 6:23, Rom 5:12). The good news is “To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.“

Dan 9:10  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 
Dan 9:11  Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
Dan 9:12  And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 

Daniel’s prayer is a universal confession that applies to all of mankind’s marred condition that naturally does not obey the voice of the LORD our God, or walk in His laws, or listen to the servants, the prophets (Jer 18:4).

Moses is introduced at this point in Daniel’s prayer because all of Israel, who represents the world, have transgressed the law and not obeyed the voice of Moses whose law and voice are a type of Christ’s law (Gal 6:2). As a result, “the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.” The carnal “law of Moses” (Heb 7:16) makes evident to us that we are marred in the Potter’s hand and in need of a savior to give us the power we need to keep “the law of the spirit of life” (Rom 7:7, Rom 7:13, Rom 8:2-3).

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Rom 7:13  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 
Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 

We are corrected for not being able to keep the law, “And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem“, which from a carnal perspective causes us to question God’s motives (Rom 9:19-20.

Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? [yes we will until we don’t, little and by little]

Dan 9:13  As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 
Dan 9:14  Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
Dan 9:15  And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

If we only confess our iniquities, God will forgive us (1Jn 1:9, Lev 26:40). However, as we’re reading here, we don’t naturally even see our own iniquity let alone confess our faults to the Lord. It takes Aaron in us who is a type of Christ to “lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel” (Lev 16:21). God brings evil upon us for not obeying His voice and then declares “for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth.“ God is not unaware of our sinful state in other words and causes our sins knowing that we will need deliverance from “Egypt with a mighty hand” (Lev 16:21). He is glorified by the victory He gives to us over sin, not the other way around. “And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.“

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Lev 26:40  If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; 

Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness [It is through our wilderness experience where we completely fall seven times (Pro 24:16) where God shows mercy to us so that we in turn will be able to extend that same mercy to the rest of the world (Rom 11:31, Rom 2:4)]: 

Dan 9:16  O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
Dan 9:17  Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. 
Dan 9:18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 

The same point is reiterated here that “we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies“. What we do is cry out to God (Dan 9:16-17) and are heard in that we fear him (Heb 5:7-8, 1Jn 4:17).

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 
Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Dan 9:19  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. 
Dan 9:20  And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; 
Dan 9:21  Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 
Dan 9:22  And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 
Dan 9:23  At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

This verse is confirmation that our fervent prayers will avail much, and have availed, and are availing even with groanings that can’t be uttered (Rom 8:26-27), and all of this because of the strength of the Lord within us which gives us the ability to cry out and persevere in prayer (Col 4:2-6). 

Col 4:2  Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Col 4:3  Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: 
Col 4:4  That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. 
Col 4:5  Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time [Mat 10:16]. 
Col 4:6  Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

God’s elect are called “by thy name” and Daniel confessing his sins and the sins of his people is typical of our confessing our faults in this age and covering a multitude of sins by being concerned and desirous of judging ourselves and showing love toward one another that will cover a multitude of sins (Jas 5:20). That multitude of sins, in the long run, is not just the sins of the body of Christ, but in time is the sins of the innumerable multitude (Rev 7:9) which will be covered by means God has devised to accomplish this through Christ and His elect (1Pe 4:8, Jas 5:20, 2Sa 14:14, Lev 16:21).

Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

1Pe 4:8  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Dan 9:24  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 
Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 
Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Clearly the emphasis on this chapter of Daniel 9 is not on this last section but rather on our prayerful relationship with our Father in heaven and the need to confess our faults and remain in a spirit of humility (Mic 6:8) acknowledging His hand as the Sovereign force in every single detail of every life (Eph 1:11, Rom 8:28). If we are granted to have that relationship with our Father and Christ in this age (Joh 17:3), then what will transpire in us is typified by this statement, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy“, but we can’t have one without the other!

Jerusalem within us must be restored as the bride that is being made ready (Rev 19:7, Rev 21:2) coming down from God and the cleansing process for the bride of Christ is expressed with this verse, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.“

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

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

In order for that work to be accomplished within the elect there must be much tribulation (Act 14:22) which is expressed in the next verse, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem [typifying Christ our Lord and savior who will also build the house (Psa 127:1) being the head of the church, Jerusalem above, the mother of us all (Gal 4:26)] unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times” (Dan 9:25). 

Regarding the numbers mentioned there are two principle points being made: one “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city” (Dan 9:24) a shadow of the complete [7×10=70] judgment that must come upon God’s elect in order to make the bride ready. 

The second part, “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off” (Dan 9:26), explains how the bride will be made ready, through a process of judgment upon our flesh represented by the numbers threescore (3×20=60) that first comes upon Christ, and then adding the two weeks is a witness that it is Christ in us who is accomplishing this work of grace within the body of Christ today. It all adds up to [62 weeks] which is also a witness to that same point that God judges both the head Christ and his body (1Pe 4:17, 1Jn 4:17) while in these vessels of clay (the number of man (6) and the witness of God’s power (2) that accomplishes this work)

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. 

Christ is cut off in the middle of the week to remind us that there are still three and a half years of Christ’s ministry yet to be fulfilled in the lives of God’s elect who are witnesses of these things (Luk 24:48) expressed in these verses, thus completing His complete ministry of seven years, “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: (Col 1:27) and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” (Mat 24:15)

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Our forerunner and head Jesus Christ is the first to put off His flesh and it is for our sakes He does this, “but not for himself (Col 1:27).” It is in the 62nd week to remind us that Christ Himself could not have done this work without the holy spirit working within him (6 is the flesh of Christ, and 2 is the witness that of His own self He can do nothing, just as we can’t, except we abide in the Vine [Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5]).

As He is so are we in this world, and just as there were great tribulations in Christ’s life, it will be that way for His body (1Pe 4:12, Act 14:22) and especially at the end of the age, “and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” The prince that came at the end of Christ’s life was Satan who is a destroyer [Apollyon^G623 ] (Joh 10:10, Rev 9:11, Luk 22:53, Joh 14:30), contrasted with these verses 1Jn 1:5, Mat 5:14), and it will be Satan at the end of this age as well who will make war with the saints in a more pronounced way, but will not prevail, “and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Rev 12:12-17).  

Rev 12:12  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 
Rev 12:13  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 
Rev 12:15  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 
Rev 12:16  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 
Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. 

This last verse is sobering to say the least, but in nothing should we be terrified (Php 1:28-29) but rather rejoice that God can tell us these things in advance knowing that He can and will deliver His children through all the tribulation of this life (Rom 5:10) and bring this manchild to term, as He did the head of the body Jesus Christ (Rev 12:5). 

The wickedness of man is only going to get worse, “and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Dan 9:18) is what God has determined will be poured out upon “the desolate” (Eze 12:19, 1Co 15:50, Rom 3:10) who represent Christ and God’s elect (Joh 15:18-21). These verses in Ezekiel (Eze 12:19-28) are an admonition to God’s people to not say our Lord delays His coming (Joh 4:35, Heb 10:37-38, Joh 10:28, Rev 3:11).

Eze 12:19  And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. 
Eze 12:20  And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

Dan 9:18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 

Joh 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
Joh 15:21  But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me (Joh 20:21, Joh 3:16-17).

Confirming the covenant with many for one week is what Satan is given the power to do, and this covenant is not a holy covenant but rather a changing of times and rules that will be bent to the elect’s seeming disadvantage and possible imprisonment, and even martyrdom in some cases, nothing more than what any one one of us can bear, God has promised (1Co 10:13). 

In Christ’s life the confirmation of the covenant for one week resulted in Christ’s death, “he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” That worship of God is taken away and replaced by the abomination of desolation expressed this way, “and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate“.

Just prior to Christ warning His disciples of the impending trials they were going to face (Joh 15:18-21), He gave them this commandment, which is the way in which we are all going to overcome in this life (Joh 15:16-17). If we love one another, if we keep God’s commandments, He will take care of the rest of the details, and we don’t need to worry about a thing, not even what we will say in that hour (Mat 24:6,  Luk 21:18-19, Mar 13:11, Joh 10:28-30, Rom 8:35-39).

Joh 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit (Joh 20:21, Joh 3:16-17), and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Joh 15:17  These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Mar 13:11  But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost (Mat 5:37). 

Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 
Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one.

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

The Book of Joshua – Part 9, Joshua 8:1-35

“For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope; for what anyone sees, why does he also hope for it? But if we hope for that which we do not see, then we wait for it with patience” – Rom 8:24-25

[Study Aired April 22, 2023]

In Joshua 1, Israel heartily agreed to do all that the Lord said to do and was spoken by Moses and Joshua. The miracles of the Jordan being held back and Jericho’s astonishing fall and capture emboldened Israel’s heart as all-powerful. Yet, it took only one man’s sin (Achan’s) to severely flatten the entire nation’s pride. Mercifully, the Lord had only 36 of Israel’s valiant men of war die for Achan’s crime of lusting and stealing the “accursed thing”. 6×6=36, a double (2 six’s) witness for the number 6 representing all mankind, who dramatically ascend to become the idol as depicted in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2.

Mat 24:15 Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand).
Mat 24:16 Then let those in Judea flee into the mountains [to Christ and his Christ’s].
Mat 24:17 Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house;
Mat 24:18 nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes.

Achan’s sin is part of the Abomination of Desolation, the “accursed thing” sitting in his tent, the inner parts of his personal earthy temple. He precisely turned to bring into his house the accursed Babylonian cloak. Suppose that Joshua hadn’t dealt swiftly with the accursed thing; it would likely have emboldened Achan at some point to stroll through the Camp of Israel sporting his attire; the people no doubt would have likewise relaxed the word of God, and the leaven would have spread throughout all of Israel.

Ecc 8:10 And I have also seen the wicked buried and going away; and such as had acted rightly went from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city. This also is vanity.

Sometimes, to our dismay, wicked people seem to luxuriate in the wealth of their sins forever and eventually die of old age without reproof and get buried with fanfare. We, too, get buried spiritually and “forgotten in the city” since spiritual righteousness isn’t counted in Babylon as virtuous.

Ecc 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully set in them to do evil.

If Achan’s sin wasn’t speedily disciplined, the tortuous path of the harlot Israel would have been outrageously prominent at the beginning of their chronicles rather than at their end.

Ecc 8:12 Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his days, yet I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, because they fear before him;

What a blessing that understanding is! 

Achan is us after Christ’s death! We do exactly as Achan did with prolonged days in our sins. The difference is that Israel performed in the flesh; we spiritually “little by little” cast out the giants and children of our land since we are given to fear the Lord. Achan wasn’t afforded that mercy of repentance. If we think the Lord delays His coming (within) on a certain sin, we, too, can suffer a swift spiritual stoning.

Ecc 8:13 but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days as a shadow, because he feareth not before God.

The Lord nipped Achan’s sin in its infancy to graphically etch in Israel’s heart not to partake of trifling sins and to utterly trust in the Lord for their needs and to fight their battles. In the fall of Ai, Israel is given easy wins over her enemies to build her faith in God. Knowing the end at the beginning, we know that successive wins over sin embolden pride and joyful internal celebrations that, in turn, often lead to slothfulness and spiritual fornication and whoredoms.

Luk 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem [you and I] compassed with armies [false doctrines – like Achan’s], then know that the desolation [of our old man] thereof is nigh.

The Fall of Ai

Jos 8:1 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Do not fear, nor be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.
Jos 8:2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take for a prize for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it. 
Jos 8:3 So Joshua and all the people of war arose to go up against Ai. And Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, mighty warriors, and sent them away by night. 
Jos 8:4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, you will be an ambush against the city, behind the city. You shall not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 
Jos 8:5 And I, and all the people with me, shall go toward the city. And it shall be, when they come out against us, as at the first, we will flee before them,
Jos 8:6 (for they will come out after us) until we have drawn them out of the city. For they will say, They flee before us, even as at the first. And we will flee before them.
Jos 8:7 Then you shall rise up from the ambush, and seize on the city; for Jehovah your God will deliver it into your hand. 
Jos 8:8 And it shall be, when you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire, according to the command of Jehovah you shall do. See, I have commanded you. 
Jos 8:9 And Joshua sent them out. And they went to lie in ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai. But Joshua stayed that night among the people.
Jos 8:10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning and called up the people. And they went up, he and the elders of Israel, in the sight of the people of Ai. 
Jos 8:11 And all the people of war with him went up and drew near. And they came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai. And a valley was between them and Ai.
Jos 8:12 And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
Jos 8:13 And when they had set the people, all the army that was on the north of the city, and its rear ambush on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the middle of the valley. 
Jos 8:14 And it happened, when the king of Ai saw, they hurried and rose up early. And the men of the city went out to do battle against Israel, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the plain. But he did not know that there were some lying in ambush against him behind the city. 
Jos 8:15 And Joshua and all Israel acted as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Jos 8:16 And all the people in Ai were called together to run after them. And they ran after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. 
Jos 8:17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, who did not go after Israel. And they left the city open, and ran after Israel. 
Jos 8:18 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Stretch out the spear in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear in his hand toward the city. 
Jos 8:19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand. And they entered into the city, and took it, and hurried and set the city on fire. 
Jos 8:20 And the men of Ai looked behind them and saw. And, behold, the smoke of the city went up into the sky, and they had no power to flee this way or that way. And the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. 
Jos 8:21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city went up, then they turned again and killed the men of Ai.
Jos 8:22  And the others came out of the city against them. So they were in the middle of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And they struck them so that they let none of them remain or escape. 
Jos 8:23 And they took the king of Ai, and brought him alive to Joshua. 
Jos 8:24 And it happened, when Israel had made an end of killing all those who lived in Ai, in the field and in the wilderness where they chased them, and when they had all fallen on the edge of the sword until they were gone, all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 
Jos 8:25 And all who fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, all the men of Ai. 
Jos 8:26 For Joshua did not draw his hand back, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the people of Ai. 
Jos 8:27 Only, Israel took the cattle and the spoil of that city for a prize for themselves, according to the Word of Jehovah which He commanded Joshua. 
Jos 8:28 And Joshua burned Ai, and made it a heap forever, a ruin to this day. 
Jos 8:29 And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his body down from the tree and throw it down at the entrance to the gate of the city, and raise on it a great heap of stones, to this day.

Joshua Renews the Covenant

Jos 8:30 Then Joshua built an altar to Jehovah, the God of Israel in Mount Ebal, 
Jos 8:31 as Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the Law of Moses, an altar of whole stones over which no man has lifted any iron. And they offered on it burnt offerings to Jehovah, and sacrificed peace offerings.
Jos 8:32 And he wrote there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the sons of Israel.
Jos 8:33 And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark, and on that side, before the priests the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, the stranger as well as the homeborn among them, half of them over against Mount Gerizim, and half of them over against Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded before that they should bless all the people of Israel.
Jos 8:34 And afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the Law. 
Jos 8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua did not read before all the congregation of Israel, with the women and the little ones, and the strangers that walked among them. 

The Study:

Jos 8:1 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Do not fear, nor be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.

Particularly for a babe in Christ, it is easy to be dismayed, and even for a long-time Christian, the trials can appear severe. Yet, the Lord will only permit Satan’s hand to try us in accordance with one’s God-given faith. When we first experience the fiery trials, our turmoil can be extreme and sometimes boils up additional filth embedded in the earth of our ‘tent’.

Isa 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt. (Eph 4:14-16 “… tossed to and fro carried about by every wind of doctrine…”; Psa 107:23-31 “… They who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters…”)

However, the Lord’s people learn by experience to immutably trust Christ’s strength to afford an expectedly joyous end to their trials. In our spiritual infancy, the Lord gives us the triumph over our imagined most feared king, and we see that he is but Ai (H5857) – ‘a heap of ruins’ who never had any strength against us from the beginning. 

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 
Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world’s rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Jos 8:2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take for a prize for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it. 

No doubt Israel felt exasperated that they were permitted to keep the spoil and cattle this time, which seemed a cruel mockery to the now-dead Achan and his family had he just waited a few days.

Our lesson is to listen closely to what our Lord says, heed all His commands, and note the subtle spiritual differences. If He says something is “accursed”, then believe it. The “goodly Babylonish garment” is innocuous, as is unclean meat. Yet spiritually, it still represents our “accursed” self-righteous clothing. To wear it would give the appearance of evil and possibly offend our brother (1Th 5:24).

If we heed the trumpet blown within our city, that observation is the ambush we lay against our internal old man within.

Jos 8:3 So Joshua and all the people of war arose to go up against Ai. And Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, mighty warriors, and sent them away by night. 
Jos 8:4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, you will be an ambush against the city, behind the city. You shall not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 

Typically we know that the multiple of three by ten (or 100 or 1,000) is the Lord teaching Israel physically, and us spiritually, that routing our land of the enemy is a process for the long-standing completion of becoming one in our Lord.

As the saying goes, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. In kind, the ambushing of our enemies and not going very far from the evil city warns us to pay attention to the machinations of our spiritual enemies. These enemies of a deceitful heart in the darkness of our low spiritual points can conversely ambush us if we are not supported by the symbolic thirty-thousand multitude counselors in the Body of Christ (Jer 17:9; Gen 6:5; Mar 7:21-22). 

Jos 8:5 And I, and all the people with me, shall go toward the city. And it shall be, when they come out against us, as at the first, we will flee before them,
Jos 8:6 (for they will come out after us) until we have drawn them out of the city. For they will say, They flee before us, even as at the first. And we will flee before them. 
Jos 8:7 Then you shall rise up from the ambush, and seize on the city; for Jehovah your God will deliver it into your hand. 

Even though scripture says that Jehovah said such and such to Joshua, in all likelihood Joshua, as did many men and women of old, audibly heard the Lord. Today, our Lord speaks to us through His word and our thoughts, teachers, and brethren, echoing discernments. He is teaching Israel and us to first search our temple within, kill the accursed thing, and then go to war with the whole armour of Christ.

The battle is the Lord’s, even though in the flesh, under the Law, men were required to brutally kill the enemy. Spiritually we know that the Lord says vengeance is His; turn the other cheek, and that method today is our ambush; meanwhile, we look weak and silly before our enemies as we seem to run away.

1Co 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 and God has chosen the base things of the world, and things which are despised, and things which are not, in order to bring to nothing things that are; 
1Co 1:29 so that no flesh should glory in His presence.
1Co 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made to us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption; 
1Co 1:31 so that, according as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Joshua is a type of Christ staying in our midst as we look to Christ for direction and to win our battles. Our enemies will pursue us, but we wait for the Lord’s fiery intervention in the long night and defeat our enemies at dawn.

Deu 32:35 Vengeance and retribution belong to Me. Their foot shall slide in time, for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come on them make haste. 
Deu 32:36 For Jehovah will bring His people justice; and He shall have compassion on His servants, for He sees that their power is gone, and only the imprisoned and abandoned remain.
Deu 32:37 And He shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted?
Deu 32:38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let it be your hiding place. 
Deu 32:39 See now that I, I am He, and there is no god with me. I kill, and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is no deliverer out of My hand.
Deu 32:40 For I lift up My hand to Heaven and say, I live forever! 
Deu 32:41 If I sharpen My glittering sword, and if My hand takes hold in judgment, I will give vengeance to My enemies and will reward those that hate Me. 
Deu 32:42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the hairy scalp of the enemy. 
Deu 32:43 Rejoice, O, nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance to His foes and will be merciful to His land, to His people. 
Deu 32:44 And Moses came [being said by Moses before his death at the border of the Promised Land] and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun.

Rom 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Rom 12:18 If it is possible, as far as is in you, being in peace with all men.
Rom 12:19 not avenging yourselves, beloved, but giving place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Rom 12:20 Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing you shall heap coals of fire on his head.
Rom 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Jos 8:8 And it shall be, when you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire, according to the command of Jehovah you shall do. See, I have commanded you.
Jos 8:9 And Joshua sent them out. And they went to lie in ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai. But Joshua stayed that night among the people.
Jos 8:10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning and called up the people. And they went up, he and the elders of Israel, in the sight of the people of Ai.
Jos 8:11 And all the people of war with him went up and drew near. And they came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai. And a valley was between them and Ai.
Jos 8:12 And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. 
Jos 8:13 And when they had set the people, all the army that was on the north of the city, and its rear ambush on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the middle of the valley. 
Jos 8:14 And it happened, when the king of Ai saw, they hurried and rose up early. And the men of the city went out to do battle against Israel, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the plain. But he did not know that there were some lying in ambush against him behind the city.

The mighty warriors of Ai took the bait and launched a full-scale attack on Israel to the west, not knowing that massive judgment comes from the north. To Ai’s troop’s shock and horror, while out on the plain pursuing a pitiful fleeing band of Israelites, the ‘light’ of realisation from the east dashed all hope of returning to the safety of the city’s walls; they were surrounded!

Psalms 75 seems to contradict that judgment comes from the north, and the light of Christ comes from the east. King David, who wrote Psalms, was an unwitting prophet of spiritual understanding, as was Solomon in the Song of Solomon. Both men unconsciously forecast that the physical represents the spiritual, and in the case of Psalms 75, Christ is the judge regardless of the perfect compass allegory.

Psa 75:1 To the Chief Musician. Do not destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. To You, O God, we have given thanks, to You we have given thanks; for Your name is near, Your wonderful works declared.
Psa 75:2 When I take the appointed time, I will judge uprightly. 
Psa 75:3 The earth and all its people are melting away; I hold up its pillars. Selah. 
Psa 75:4 I said to the proud, Do not boast; and to the wicked, Do not lift up the horn; 
Psa 75:5 do not lift up your horn on high; nor speak with a stiff neck. 
Psa 75:6 For lifting up comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 
Psa 75:7 But God is the judge; He puts down one and sets up another. 
Psa 75:8 For in the hand of Jehovah there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is fully mixed; and He pours out from it; but the dregs of it, all the wicked of the earth shall drain its dregs and drink. 
Psa 75:9 But I will declare forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
Psa 75:10 Also I will cut off all the horns of the wicked; but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

Conversely, when surrounded by our enemies and in dire straits, our trust in the Lord is precisely the same as when we, as Israel, were the aggressor against our enemies. In the same environment today as Christ’s Christs, we become the scorn of our Babylonian peers.

Of course, writing the Psalms as Solomon penned the Song of Solomon, David unwittingly prophesied spiritually. David below accurately speaks of Christ on the cross, and we fill up the same spiritual afflictions behind Christ’s flesh spiritually.

Psa 22:11 Be not far from Me; for trouble is near, for there is none to help. 
Psa 22:12 Many bulls have circled around Me; strong bulls Of Bashan have surrounded Me. 
Psa 22:13 They opened wide their mouths on Me, like a ripping and a roaring lion. 
Psa 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all My bones are spread apart; My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels. 
Psa 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; 
Psa 22:16 and You have brought Me into the dust of death. For dogs have circled around Me; the band of spoilers have hemmed Me in, piercers of My hands and My feet. 
Psa 22:17 I can count all My bones; they look and stare at Me. 
Psa 22:18 They divide My garments among them and cast lots for My clothing.
Psa 22:19 But You, O Jehovah, be not far from Me; O My strength, hurry to help Me!
Psa 22:20 Deliver My soul from the sword, My only one from the dog’s hand.
Psa 22:21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth; from the wild oxen’s horns. You have answered Me. 

Heb 12:1 Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 
Heb 12:2 looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.

Jos 8:15 And Joshua and all Israel acted as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
Jos 8:16 And all the people in Ai were called together to run after them. And they ran after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. 
Jos 8:17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, who did not go after Israel. And they left the city open, and ran after Israel. 

Joshua and his armies in the above verses are a near-perfect replication of our daily fight against our spiritual enemies. Little do our Babylonian peers know that an ambush against our sins is set not by us but by Christ as we wait for His delivery while suffering derision. The leering world would like Christ’s Christs, with their coats of many colours, to fall in their sin and be like them. In the negative, the “silly women”:

Psa 35:19 Let not those who are my lying enemies rejoice over me, those who hate me without cause wink with the eye.
Psa 35:20 For they do not speak peace; but they think deceitful things against the quiet ones of the earth. 
Psa 35:21 And they widen their mouths against me; they say, Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen. 
Psa 35:22 You have seen, O Jehovah; do not keep silence; O Jehovah, do not be far from me. 
Psa 35:23 Stir up Yourself and awaken to my judgment, to my cause, my God and my Lord. 
Psa 35:24 Judge me, O Jehovah my God, according to Your righteousness; and do not let them rejoice over me. 

2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 
2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 

Pro 14:9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

Mat 20:18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 
Mat 20:19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Hos 7:11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria [an “ambush”].
Hos 7:12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

Pro 7:6 For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, 
Pro 7:7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, 
Pro 7:8 Passing through the street near her [a known harlot, or simply an overly sensual friend] corner; and he went the way to her house [it’s the semi-consciousness of an “ambush”].

Of course, you may read the entire account in Proverbs 7 about that young man, who is you and I, not alert enough to the “ambush” Satan has set by the Lord’s hands to see if we will obey His commands.

Not a man left in the heathen city of Ai who didn’t go out to fight Israel is synonymous with Christ and His Christs being scorned and attacked from all sides in Babylon, yet we know that nothing will prevail against God’s spirit. 

Psa 17:8  Keep me as the pupil, the daughter of the eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings, 
Psa 17:9  from the face of the wicked who strip me. Those against my soul, My foes, encircle me. 
Psa 17:10 They are enclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak proudly, 
Psa 17:11 they have now hemmed in our steps, they have set their eyes to bow me to the earth, 
Psa 17:12 their likeness is like a lion that longs to tear, and like a young lion lurking in secret places. 
Psa 17:13 Arise, O Jehovah, disappoint him, bow him down; deliver my soul from the wicked by Your sword, 
Psa 17:14 from men by Your hand, O Jehovah, from men of the world whose portion is in this life, and whose belly You fill with Your treasure. They are satisfied with sons, and will leave their riches to their babes. 
Psa 17:15 As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your image. 

Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

Jos 8:18 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Stretch out the spear in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear in his hand toward the city. 

The term “stretch out”, a person’s hand, spear, or rod, is a distinct action repeated in scripture that denotes complete trust and faith in the Lord that He will do what He says based on the steadfast trust He has given us without assured evidence of the outcome.

Fledgling Israel’s entire experiences were for their growing faith in their Lord that He would follow through with His blessings if they did all He commanded.

Exo 3:20 And I will stretch out My hand and smite Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in the midst of it. And after that he will let you go.

Exo 8:16 And Jehovah said to Moses, Say to Aaron: Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 

Being saved by hope is only achieved by the fearful experience of repeatedly being surrounded by our enemies, knowing that we do not have the “accursed thing” hidden in our hearts. We need to categorically know we have a clean conscience before the battle. It’s like leaving the house an hour ago and wondering if you turned the iron off. With that certainty, we confidently and patiently wait for the command of the Lord’s raised spear to charge at our enemy for an assured outcome.

Jos 8:19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand. And they entered into the city, and took it, and hurried and set the city on fire. 

Once again, our Lord is our ambush and our spear.

1Sa 17:47 And all this multitude shall know that Jehovah does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is Jehovah’s, and He will give you [our enemies] into our hands.

Jos 8:20 And the men of Ai looked behind them and saw. And, behold, the smoke of the city went up into the sky, and they had no power to flee this way or that way. And the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. 

Just as Lot’s wife turned to see the smoke of the cities of the plain go up, she was turned into a pillar of salt and “had no power to flee this way or that way” (Gen 19:26). However, we strain forward into the battle knowing that our Lord goes before us as we forget our forgiven past failings. 

Php 3:13 My brothers, I do not count myself to have taken possession [of eternal life], but one thing I do, forgetting the things behind and reaching forward to the things before [as if through hope I have already attained the resurrection to life],
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

Jos 8:21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city went up, then they turned again and killed the men of Ai.
Jos 8:22  And the others came out of the city against them. So they were in the middle of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And they struck them so that they let none of them remain or escape.
Jos 8:23 And they took the king of Ai, and brought him alive to Joshua. 

Many years later, no doubt King Saul read the chronicles of Joshua’s audacious battle against Ai and, in all likelihood, carelessly employed the same battle rules with the Amalekites by keeping the valuable spoils, including King Agag. Joshua’s and Saul’s accounts of engaging the enemy are for our learning. Consistently throughout scripture, we are charged to precisely follow Christ’s word. If we are slothful in that service, we can expect an ambush.

1Jn 2:3 And by this we know that we have known Him, if we keep His commandments. 
1Jn 2:4 He who says, I have known Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5 But whoever keeps His Word, truly in this one the love of God is perfected. By this we know that we are in Him. 
1Jn 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked. 

Jos 8:24 And it happened, when Israel had made an end of killing all those who lived in Ai, in the field and in the wilderness where they chased them, and when they had all fallen on the edge of the sword until they were gone, all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 
Jos 8:25 And all who fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, all the men of Ai. 

Just as twelve thousand (number of foundation in darkness and light) enemies of Israel died, in a dual witness, it represents the entire world committed to death at the end of the one-thousand year rule of the rod of iron.

1Co 15:50 And I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive. 
1Co 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the first-fruit, and afterward they who are Christ’s at His coming; 

Jos 8:26 For Joshua did not draw his hand back, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the people of Ai. 
Jos 8:27 Only, Israel took the cattle and the spoil of that city for a prize for themselves, according to the Word of Jehovah which He commanded Joshua. 
Jos 8:28 And Joshua burned Ai, and made it a heap forever, a ruin to this day. 
Jos 8:29 And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his body down from the tree, throw it down at the entrance to the city gate, and raise on it a great heap of stones, to this day.

The king of Ai is us nailed to our cross as we daily fill up what is behind of Christ’s afflictions. We die and are buried under the great heap of stones that are our brothers and sisters in Christ heaped on Him, the foundational stone.

Deu 21:22 And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and if he is put to death and you hang him on a tree, 
Deu 21:23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree. But you shall surely bury him that day (for he that is hanged is accursed of God), so that your land may not be defiled, which Jehovah your God gives you for an inheritance.

The Elect of God is the first to spiritually die under Christ, our altar.

Rev 6:9 And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. 
Rev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, Until when, Master, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? 
Rev 6:11 And white robes were given to each one of them. And it was said to them that they should rest yet for a little time, until both their fellow servants and their brothers (those about to be killed as they were ) should have their number made complete

The king of Ai and the world are not cursed by staying hung on the tree overnight as a metaphor for being raised immortal in order of the resurrection to judgment for their dawning of righteousness. That process is depicted in “The Valley of Dry Bones” (Ezekiel 37). 

Joshua Renews the Covenant

Jos 8:30 Then Joshua built an altar to Jehovah, the God of Israel in Mount Ebal [Phon ‘ay-bawl’ meaning a stone or bare mountain], 
Jos 8:31 as Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the Law of Moses, an altar of whole stones over which no man has lifted any iron. And they offered on it burnt offerings to Jehovah, and sacrificed peace offerings.

We are Christ’s workmanship of “whole [lively] stones”. The world has created, by their spiritual craftsmanship with iron tools, another Jesus for themselves in their own likeness; unwittingly the man of perdition.

Jos 8:32 And he wrote there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the sons of Israel.

This is the third copy of the ‘Stone Tablets’ for a witness and completion of judgment against Israel.

Jos 8:33 And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark, and on that side, before the priests the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, the stranger as well as the homeborn among them, half of them over against Mount Gerizim [H1630 – origin H1629 – to cut off; destroyed], and half of them over against Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded before that they should bless all the people of Israel. 
Jos 8:34 And afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the Law. 

The division of Israel against the two mountains symbolises the coming division of Israel into two women, one from Mt Sinai and the other from the heavenly Jerusalem above. One is destroyed, the other (Christ) is a great (bare) stone mountain. The strangers in Israel’s midst represent the unclean of the world outside of the Camp who would come to represent everybody being acceptable to Christ and salvation as revealed to Peter (“get up and eat” [Acts 10:9-48]).

Jos 8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua did not read before all the congregation of Israel, with the women and the little ones, and the strangers that walked among them.

The stark account of Achan’s sin is immensely positive because he represents Christ’s Christs (plural). They have learned to keep all the commandments of their Lord as they weep between the porch and the altar in dying daily, thus renewing the covenant spiritually and thus saving their brothers. 

Joe 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 
Joe 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 
Joe 2:14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? 
Joe 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 
Joe 2:16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 
Joe 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? 

Rom 8:22 And we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 
Rom 8:23 And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, awaiting adoption, the redemption of our body. 
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope; for what anyone sees, why does he also hope for it? 
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that which we do not see, then we wait for it with patience.

[Study Aired January 19, 2023]

This first section of chapter 17 of the book of Kings begins to focus on the reign of Hoshea the king of Israel. This king very brightly represents for us the bondage that sin in our life brings and demonstrates what a powerful taskmaster sin is, which God uses to humble His people and bring us to our wits’ end so that we cry out for deliverance which then comes to us through Christ (Psa 107:24-30). 

Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

The stormy winds spoken of in Psalm 107 can represent the trials of life which buffet us, that are connected to the spiritual struggles we have in our heavens, the powers and principalities over which God is sovereign and raises in our heavens to bring us to see how powerless we are over the wretchedness of flesh from which only He can deliver us (Eph 6:12, Rom 7:24 – “Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven” – Rom 3:27).

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

The end result of Hoshea’s rule over Israel is disastrous, as verse 18 and 19 expresses that the LORD was very angry with Israel:

2Ki 17:18  Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
2Ki 17:19  Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.

This exile that is going to happen to Israel, and in time Judah, represents the bondage sin brings and that we all must endure as we come to learn of our Lord’s mighty hand working in our corruptible flesh from which He is able to deliver us (Rom 7:24-25). It is only through the suffering of this life that we will finally cease from sinning as we are received of God through a chastening and scourging process very few are meant to endure in this lifetime (2Ti 2:12, Heb 12:6-8, Mat 22:14).

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

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

Here is a brief history of what was happening at this time in the life of King Hoshea which should serve to help us organize the physical events so that in turn we can then understand what those events mean as we compare spiritual with spiritual using those physical events (1Co 2:13) God has inspired to happen in the life of this very wayward king and those external parties that greatly influenced his day-to-day decisions as the king of Israel.

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Before I read this excerpt from [Who was King Hoshea in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org], it’s important to remember Babylon’s perspective is that Judah and Israel just ignored the very best of the best prophets and thereby brought about this condemnation upon themselves for what they did in their flesh, with no outside influence causing all this neglect to unfold as it did. That perspective puts the man of perdition firmly on the seat of our heavens, and must be destroyed by an all-powerful external force [Christ] who is far greater than our own carnal reasoning that serves the law of sin (Rom 7:25) harboring powers and principalities that Christ will little and by little rule over (Exo 23:30,  1Jn 4:4). The destruction of the man of sin is the destruction of that part of us that says, “I’m responsible for my sins” or “I’m responsible for my good deeds” (2Th 2:5-8), which word “responsible” is not found in the bible.

God’s elect are blessed to know that when scripture says boasting is excluded by the law of faith, it is also true that we can’t give ourselves credit for being drawn away to be tempted and sin seeing this lack of faith (Rom 14:23) we have is something that God has disposed to each man to experience according to the counsel of His own will (Luk 23:34, Act 4:27-28). The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD (Pro 16:33). We acknowledge our sins and the righteousness of Christ working in us, and see them as all part of His workmanship unfolding within us (Rom 4:25) to His glory who has power over the marred vessel to make one unto honour and another to dishonour (Rom 2:4, Eph 2:10, Rom 9:21). 

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

Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Rom 4:25  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

We operate in the measure of faith God gives us (Rom 12:3), and Lord willing, we will heed the admonitions from these stories which tell us that we can be more than conquerors through Christ alone who can bring us to our wits’ end and cause us to cry out and be delivered from Satan “in his time” or “until he be taken away” (Mar 9:24). What hope the scriptures hold out for us, as we learn we can cry out, confess our faults, and be delivered day by day as we die daily in Christ (Rom_6:3)!

Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

From:  [Who was King Hoshea in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org]

Hoshea son of Elah became king of the northern kingdom of Israel in 732 BC after assassinating King Pekah, son of Remaliah. Hoshea reigned 9 years. He was a wicked king, but not as wicked as previous kings of Israel (2Ki 17:2). Hoshea was the last king of Israel before the nation’s destruction by Assyria.

King Pekah had fought with the Assyrians but lost territory to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria. So when Hoshea took the throne from Pekah, he was a vassal to Shalmaneser king of Assyria and was required to pay heavy tribute (2Ki 17:3).

In a bid for freedom and independence, Hoshea rebelled against Assyria and stopped paying the tribute, appealing to Egypt for help. This move was a failure. When Shalmaneser discovered King Hoshea’s treachery, he threw Hoshea into prison (verse 4). The Assyrian army then invaded all of Hoshea’s land. The capital, Samaria, was besieged for three years and eventually captured. The Israelites were then deported to Assyria and settled in Halah, Gozen on the Harbor River, and in the towns of the Medes. As most of the northern kingdom of Israel had already been conquered, this deportation effectively destroyed the entire kingdom. Israel’s destruction partly fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:16.

On the surface this may sound like the usual intrigues of kings, but the Bible makes it clear that the Assyrians’ takeover of Israel and the Israelites’ subsequent exile was God’s judgment on His people for their great sin. In spite of all the Lord had done for them, the Israelites had turned from God and worshiped false gods, setting up high places and burning incense to idols (2Ki 17:7-11). God had sent prophets, including Elijah and Elisha, to warn the Israelites, but the people persisted in their idolatry. God had meant for Israel to be set apart as a holy people (Lev 20:26; 2Ki 17:15), but instead they had assimilated the idolatrous practices of the societies they had conquered. God had given them many chances to turn back to Him, but they ignored all the prophets who warned them to turn from their evil ways. Because of their rebelliousness, “the LORD removed them from His presence” (2Ki 17:23) in fulfillment of Moses’ warning in Deuteronomy 30:17–18.

Several years after the capture of King Hoshea and the destruction of the northern kingdom, the southern kingdom of Judah fell to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (2Ki 25:1-4). The capital city of Jerusalem was destroyed, including its walls and the temple of the Lord (verses 8–10). Judah was taken into captivity and exiled for 70 years, just as the Lord had promised, as judgment for sin. However, in His mercy, God promised to preserve His people and eventually bring them back to the land He had promised them (Eze 11:14-17, Rom 14:17,  Joh 3:5-8, Php 3:3, Rev 3:12, Rev 21:2). [End Quote]

2Ki 17:1  In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years. 
2Ki 17:2  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him. 

Hoshea reigned nine years in Samaria over Israel, and that all began in the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah’s reign. Something foundational is going to come out of the rule of king Ahaz, which is what we are being shown with these numbers. Twelve signifies foundations negative or positive, and nine represents judgment. So Ahaz was the king who would be ruling during that time when God would destroy the corrupt foundations of Israel through judgment [9] that would ultimately have the nation be brought into captivity. In the positive sense, we see an example in this story of how God takes the marred vessel, in this case the nation of Israel, and tears it down so that in time it can be made anew (Jer 18:6). A holy and undefiled nation of Israel is not going to come on the scene in the flesh, but these stories are written for the elect’s sake (1Co 10:11) to remind us of how thoroughly God must purge his threshingfloor, which is how the first man Adam is destroyed (Eze 43:26, Eze 20:38, Rev 15:6-8,  Mal 3:3) in order to bring about the new creation formed in Christ, the “Israel of God,” who must lose their life in order to find it (Gal 6:16, Mat 10:39).

Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Eze 43:26  Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves. 

Eze 20:38  And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

Rev 15:6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 
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.

Mal 3:3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. 

Gal 6:16  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

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

2Ki 17:3  Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents. 
2Ki 17:4  And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. 
2Ki 17:5  Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. 

This section of scripture describing Hoshea’s actions, he, “sent messengers to So king of Egypt” and “brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison” revealing how Satan, typified by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, is a jealous god, like our Father in heaven (Exo 20:5), but in his case he is jealous for his evil purpose of wanting to keep Hoshea in the bondage of sin for not continuing in the servitude that he extended to Shalmaneser for so long, even giving him presents^H4503 as we did in Babylon with our tithes and offerings and misguided vain worship of God (Mar 7:7, Rev 11:10).  This attempt at breaking away from Shalmaneser’s influence over Hoshea is similar to how Israel was pursued by the Pharaoh and armies of Egypt who wanted to keep them in the bondage of slavery.

‘Presents’ H4503 minchâh min-khaw’  

From an unused root meaning to apportion, that is, bestow; a donation; euphemistically tribute; specifically a sacrificial offering (usually bloodless and voluntary): – gift, oblation, (meat) offering, present, sacrifice.

Total KJV occurrences: 211

This story reminds us that Satan’s wrath is a real thing and that he does not want any of his servants to be divided in their minds regarding where their gifts and loyalties should remain as they continue in their quest of being accusers of the brethren (Rev 12:10). When Shalmaneser sees Hoshea betraying his loyalties to him, he “shut him up, and bound him in prison.” Hoshea is already a servant to Shalmaneser, and the minute he tries to free himself and sweep his house of his influence, seven spirits worse enter into Hoshea’s life as the king of Assyria went ahead and “shut him up, and bound him in prison” (Mat 12:45).

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. [Rom 8:18]

There is no loyalty among thieves, and Satan comes to steal and destroy (Joh 10:10). Hoshea’s actions of sending “messengers to So king of Egypt” are seen as an act of treason to Shalmaneser. The agreement was that the king of Assyria, as long as he was paid the money or gifts for his service of extracting money from the people, would spare Israel and not sift them like wheat, which is what he ultimately did. However, knowing the sovereignty of God, we know that this peace was never meant to last and Shalmaneser’s actions just show that Israel’s king Hoshea was a house divided all along that was going to fall (Luk 8:17, 1Co 3:13, 2Co 5:10-11). Hoshea was cursed for putting his trust in the king of Assyria and because of Hoshea’s lack of faith in what God could do for him, he brought a great curse on the nation of Israel (Jer 17:5). The spirit of these two kings and their interactions with each other are very well described in these verses (2Ti 3:1-4), as their treaty began to fall apart to reveal no loyalty on either side. 

Jer 17:5  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

After Hoshea is shut up and bound in prison, Shalmaneser “the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years” which reminds us that the devil is not slack regarding being the evil sword in God’s hand (Psa 17:13) which will be used to besiege the capital of Israel, Samaria, for three years. This is all demonstrating for us how God does use evil men in the process of humbling His people as He continues to refine us (Mal 3:3) through these severe trials  [“besieged it three years“] (Act 20:31). Paul is expressing here in the book of Acts what Christ said in these verses (Mat 26:41, Mar 13:33, Mar 14:38, Luk 21:36), and that is to look well inwardly (2Co 13:5) and outwardly (1Pe 5:2) because of the weak flesh we’re in, so that no enemy of the cross arise, no root of bitterness take over “and thereby many be defiled” (Heb 12:15).

Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

Mat 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mar 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

Mar 14:38  Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

Luk 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Heb 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 
Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

2Ki 17:6  In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

It’s in the “ninth year of Hoshea [that] the king of Assyria [Shalmaneser] took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria”. Being the ninth year of Hoshea’s kingship is the symbolic number of judgment, a judgment for Israel, that typifies the more severe and heavy trials God must prepare the bride of Christ to endure through in this life (1Pe 4:17).

The significance of placing them “in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes” is found in the meaning of these three words, Halah^H2477, Habor^H2249 , and Gozan^H1470, that tell us Israel was going to experience a “painful” “joining” to another nation, even as there is “a cutting off” from their homeland.

HalahH2477
– Original: חלח
– Transliteration: Chalach
– Phonetic: khal-akh’
– Definition: Halah = painful 
a city or district in mesopotamia under Assyrian control where the Israelite captives were taken
– Origin: probably of foreign origin
– TWOT entry: None
– Part(s) of speech: Proper Name Location 
– Strong’s: Probably of foreign origin;
Chalach a region of Assyria: – Halah.

HaborH2249
– Original: חבור
– Transliteration: Chabowr
– Phonetic: khaw-bore’
– Definition: Habor = joining 
a tributary of the Euphrates River in Assyria 
– Origin: from H2266
– TWOT entry: None
– Part(s) of speech: Proper Name Location
– Strong’s: From H2266; united;

Chabor a river of Assyria: – Habor. 
Total KJV Occurrences: 3 

GozanH1470
– Original: גּוזן
– Transliteration: Gowzan
– Phonetic: go-zawn’
– Definition: Gozan = a cutting off 
the mesopotamian city on or near the middle of the Euphrates where exiled Israelites were settled
– Origin: probably from H1468
– TWOT entry: None
– Part(s) of speech: Proper Name Location 
– Strong’s: Probably from H1468; a quarry (as a place of cutting stones);
Gozan a province of Assyria: – Gozan.

2Ki 17:7  For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, 
2Ki 17:8  And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 
2Ki 17:9  And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. 
2Ki 17:10  And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:
2Ki 17:11  And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: 
2Ki 17:12  For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.

This punishment that was brought upon the nation of Israel was because of the things we read of here (2Ki 17:7-12). The great lesson to pass on is that God is not mocked, and whatever we sow we are going to reap (Gal 6:7-8). This section of scripture clearly shows us the progression of coming out of Egypt and how we then wax and wane as Christians losing our first love. Only by the grace and faith of God do we continue to progress and work our way through being tempted ten times in the wilderness (Num 14:22) as we come to see that our flesh has to fall seven times, meaning completely (Pro 24:16), to show us that our overcoming is not of ourselves but a gift from God that takes our entire life to accomplish through Christ as we go onto perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32).

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Num 14:22  Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

Pro 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

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

It’s in our ignorance that we sow (1Ti 1:13) and suffer the consequences of those actions, so we are deceived until we are not, and we even are that dog that returns to his vomit, until we are not (Pro 26:11). Thanks be to God, in the end He will bring all of the world to be sickened of every sin, and the judgment that first begins at the house of God (1Pe 4:17) will make Christ’s bride ready and prepared to wipe away all the tears of humanity; tears which will never be a part of the finished creation that will only be continually rejoicing and giving thanks to God almighty who will be all in all with Christ as our head forever (1Co 15:28).

1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

2Ki 17:13  Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. 

These last verses we will look at explain the effect of being under the taskmaster of sin which the rulership of the god of this world produces (2Co 4:4). The verses testify or witness against us what God was doing in Israel of old and Judah (1Co 10:11), “Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah.“

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

God’s purpose is revealed for the church today through much tribulation which we must endure in order to inherit the kingdom of God (Act 14:22, Rom 8:17). Christ identifies with our struggle and tells us that we are more than conquerors through Him who is our head and redeemer (Heb 4:15-16, Rom 8:37)

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

These taskmasters are set over us and bring us to do exactly what God had predestined and written in our books that we would do and suffer (Exo 1:11). The Lord knows the affliction we are under, and it is by reason of our crying out with strong tears as Christ did that we are delivered from Satan and the bondage of sin (Exo 3:7, Heb 5:7-8, Joh 8:36).

Exo 1:11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 
Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

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

God was faithful to bring along “the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments” knowing that this witness was not going to change the hearts of the people but was part of the testimony or witness to the nations of what wretchedness is in all flesh until it is no longer there (Deu 19:15). God is faithful, and His word is not broken, and He cannot lie, and so a witness is given to the people, and the people, as expected, reject that witness. The body of Christ is one spirit and one bread not divided, and the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11 are actually multiple witnesses that witness today and will witness throughout the thousand-year reign of the saints to establish the matter and leave no opportunity for flesh to say, ‘”We didn’t know, Lord, if only you had witnessed to us, we would not have taken of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or slain Abel…or, or, or.”

Deu 19:15  One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 
Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 
Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

2Ki 17:14  Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.
2Ki 17:15  And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. 
2Ki 17:16  And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. 
2Ki 17:17  And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

The natural status of flesh is to do what is written in these verses (2Ki 17:14-17), and as God tells us to do one thing, we do the opposite and don’t listen, as our necks get stiffer, and our hearts are darkened due to that sin which brings about disbelief and spiritual bondage (Rom 7:19-20, Luk 11:35). The opposite is to believe and do the work of God with the faith of Christ working in us, which is a gift from God (Joh 6:28-29, Php 2:12-13).

Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Luk 11:35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

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

This unbelief and sin in our life leads to our rejecting His covenant and brings us to fill that void in our life with vain practices of the heathen. We leave the commandments of the LORD and make molten images, the “two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal“, which represent for us today the ways of the heathen we are not to learn (Jer 10:2). 

Jer 10:2  Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 

We especially provoke God to anger when we do this: “And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger,” which typifies for us today our keeping and teaching the lies of Baal or Babylon to our children.

2Ki 17:18  Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. 
2Ki 17:19  Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 
2Ki 17:20  And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
2Ki 17:21  For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin. 
2Ki 17:22  For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
2Ki 17:23  Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

After all of that rebellion we are told about, we are told that “the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.” Our natural retort to God for that anger against us would be to say: “Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?”

There is more witness against us in the next verse: “Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made“, meaning the whole body is sick from head to foot, and there is none righteous. So God declares to us, if we are able to receive it, “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Throughout the scriptures we are reminded of the rejection of the first man Adam and how flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and that only a very few, a remnant will be dragged through the fiery trials in this age to one day free all of humanity from the bondage of sin (Oba 1:21). It looks hopeless from the fleshly point of view, and indeed it is without the faith of Christ within us which helps us believe that our present suffering is not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed (Rom 8:18). Many times, we are told “unto this day.” “So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day“, reminding us that the witness against flesh being enmity against God is an is, was and will be event, and will be until all enemies are put under His feet. God’s elect will fear and want to avoid that sorer punishment in the lake of fire spoken of in Hebrews 10:29, knowing that we are going to have to die daily and be armed with the mind of Christ and endure through much suffering in this life in order to inherit the kingdom of God and avoid that punishment.

Heb 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 

In closing we are told in these verses (Eph 5:1-8) what we can now do through Christ for the rest of our lives, and Lord willing, we will be these dear children spoken of in these last verses who present themselves as “an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” as Christ did himself.

Eph 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 
Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Eph 5:3  But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 
Eph 5:4  Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 
Eph 5:5  For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5:6  Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 
Eph 5:7  Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
Eph 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 

Jer 35:1-19 The Obedience of the Rechabites

[Study Aired April 10, 2022]

Jer 35:1  The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
Jer 35:2  Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
Jer 35:3  Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;
Jer 35:4  And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:
Jer 35:5  And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.
Jer 35:6  But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:
Jer 35:7  Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.
Jer 35:8  Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;
Jer 35:9  Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
Jer 35:10  But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
Jer 35:11  But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
Jer 35:12  Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
Jer 35:13  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.
Jer 35:14  The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.
Jer 35:15  I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
Jer 35:16  Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me:
Jer 35:17  Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.
Jer 35:18  And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:
Jer 35:19  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

Our study today takes us back over eleven years to the time of King Jehoiakim, the son of King Josiah, and contrasts the obedience of the sons of Rechab to the commandments and precepts of their patriarch, to the disobedience of Judah and Jerusalem to the commandments and precepts or the Lord who had supernaturally delivered them from the bondage of Egypt:

Jer 35:1  The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
Jer 35:2  Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

The Lord places great value on us keeping our word. He puts so much value on it that even if we commit ourselves to a situation which will cost us dearly, He will bless us simply because we gave our word and kept it even to our own hurt. This is the mind of the Lord concerning what we are to do under such adverse circumstances:

Psa 15:4  In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

“A vile person is condemned; but… them that fear the Lord… sweareth to his own hurt, and changes not”. The Lord speaks to us through contrasts. A person who swears to his own hurt and changes not is contrasted with “a vile person” who swears to his own hurt then changes his mind rather than absorb the loss or the pain of keeping his word. “A vile person” who does not keep his word is a self-centered, always self-righteous person who will always justify the need to tell a blatant lie. We self-righteously call our lies ‘white lies’. We reason that we had to tell a lie, therefore it is ‘a white lie’, and if we had kept our word or if we had told the truth, it might have been worse and it might even have cost us our lives and who in this world wants to die???

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

The death of our old man should be the goal of every one of us so our new man can increase in us as John the Baptist told his disciples:

Joh 3:30  He [Christ, the new man within us] must increase, but I must decrease.
Joh 3:31  He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

It is not natural for us to see Christ as coming from heaven. It is certainly not natural to see Christ within us as coming from heaven. We all just naturally prefer hearing a sermon with smooth words to hearing the judgment of the Word of God upon our self-righteous old man.

Isa 30:8  Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

‘Smooth things [are] deceits’ and that is what we all just naturally prefer to hear from those who minister to us.

That is why this chapter concerning events that took place well over eleven years earlier is being brought up at this juncture in this prophecy of Jeremiah. In our previous chapter, in the last year or two of the reign of King Zedekiah, who was the last king of Judah, Jerusalem and Judah were being besieged by the king of Babylon. Under the pressure of such severe judgment, which judgment was prophesied to come upon them by the prophet Jeremiah, the people of Judah and Jerusalem went into “the house of the Lord” and made a covenant with the Lord to let their Hebrew servants and handmaids go free, and as long as the siege endured they actually kept their word and granted their Hebrew servants their liberty, as we read in the previous chapter about the siege of Jerusalem under King Zedekiah by King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon:

Jer 34:8  This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;
Jer 34:9  That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

The people of Judah and Jerusalem had given their word while under the siege to let their bondservants go free. However, immediately after the siege was lifted because the Lord had sent the king of Egypt to help Judah fight against the king of Babylon, the people of Judah and Jerusalem no longer felt the need to keep their word to those servants, and they demanded that they continue serving them, and went back on their oath and brought their Hebrew servants back into bondage.

Jer 34:11  But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

All of this is an actual historic fact which happened to Judah and Jerusalem, and it all “Happened to them and it is written for our admonition…”:

1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things,

1Co 10:11 Now all this befalls them typically. Yet it was written for our admonition, to whom the consummations of the eons have attained. (CLV)

This whole story of the fidelity of the Rechabites, contrasting their fidelity to the commandment of their father with the infidelity of Judah and Jerusalem to the commandments of the Lord, is a type of each of us. We all agree to serve the Lord when He puts a heavy trial upon us, but as soon as the trial is resolved and our lives return to their normal state, we immediately and conveniently forget the covenant we made with the Lord to submit to His Words, represented by the covenant Judah made with the Lord to let their Hebrew servants, their own brothers and sisters, go free. The “Hebrew servants” represent each of us whom the Lord Himself has moved heaven and earth to deliver from the heavy oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

Jer 34:10  Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go.

Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

When we grant liberty to our Hebrew servant, we are typically being set free from our own bondage. That bondage is our own righteousness “which is of the law”:

Php 3:4  Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

“The righteousness which is of the law [is] mine own righteousness which is of the law.” “Mine own righteousness” will rob me of my salvation “if [I] trust in [my] own righteousness, and commit iniquity” as opposed to “the righteousness which is through the faith of Christ”:

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
Eze 33:14  Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
Eze 33:15  If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity [“trust in his own righeouness” (vs 13)]; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

The Lord delivers us from the bondage of our own self-righteousness, and we still struggle to give Him the credit for all we do, good or evil. Nevertheless, that is what the scriptures teach consistently:

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Gen 45:8  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

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

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

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

Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

I have emboldened all the evil which the Lord is working in the kingdom within us because every verse quoted is telling us what the Lord is working within each of us. We have all sold our brother into the slavery of the self-righteous sins of this world. We are all King Saul who is sent an evil spirit from the Lord. We are the wicked whom the Lord has created for our own day of evil. It is the Lord who hardens our hearts so He can make us err from His ways. We are the city in which the Lord has worked so much evil.

Place any of these verses outside of yourself and you have self-righteously attempted to reprove, contend with, and condemn the Lord for His sovereign position:

Job 40:1  Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2  Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that  reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

None of these things surprise our Lord because He is the One conducting all the affairs of this age:

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

The Lord was not unaware of what would happen when He sent the armies of Egypt to help Judah to fight against the king of Babylon. He knew what He had “written in [their] book, even the days He had ordained for [them] before there were any of them”:

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

Jer 35:3  Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;
Jer 35:4  And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:
Jer 35:5  And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.
Jer 35:6 But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:
Jer 35:7  Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.
Jer 35:8  Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;
Jer 35:9  Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
Jer 35:10  But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

These Rechabites typify those who live by the faith of Jesus Christ as typified by all the Old Testament principles named in Hebrews 11:

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

The Rechabites lived the lives of ‘strangers and pilgrims on the earth’, and they are commended of the Lord for being faithful to their father Jonadab’s covenant to live that kind of life.

Jer 35:11  But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.

These Rechabites who are faithful to their covenant with their patriarch Jonadab to live as pilgrims in the promised land and to refrain from drinking wine and keeping that covenant even when tempted by the Lord’s certified prophet Jeremiah to drink wine, typify the Lord’s elect who are faithful to the covenant they have made with the Lord. In contrast to this spirit Christ poses this question to you and me:

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

The Lord knows that He Himself has made us all to err from His ways. He knows that He made us wicked first to endure our own day of evil, yet He poses this question to us, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things I say?” He gives us the knowledge of the benefits of being obedient to Him, and then He contrasts those blessings with the curses which come upon us as “the wicked” who He first made us to be for our own “day of evil”:

Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

What the Lord does not tell us right here is that He first gives every man “an experience of evil, [and He then brings every man] to his wits’ end”. What the Lord does not tell us right here is that all men must first “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, including these words:

Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

The scriptures reveal that we all call Christ “Lord, Lord” and do not the things He says, and we build our houses on the earth without Christ as our foundation before we hear and do His Words and build our house on Him as the Rock of our foundation:

Psa 107:25  For He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Therefore, because the Lord Himself is orchestrating all we do, good and evil, these next verses are referring to our old man who is being brought to his wits’ end before he can be brought to his desired haven:

Jer 35:12  Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
Jer 35:13  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.
Jer 35:14  The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.
Jer 35:15  I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
Jer 35:16  Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me:
Jer 35:17  Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.
Jer 35:18  And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:
Jer 35:19  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

These obedient Rechabites typify the Lord’s faithful elect who “tremble at [His] Words”:

Isa 66:1 thus saith the lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest?
Isa 66:2 for all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Before we do what the Lord says, and before we are given to “tremble at [His] Word”, the Lord always first provides Himself “an occasion” to destroy our old man and all the self-righteous pride of His kingdom.

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

As Samson later demonstrated, it is the Lord’s own elect who first after being cleaned return to their own wallow in the mire. It is instructive that the Proper Names Bible renders this verse in these words:

Jdg 14:4 but his father and his mother knew not that it was of the lord, that he sought an occasion against the (wallowing) for at that time the (wallowing) had dominion over (he will rule with god)

Only “then”, after returning to our wallowing in the mire, after bringing us to our wits’ end, does He bring us to our desire haven. That method of operating is the “means” the Lord has “devised [by which] His banished be not expelled from Him”:

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

“God so loved the world” is not in contradiction to the admonition to us to “Love not the world”. The Lord, and the Lord alone, is able to ‘gather up ‘the world as a “new heavens and a new earth”. He certainly is not in the process of ‘gathering up again’ our disobedient, self-righteous, old first man Adam.

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

At this time, we are in “corruptible, marred, vessels of clay”, and while in this state this is what the Lord Himself, through this same apostle John, admonishes 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.

After healing the man who had been infirm for thirty-eight years, this is what Christ told Him and what He is telling us:

Joh 5:14  Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Because the Lord loves us, “a worse thing” is in the aorist tense and is ‘coming unto us’ when we return to ‘our own vomit or our wallow in the mire’. The very fact Christ admonished the infirm man ‘sin no more’ was done because He knew that was exactly what would take place in that man’s life and in our lives. When we think that Israel was incredibly forgetful and disrespectful and just plain stupid for accusing the Lord of bringing them into the wilderness to slay them with thirst after a mere three days without water, try going three days without water and see how grateful you feel. All of Israel’s rebellions typify us:

1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things, (CLV)

We are not the spiritual giants we might think we are when the flesh acts like flesh, and the fiery trials of life are sent to try our faith:

1Co 10:7  according as they also lust. Nor yet be becoming idolaters, according as some of them, even as it is written, “Seated are the people to eat and drink, and they rise to sport.
1Co 10:8  Nor yet may we be committing prostitution, according as some of them commit prostitution, and fall in one day twenty-three thousand.
1Co 10:9  Nor yet may we be putting the Lord on trial, according as some of them put Him on trial, and perished by serpents.
1Co 10:10  Nor yet be murmuring even as some of them murmur, and perished by the exterminator.
1Co 10:11  Now all this befalls them typically. Yet it was written for our admonition, to whom the consummations of the eons have attained.
1Co 10:12  So that, let him who is supposing he stands beware that he should not be falling. (CLV)

If we think we are ‘standing’ in our own strength, we are “falling”, and we aren’t even aware of our own iniquity. The Lord wants us to know that we ‘stand’ only in Him and He is the only sovereign:

Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

The Lord wants us to know that He is working both the good and the evil “after the counsel of His own will” having devised means to bring even His banished to Himself (2Sa 14:14) thereby saving all men of all time:

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Isa 45:8  Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

The Lord wants us to know that all the days of our lives were determined to be as they are “before there were any of them”:

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

The Lord even wants us to know that our sins are not really our sins at all. Rather, our sins are His work in our lives, hardening our hearts against His fear… after the counsel of His own will:

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

He even anticipated our natural reaction to being informed of all of this:

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

When facing the far superior numbers of troops of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites, and Syrians united to fight against Judah and Jerusalem, King Jehoshaphat prayed this prayer to which Paul refers when he asks, “Who has resisted His will?”

2Ch 20:4  And Judah was gathered to inquire of Jehovah; also they came in to seek Jehovah from all the cities of Judah.
2Ch 20:5  And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Jehovah, at the front of the new court,
2Ch 20:6  and said, O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, are not You the God in Heaven? Yea, You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is power and might; and there is none able to withstand You.

As little as it appeals to our flesh, this is the answer Paul was inspired of the holy spirit to give us to his rhetorical question, “Why does He yet find fault [when it is He who is working all things after the counsel of His own will]?”

Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24  Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

The Lord wants us to know that we have no right to be questioning our Creator, asking Him “Why have you made me thus?” He does go on to explain that the Potter is making one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. Then, lest any of us think that because we are the vessel made unto honor, therefore ‘enduring with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction’ has nothing to do with the vessels made unto dishonor, the Lord informs us that both vessels come from “the same lump”. Another way of making this statement would be to tell us that our new man comes out of the same lump from which our old man was made. This same apostle was inspired to inform us that all men are “sown in corruption [and] dishonor”:

1Co 15:42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

The revelation “That was not first which is spiritual but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” lets us know that the Lord makes both the vessel of honor and the vessel of dishonor of “the same lump”. The scripture is not referring to one individual versus another individual. Rather, the reference is to our old man, a “vessel… unto dishonor”, versus our “new man… [a] vessel unto honor… Christ in us… this treasure in earthen vessels… of the same lump”. All these references to being a vessel made unto honor reveal that we are one and all first the old man, first an earthen vessel, first a corruptible vessel of clay before “of the same lump” being “made unto honor”.

Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

That is part of the hidden wisdom found throughout scripture. Our old man is decreasing daily as our new man increases. Those two men are the basic subject of every story in scripture. That includes this story of the Rechabites who remained faithful to the covenant they had made with their father, Jonadab, the son of Rechab who had commanded them, saying, “Ye shall drink no wine.” Abstaining from wine is not the point being made. Fidelity to the Lord and our covenant with Him which He is working in us is the point being made by this story:

Jer 35:18  And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:
Jer 35:19  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

These faithful Rechabites typify all who are given to repent of their self-righteous rebellion and disobedience and return to the Lord. They typify the “few… chosen” while Judah and Jerusalem in this story typify our self-righteous, rebellious old man who is still refusing to repent of his transgressions and his iniquity.

There are “great and precious promises given to our new man which make any suffering endured in this present time unworthy of being compared to the glory that is to be revealed in us:

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

This world doesn’t know it, but the fact is that all men of all time are awaiting the appearing of our Lord when He will make manifest to all men those who are His obedient sons in this age.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
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.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Daniel – Dan 9:1-27  O Daniel, I am now Come Forth to Give Thee Skill and Understanding

[Study Aired January 31, 2022]

Dan 9:1  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 
Dan 9:2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 
Dan 9:3  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 
Dan 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 
Dan 9:5  We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 
Dan 9:6  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 
Dan 9:7  O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 
Dan 9:8  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 
Dan 9:9  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 
Dan 9:10  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 
Dan 9:11  Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 
Dan 9:12  And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 
Dan 9:13  As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 
Dan 9:14  Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 
Dan 9:15  And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 
Dan 9:16  O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 
Dan 9:17  Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. 
Dan 9:18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 
Dan 9:19  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. 
Dan 9:20  And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; 
Dan 9:21  Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 
Dan 9:22  And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 
Dan 9:23  At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. 
Dan 9:24  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 
Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 
Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 
Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. 

Chapter 9 of Daniel is about the prayer of Daniel for his people for deliverance from their Babylonian captivity and the coming of Gabriel to explain to Daniel what has been determined by the Lord concerning Israel, who represents the elect in this case. The coming of Gabriel was in answer to Daniel’s prayer, and what He told Daniel concerning the details of the seventy weeks affirms to us that all things are ours including both good and evil!!

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Dan 9:1  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

Darius means Lord, and it is the name of several kings of Media and Persia. Ahasuerus stands for mighty man and Chaldea means clod-breakers. The English Dictionary defines clod as a lump of earth. So, what we are being told is that Christ (Darius), the son of God (mighty), reigns in the lives of those who have victory over the flesh (clod-breakers).

1Ch 29:11  Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. 

Dan 9:2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

The number one signifies unity. Thus, the first year of Darius’ reign is to let us know that in union with Christ, we are made to understand through the word of the Lord that our captivity in Babylon lasts until our rebellion against God is made complete (70=7×10).

Jer 25:11  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jer 25:12  And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. 

Dan 9:3  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 

Prayers which are recorded in the scriptures are all in line with the perfect will of the Lord. In other words, they are prayers of faith as mentioned by James in the scriptures and follow the pattern of our Lord’s Jesus’ guidelines for prayer.

Jas 5:15  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 
Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 

Prayer grants us access to the throne of grace where we receive mercy and grace to help us in our times of need. In the presence of the Lord, we are strengthened to overcome the pulls of the flesh through temptation.

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

Mat 26:40  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 
Mat 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Here in verse 3 we are shown the ingredients that make our prayer effective. The first one is fasting. We are not talking about physical denial of ourselves of food as our brothers and sisters in Babylon call fasting. We are speaking about true spiritual fasting which entails breaking the bands of wickedness, that is to stop sinning in our lives, and denying ourselves from taking in false doctrines. This is what makes our prayer heard.

Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 
Isa 58:8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 
Isa 58:9  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 

Another ingredient for effective fervent prayer mentioned in verse 3 is being in sackcloth and ashes. Being in sackcloth is understanding the mourning nature of our walk with Christ. We therefore come before Him understanding that we deserve His judgment because of our sins. Being in ashes speaks of our coming before Him knowing we are not worthy of His presence.

Gen 37:34  And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

Gen 18:27  And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

Job 30:19  He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.

Job 42:6  Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

The essence of the parable by Jesus about the Pharisee and the publican who went to the temple to pray is to remind us of our unworthiness as we come before the Lord. Being unworthy before the Lord is the same as being in ashes.

Luk 18:9  And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Luk 18:10  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 
Luk 18:11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 
Luk 18:12  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 
Luk 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 
Luk 18:14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 

Dan 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 

As indicated, Daniel’s prayer follows the guidelines given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ when the disciples asked Him to show them how to pray. Daniel started praying by praising and worshiping the Lord and acknowledging His greatness. Keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him is the same as saying ‘our Lord’s kingdom come and His will be done in earth’.

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

Dan 9:5  We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 
Dan 9:6  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 

These verses show us how we had strayed by not adhering to His words. We therefore come before His presence asking for forgiveness. This confession of our sins is the same as what is said in the Lord’s prayer as follows:

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Dan 9:7  O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 
Dan 9:8  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
Dan 9:9  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 
Dan 9:10  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

According to Strong, the word confusion means shame. We experience shame when we come before His presence because we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord. The good news, however, is that when we come before His presence, we receive mercy to help us at our point of need.

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 
Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Dan 9:11  Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 

In Deuteronomy chapter 28 verse 15, we are told that if we do not follow after the commandments and statutes of the Lord, then we are cursed. As a matter of fact, we experienced the curses of the Lord just like the Israelites during our walk with Christ when we were not made to obey the words of the Lord. It was after Christ came to us with the brightness of His coming that the Lord started the process of delivering us from the curses of the law.

Deu 28:15  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 

Deu 28:20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

Dan 9:12  And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 

The fact that we are undergoing evil or judgment is to confirm the words of the Lord which He spoke against us. The statement in the latter end of verse 12 says that the whole heaven had not been done as had been done upon Jerusalem is to let us know that this evil or judgment must begin with the elect (Jerusalem) first in this life. Later, in another age, all humanity will also experience judgment.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 

Dan 9:13  As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 
Dan 9:14  Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 

Here in verse 13, we are given insight into the fact that evil (judgment) that comes upon us is for the purpose of turning us away from iniquity and coming to understand the truth. However, until Christ comes to us with the brightness of His coming to destroy the beast within, we do not turn from our iniquities, and we do not understand the truth of the word of the Lord which is able to set us free.

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.

Dan 9:15  And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 
Dan 9:16  O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 

Our coming out of the world (Egypt) was through the mighty hands of the Lord. However, since we were not given eyes to see or ears to hear, we continued to do the lust of our father, the devil, and therefore we incurred the anger and fury of our Lord. This continues until the Lord comes in with His brightness which is the word, to start the process of destroying the beast within us.

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

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Dan 9:17  Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. 
Dan 9:18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 
Dan 9:19  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. 

The sanctuary that is desolate refers to our inability to offer our bodies representing the temple of God as a place for the habitation of 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. 

As Romans 12:2 says, when our mindset and actions conform to that of this world, then basically, we are not being affected by the word of the Lord. This means that the beast within is the one who is exalting himself above all that is called God and sits in the temple of God.

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

In the fullness of time, however, for the sake of bearing our Lord’s name or being called and chosen by the Lord, He will come to our aid to forgive us our sins and sanctify our temples through His judgment. It all starts when He brings us to a point when we humble ourselves or come to know that we are the greatest sinners, just like how Daniel recognized his sinfulness together with the people of Israel.

2Ch 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Dan 9:20  And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; 
Dan 9:21  Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 
Dan 9:22  And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 
Dan 9:23  At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

As indicated, it is while we come to understand our spiritual depravity that the Lord comes to our aid. In this case, Gabriel came to the scene to give Daniel the skills to understand the mysteries surrounding how the Lord deals with His people. As we revealed in the previous study of the second part of Daniel chapter 8, Gabriel means man of God. This man who appeared before Daniel in the vision is Christ, and since Christ is sending us, we are now playing the role of Gabriel. So, Gabriel also stands for the elect who are the messengers of the Lord.

Joh 20:21  Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

In verse 23, Christ is telling the elect, represented by Daniel, that our role is to give the body of Christ skills to understand the word of God. This word of the Lord is what every joint supplies.

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

In verse 21, it is stated that while Daniel was still praying, Gabriel came to him in a swift flight. For our sake, our Lord will speedily come to our aid to cleanse our temple and make it habitable for Him to take residence within us.

Mal 3:1  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 

In verse 21, it is also stated that Gabriel came and touched Daniel at the time of the evening sacrifice. What this means is that it is when the day is over in our lives, that is, when sin has run its course in our lives as we count it pleasure to riot in the daytime, Christ comes in with the brightness of His coming to judge us to make us offer our bodies as living sacrifice for the Lord.

2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 

Mal 3:2  But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 
Mal 3:3  He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. 
Mal 3:4  Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. 
Mal 3:5  “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

The next few verses of Daniel chapter 9 deal with how we become marred in the hand of the potter and how He makes it again into another vessel as seems good for the Lord.

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

Dan 9:24  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

We must remember that Gabriel coming to Daniel was in answer to Daniel’s prayer requesting the Lord to intervene in the circumstances of Israel regarding their captivity in Babylon. Thus, the answer given by Gabriel involves the Babylonian captivity of the Israelites. Before we go into the details of the seventy weeks, we need to understand that in the spiritual realm, or in the presence of the Lord, weeks, days, months and years are irrelevant as a day can be a year or even a thousand years and vice versa.

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.

The seventy weeks, therefore, represents the complete period in our lives where we are overcome by sin, judged by the Lord to learn righteousness and to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of the Lord as we become His elect or anointed. Please note that the words “seal up” of the phrase “seal up the vision and prophecy” means to make an end.

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

Dan 9:25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 

Here, we are made to understand that the seventy weeks are divided into three time periods. The first seven weeks, the second sixty-two weeks and the final one week, making a total of seventy weeks. The first seven weeks and the next sixty-two weeks is the period starting with the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem and ending with Christ coming into our lives. The time in our lives while in Babylon was when we began realizing our spiritual bankruptcy. That was when the commandment to restore and build us (Jerusalem) began. However, sin had not run its full course in our lives, and so the sixty-two weeks represents, while in our captivity in Babylon, we became worse off, or sin ran its full course. That is when we come to our wits’ end and realize we cannot help ourselves. Our spiritual degradation in Babylon is the result of what we hear from our “men of God” in Babylon. These speak great swelling words of man’s wisdom which makes us worse off.

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 

The streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in the troublesome times in verse 25 is to make us aware that if we are called and chosen, symbolized by Jerusalem, then in spite of all we go through, we shall be restored but through fire as symbolized by the “troublous times”. This troublesome time is when Christ comes into His temple (our bodies) to put things in order.

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 

This verse shows us our state at the end of the sixty-two weeks, which represents the period in our lives while in Babylonian captivity when we become worse off. The cutting off of the Messiah is to let us know that during this period, Christ is basically dead to us. In other words, we have replaced Christ with another Jesus. The people we were taught were of Christ were rather ravenous wolves who come to make our temple (bodies) desolate such that we cannot offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 

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. 

Dan 9:27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. 

Verse 27 focuses on the last week of the seventy weeks. This last week is when the Lord comes to do His quick work on us. It is in the last week, that is, the complete period of our walk with Christ when we come to see the abomination of desolation in our temple (bodies). Seeing this abomination of desolation signifies that the end of the old man or beast within is at hand as the Lord will pour out His judgment on the old man.

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 

Through signs and wonders, the evil one deceives us into thinking that the Lord had confirmed the covenant with us only to see our temple desolate and therefore being unable to offer our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord. However, in our Lord’s mercy, it is at this point that He comes to us with the brightness of His coming to destroy the abomination of desolation in our temple (the old man within).

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

Jer 11:1-12 Though They Cry Unto Me I Will Not Listen

[Study Aired June 13, 2021]

Jer 11:1  The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 11:2  Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Jer 11:3  And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
Jer 11:4  Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
Jer 11:5  That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
Jer 11:6  Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
Jer 11:7  For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
Jer 11:8  Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.
Jer 11:9  And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Jer 11:10  They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
Jer 11:11  Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
Jer 11:12  Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.

Throughout the prophets, each prophet reminds us to whom it is that “the Word of the Lord [comes]”:

Jer 11:1  The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 11:2  Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

“The Word that [comes] to Jeremiah” is the Word that comes to you and to me. Jeremiah, along with all the prophets of the Old Testament, typifies the Lord’s elect. They alone are given ‘eyes that see and ears that hear’:

Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Jeremiah and all the Old Testament prophets typify those to whom the word of God comes in this age. The entire nation of Israel is typified by the multitudes who came to Christ to hear His parables, eat His loaves and fishes and be healed by Him. “But to them it is not given… to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.” Those who are blessed with ‘eyes that see and ears that hear’ are called to be judged and purged of their sins and their false doctrines and rebellions against their Lord in this age (1Pe 4:17, Rev 1:3, Rev 14:6-13, Rev 15:8).

So what is ‘the Word of the Lord’ to Jeremiah and to you and me?

Jer 11:3  And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
Jer 11:4  Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:

In this study we will learn that “obey[ing]… the words of this covenant” and “obey[ing] not the words of this covenant” typifies and foreshadows obedience/disobedience to the new covenant. This phrase, “The words of this covenant” here in verse 13 referred originally to the old covenant. Our Reformer, Christ, has revealed that the entire economy of the ancient nation of Israel was a type and a shadow of His reforms and His new covenant, which  is “not according to the covenant

Jer 31:31  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33  But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Heb 8:8  For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
Heb 8:9  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Heb 8:10  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

In the next chapter of Hebrews, Paul makes clear that the entire Old Testament economy was a type and shadow of Christ’s new covenant:

Heb 9:9  Which [the original tabernacle (vs 8)] was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Heb 9:15  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Christ came to be a high priest of good things to come “by a greater and more perfect tabernacle”. Where is this “greater and more perfect tabernacle [by which] Christ [became] an high priest of good things to come?” Where is this ‘tabernacle’? “Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands” refers to us as the place of His dwelling, and the law of Moses and all the events in ancient Israel leading up to the giving of that law were mere types and shadows of Christ and His Christ, His ‘tabernacle’, through whom He has come to be our high priest.

Paul elsewhere puts this same message in these words:

Rom 4:25  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Of course, Christ died for our sins and “all things are for [our] sakes”, but that is not what is being said in this verse. The two occurrences of the word ‘for’ in this verse are the Greek word ‘dia’, G1223. ‘Dia’ is the Greek word from which we derive our English word ‘diameter’. This is Strong’s definition for this word:

G1223
διά
dia
dee-ah’

A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through (in very wide applications, local, causal or occasional). In composition it retains the same general import: – after, always, among, at, to avoid, because of (that), briefly, by, for (cause) . . . fore, from, in, by occasion of, of, by reason of, for sake, that, thereby, therefore, X though, through (-out), to, wherefore, with (-in). In composition it retains the same general import.

Our heavenly Father saw us in Christ before He ever created Christ (Rev 3:14). Our heavenly Father does not think of Christ without us to the extent that He tells us that “all things are for our sakes”:

2Co 4:14  Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by [Greek: ‘dia’, through – G1223] Jesus, and shall present us with you.
2Co 4:15  For all things are for [Greek: ‘dia’, through – G1223] your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

If we put Romans 4:25 together with this verse, it is not at all adding to the scripture to read 1Co 4:14 in this way: “Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus [through our justification] shall raise up us also [through] Jesus and shall present us with you.”

Romans 4:25 and 2Corinthians 4:14-15 are both telling us that Christ was “delivered through our offences and was raised again through our justification. What this tells us is that all of this was planned by our heavenly Father “before the world began” (2Ti 1:9 and Tit 1:2), and it was all prefigured through ancient Israel, through the law of Moses and through the entire economy of that time.

Heb 10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Heb 10:2  For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Heb 10:3  But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Heb 10:4  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

The “body” being prepared for Christ and His Father is His church. It is you and me if we are granted ‘eyes that see and ears that hear the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven’ (Mat 13:9-15).

Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Now, with this knowledge we can understand why Christ told us:

Luk 16:16  The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

John’s ministry was the bridge between the old and new covenants, but John was under the law of Moses and did not partake of Christ’s new covenant. Therefore, Christ make this revolutionary statement which few believe even until this day:

Luk 7:28  For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Christ also told us that the physical manna of the Old Testament was merely a type of Himself and His doctrines.

In Hebrews 9 and 10 we are being told that the physical tabernacle and the physical temple were types of His true tabernacle and His true temple which we are:

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

The most difficult type for us to see and grasp as a mere shadow of “the True” is that the law of Moses is just a type and shadow of the covenant Christ is making with us. As with all shadows and types, unless we are given eyes that see, we will inevitably mistake the shadow and type for the reality which it prefigures. Such spiritual blindness is God’s tool to keep the masses from seeing and perceiving His True Covenant, which the first covenant foreshadowed. So, the covenant the Lord made with Israel, the covenant of which Jeremiah speaks in this 11^th chapter, is not the covenant Christ is making with us. That old covenant, with its blessings and its curses, typifies the new covenant which Christ is bringing to us with its blessings and its curses:

Jer 11:5  That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

That is to be our prayer… “So be it, O Lord… Not my will but Thine be done”.

We know that even our sins are an integral part of the work the Lord is doing to drag us to Himself:

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

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

We are just as guilty of sinning against the new covenant as ancient Israel was of sinning against the old covenant. We cannot remain under that old covenant and expect to reap the benefits and blessings of being obedient to the words of the new covenant.

When the rich young ruler asked Christ:

Luk 18:18  And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Christ’s answer was:

Luk 18:20  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Luk 18:21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
Luk 18:22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Luk 18:23  And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful:  for he was very rich [very self-righteous in ”the righteousness which is in the law”].

Matthew calls this “certain ruler” a “young man” (Mat 19:20). Christ told this young man that keeping the law outwardly was nowhere near enough to “inherit eternal life”. When Christ told this young ruler, “Yet lackest you one thing: sell all that thou hast…” He is not requiring him to forsake his wife and children. None of the apostles were required to forsake their responsibilities to their families to follow Christ. While we are not given the details, we are told that Christ healed Peter’s wife’s mother of a fever, and we are told:

1Ti 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

What Christ is telling this young ruler, and what He is telling us, is that we, too, must divest ourselves of our own self-righteousness and give it to those who are destitute of the Truth. Give it “unto the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven…” When we give our own self-righteousness to those who are spiritually poor, we are giving up what we thought was ours to others who think they, too, are righteous “according to the law [of Moses]:

Job 27:6  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

Deu 6:25  And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

The great lesson of the book of Job is that none of us is righteous of ourselves, rather we are all just naturally self-righteous, and like Job we must come to see ourselves as vile, and we must recognize that what makes us so very ‘vile’ is our insidious self-righteousness, which always leads us to condemn our own Creator and heavenly Father for our fiery trials with which He is in the process of humbling us:

Job 40:1  Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2  Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Like the rich young ruler and as Job, when we see ourselves as being righteous by our own will, then we see no need for God to judge and chasten and scourge us. When we see ourselves in that light, we are the “ninety and nine [who] need no repentance”:

Luk 15:4  What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luk 15:5  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luk 15:6  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
Luk 15:7  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which [self-righteously think they] need no repentance.

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

When Christ told the rich young ruler to “come and follow me” what He was requiring of this man, and what He is requiring of each of us, is to believe and live our lives in accordance with His “…but I say unto you…” doctrines which directly contradict the law of Moses… “love thine enemies” versus “hate thine enemies”; “turn the other cheek” versus “eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth”. These are just a couple of the beginning changes Christ made to the law of Moses which is later revealed to be merely “a carnal commandment… [with nothing more than] a shadow of good things to come”:

Heb 7:16  Who [Christ… “our high priest”] is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.

Heb 10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

It is this “shadow of good things to come” to which our next verses refer:

Jer 11:6  Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
Jer 11:7  For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.

Yes, it is true that at this time Jeremiah is referring to the old covenant, but he and his prophecies are “a shadow of good things to come” and that “Good Thing” is Christ and His new covenant”, which we are to “hear… and do… and obey.” He is “even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice”.

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

Just as with our original parents, the Lord’s method of operation is to give us commandments which He knows we will not obey. The Truth is that He ‘makes us to err from His ways and He hardens our hearts from His fear’ so that we cannot even see or hear His words:

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this day.

It is all summarized as “an experience of evil” for which He can judge us and destroy our rebellious old man who wants to remain under the first covenant and maintain his own righteousness. As we will see, the Lord reveals to us that we are in reality incapable of doing anything – good or evil – of ourselves.

Jer 11:8  Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.

These words are just as applicable to the new covenant and to us as they were to ancient Israel’s disobedience of the old covenant. The Lord will not give us His strength to be obedient to “the things that [He] says” until after He has demonstrated to us beyond any doubt that we do not have it within us to obey His Words. In and of ourselves this is what is within us:

Jer 11:9  And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Jer 11:10  They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.

We may well want to be obedient to the things Christ commands us to do, but the “one lawgiver” has “made us to err from His ways and has hardened our hearts from His fear” (Isa 63:17) by placing within our flesh, within “[our] members… the law of sin”, which brings us all, “to [our] wits’ end” (Psa 107:27).

This is what we are up against before the Lord “teaches [Greek: ‘paideuo’, chastens] us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts” (Tit 2:11-12):

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law [the ten commandments] had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Rom 7:8  But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
Rom 7:9  For I was [considered myself to be] alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
Rom 7:10  And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
Rom 7:11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Rom 7:12  Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Rom 7:13  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Rom 7:14  For we know that the law [of Christ] is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin [under the law of Moses].
Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I [No free will, but slaves to sin].
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do [No free will].
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

We have just twice been told “it is no more I that do it”, referring to our sins. That is how the Lord fulfills this next verse within each of us. He does so through a law which He has placed “in [our] members” from our mother’s womb, and there is but “one lawgiver”:

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

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

It is this “law of sin in [our] members [which brings us to] our wits’ end”:

Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

It is only at this point that we all, with the apostle Paul, are made to cry out in desperation to the Lord:

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself [my “new man] serve the law of God; but with the flesh [my old man] the law of sin.

1Jn 3:9  Whosoever is born of God [“I myself”, my new man] doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

This is all addressed to those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 13:9-15). Paul had just clarified to whom he was speaking:

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

Look at those words, “Ye also are become dead to the law by the [physical] body of Christ”. To what end? “That ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” There we have the mind of Christ on this subject. Christ’s flesh and our flesh is “another man” which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God”. These words here in Romans 7 are the basis for this statement from Paul in 2^nd Corinthians:

2Co 5:14  For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15  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.
2Co 5:16  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 [after the flesh].
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Christ had His Father’s spirit ‘without measure… from His mother’s womb’. Yet the risen Christ is “another man”. Each of us who will be given “the purchased possession”, meaning a part in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, are becoming ‘another man’ which we are now in “earnest”, in down payment form:

Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8  Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest [Greek: ‘down payment’] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession [that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”], unto the praise of his glory.

I must repeat that the Lord will not give us His strength to be obedient to “the things that [He] says” until after He has demonstrated to us beyond any doubt that we do not of ourselves have it within us to obey His Words. That is the meaning of our last verses of our study today:

Jer 11:11  Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
Jer 11:12  Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.

Yes indeed! That is exactly how it is when we are on the raging seas of our rebellious, carnal life, and being brought to our wits’ end. That storm is not our doing. It is a work of the Lord Himself. That God-ordained storm in our lives is what it takes to drag us to “[our] wits’ end], and make us to cry out to the Lord, “Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” At that time, the Lord Himself has forsaken us and does not hear us as we are brought to face the fact that our false doctrines, the idols of our hearts, are doing nothing to give us any relief from the desperate straits in which we find ourselves.

If we are blessed to be given eyes that see and ears that hear these mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in this age, then our calling is to be “hated of all men” including our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, families and friends, and our old man is just naturally repulsed by such a thought. Yet Christ was clear about what we should expect if we are given to be His witnesses in this age:

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles [“all men”].
Mat 10:19  But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
Mat 10:20  For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
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.

Every great leader among men recognizes the crisis of His time, and he challenges those he is given to lead to face that crisis and to overcome all obstacles which are in the way. Great leaders, such as Christ, do not promise their followers coffee and doughnuts while they are struggling to overcome the crisis they face. Rather, a great leader prepares those he leads for the challenges that lie ahead.

Christ is the greatest of all leaders, “the captain of [our] salvation”:

Heb 2:9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

That is why He tells us right up front, “Ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake”, then goes on to be much more specific about what we can expect if we are blessed to be given to follow in His steps:

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Every great leader also gives those he challenges to follow Him an incentive to do so.

Mat 10:41  He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
Mat 10:42  And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

The apostle Peter later asked the Lord to be more specific about what rewards lay ahead for those who followed Him. Peter’s inquiry was after Christ invited the rich young ruler to follow Him, and after that young man refused Christ’s offer Peter wanted to know what exactly would those who give up all for Christ receive in return for their sacrifice:

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the [first] regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Christ promises us, “…he that endures to the end shall be saved [from the white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death, Rev 20:11-15], and in the beginning of the 20^th chapter of Revelation we are promised to be placed as the judges over the kingdoms of this world for a thousand years, followed by the judgment of Satan and all of his angels, including all of mankind in the “lake of fire”.

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
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.

“Judgment is given to them” only who have already been judged in this present time:

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves [in “this present time” – Rom 8:18], we should not be judged [In “the resurrection of damnation” G2920: ‘krisis’, judgment].

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [first resurrection]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [G2920: ‘krisis’ same word translated as ‘judgment’ in verse 27].

Why is the first ‘resurrection’ here called “the resurrection of life”? The answer is that this is the one resurrection in which those being resurrected were already judged in “this present time”:

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

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you [in “this present time”, Rom 8:18], as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

There are great rewards awaiting those who love the Lord’s judgments. Those whose names are in the book of life will be given a crown of life, and they will be kings and priests who will rule with Christ a thousand years, after which they will judge those who are cast into the lake of fire.

That is why the Lord caused Isaiah to minister not to himself but to us (1Pe 1:12) these words:

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.

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

Thank the Lord for His judgments against our old man, “the way of [which] judgments” we will learn more in our next study, which will cover these last 11 verses of this 11^th chapter:

Jer 11:13  For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.
Jer 11:14  Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.
Jer 11:15  What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
Jer 11:16  The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
Jer 11:17  For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
Jer 11:18  And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.
Jer 11:19  But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
Jer 11:20  But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
Jer 11:21  Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:
Jer 11:22  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine:
Jer 11:23  And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.