Marriage, Part 3 - Wives, Submit Yourselves To Your Own Husbands, As Unto The Lord - Part B - Discussion

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Marriage, Part 3 - Wives, Submit Yourselves To Your Own Husbands, As Unto The Lord - Part B

Eph 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 
Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 
Eph 5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

We are continuing our examination of what makes a wife whom the Lord calls "a good thing [whose] price is far above rubies". What we saw in our last study was that the words of Paul instructing us in what makes for a successful marriage in Ephesians 5 also apply here in Proverbs 31 concerning what makes "a good... wife". What we came to see in our last discussion was that anything in the scriptures which concerns marriage is really speaking concerning "Christ and the church", male and female, husband and wives. After giving us all the instructions to help guide us in our physical marriages, this is what the holy spirit had Paul to reveal to us:

Revelation 2-3 addresses "the seven churches of Asia", but after each individual address we find these words:

Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches...

So what the spirit said to each church was actually being addressed to all the churches, "He that hath an ear..."

In the same manner, after giving us all the instructions to help guide us in our physical marriages, this is what the holy spirit had the apostle Paul to reveal to us:

Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Therefore every instruction Paul gave to wives in Ephesians 5 was actually being addressed to both husbands and wives, and every word spoken to the husbands was actually being given to the wives in "the church". "But I speak concerning Christ and the church."

Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

If everything Paul says about marriage "concerns Christ and the church" in Ephesians 5, then that same principle applies to everything said concerning the man who finds a good wife here in Proverbs 31, where we read:

Pro 31:10  Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Pro 31:11  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
Pro 31:12  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

This is a great mystery, but we are really speaking concerning Christ and the church while we are examining the qualities which make all of us, male and female, a good wife unto our Head, Christ, because if Christ really is the head of His church, then He is the husband of the entire church, male and female. And that is exactly what we are told is the case:

Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

So we are one and all, male and female, being "present[ed]... as a chaste virgin to Christ" by the spirit of His Word, and as such we will continue to see what makes for a good wife, whose price is far above rubies and in whom the heart of our Lord can safely trust to do Him good and not evil all the days of our lives.

Last week's study brought us to:

Pro 31:21  She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
Pro 31:22  She makes for herself carpets of tapestry. Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Pro 31:23  Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.

"Her household... are clothed with scarlet", because the Lord's wife is not a gossip. She covers the sins of others "with scarlet", because 'scarlet', or 'red' in its positive application, means the covering for our sins: http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/why-three-different-hebrew-words-for-the-color-red/

Exo 36:19  And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that.

Pro 11:13  A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.

Pro 17:9  He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.

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.

There are three different words for the color red in this verse, but following "the dream is one" principle (Gen 41:25-26), they all mean the same thing.

Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Our sins are typified by the color red, and yet they are also covered and made white by the red blood of "the Lamb". That is one of the functions of a "good... wife":

Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

"Her clothing is fine linen" tells those with eyes that see, who it is who really is this Proverbs 31 wife:

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

And what is the context of Revelation 19:8?

Rev 19:6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

The context is the "blessed... [who] are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb", unto His wife in whom His heart can safely trust to do Him good and not evil, all the days of her life.

The point being that we must learn to stop complaining about how our husband, Christ, is going about doing the work His Father has given Him, and to get behind him and speak well of Him, and not speak evil of Him at all times, even when it appears that he is leading us into physical, financial ruin. While all the daughters of Babylon are rebelling against "the voice of The Shepherd", His true wife is making linen garments to cover the nakedness of her husband and her children, and others also, knowing that even when we provide for our families, it is really Christ who is doing so:

Pro 31:24  She makes linen garments and sells them, and delivers girdles to the merchant.

"Her husband" is Christ, and this "virtuous woman is "His Christ", His wife, His church. Therefore her provisions are really Christ providing for His household:

Mat 6:28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

This sounds so physical, and you wives may think that you are being instructed to become physical entrepreneuers, but that is not the point being made here. This is what is really being taught to all of us as the "chaste virgin... bride" of Christ concerning how we are to serve our Lord, our Head, our husbands and our families:

Tit 2:3  The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
Tit 2:4  That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
Tit 2:5  To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

This same 31st chapter of Proverbs demonstrates very clearly that "keepers at home" does not mean that she never goes out of the house. However, she does provide for her family and her home, and she is not giving her time and efforts to others ahead of her own family.

Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. [Your household comes first.]

Pro 31:16  She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

"Not false accusers" is addressed to wives in particular, but we are all the wife of Christ, and we all falsely accuse our Lord every time we forget the spiritual Truth that 'It is not I that do it but sin that dwells within me', and we forget that 'it was not you that sold me into Egypt, but God'. You as wives and we as husbands falsely accuse our own husband of adultery, fornication, neglect, oppression, or any other of the "works of the flesh", when we blame our husband (Christ) for what we think are the unjust things he is doing to us. You wives deny that your husbands' evil actions are a work of God for your good when you take it upon yourselves to withstand and attempt on your own strength to change your husband. Your attempts at assuming the headship, your attempts at manipulation, and your loud protestations against his leadership are all nothing less than a protest against the way Christ is ruling this world. All of us as the wife of Christ, are denying that it is God who is "work[ing] all things after the counsel of His own will" when we attempt to right the wrongs of this world, and we become guilty of rebelling against His work in our lives.

This is what the Lord tells us concerning the "basest of men", and how He uses us in this age:

Dan 4:17  This matter [The humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar] 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.

I said 'us' because Daniel 4:17 is just the Old Testament way of saying what Romans 7 also teaches, which is that it is indeed 'us' who are being typified by Nebuchadnezzar as the rebellious old man within every man and woman who has ever lived. But that rebellion is really "not I", and when we act as if our sins are really our sins, then we are still that rebellious old man ourselves. Read it and believe it as it applies to your own husband, and as it applies to you:

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

No one is advocating that this sad condition should be encouraged. I am certainly not telling any wife to encourage her husband to continue in sin. Absolutely not, but we are all told:

Rom 12:18  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

If you truly believe that your husband is a weaker brother than you are, then act according to how we are instructed to treat a brother who is "weak in the faith". Bear with that weakness all the while refusing to become weak yourself.

Rom 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2  Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Rom 15:3  For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom 15:5  Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

The subtlety and gentleness with which you deal with your husband and the godly example you set for him will win your husband much quicker than any attempt to manipulate, argue with or attempt to usurp the headship that God ordained to be your husband's headship. If your husband wants junk food and junk drinks, and he insists on eating an unhealthy diet, do not attempt to force him to live with a healthy diet. Shop for yourself and your children and shop for your husband, and give him what he insists upon eating. It is not your place to take it upon yourself to change your husband. If he is on meds, give him his meds. If he refuses to take his medicine, let him learn his own way because Christ is teaching you to wait on Him. We know that the Lord works even the evil in this world through "the law of sin which is in our members", and you wives know that the evil in your husband is also being worked in him by "the law of sin which is in [His] members.

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 know that God works all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11), and now we are informed that we are all compelled to sin by "the law of sin... in [our] members". And who sustains that "law of sin"?

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

Have we not all cried out to our heavenly Father the same prayer Paul cried out to God?

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.

It is this knowledge that God is working all things, the good and the evil, and it is the strength to apply this knowledge which is the righteousness of Christ in you wives which clothes the wife who does her husband good all the days of her life. It is the sharing of this knowledge with the younger women and the example set by the older women which is the wisdom of her mouth and the kindness that is on her tongue.

Pro 31:23  Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.

Christ is known in this world only by what the world sees of His wife, which 'wife' each of us is (Mat 5:14-16, and 2Co 11:2) of whom Christ, "the light of the world" in John tells us:

Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

But then He turns right around and tells us:

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

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

A wife who dishonors her husband is not the "light of the world". Instead she dishonors Christ and blasphemes His Word (Tit 2:5).

Pro 31:25  Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
Pro 31:26  She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the law of kindness is on her tongue.
Pro 31:27  She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

This woman, who fears God, wants to serve her husband and please him, and she wants to be a Godly, God-fearing example to her children. The wife of Christ has been given to want to serve her physical and her spiritual husband enough to go to bed early enough to get her needed rest and to be able to get out of bed and prepare breakfast for her husband.

A Godly wife looks well to the ways of her household by being an example to her children and to all who know her. She considers it a blessing to be given that opportunity to feed her family. She tells her husband how much she appreciates his tireless efforts to keep her and their children fed and clothed and sheltered. She makes sure she is home to meet her husband with a loving kiss of gratitude when he gets home from a hard day's work. She does all of this without regard for how her husband treats her because 'the wisdom of her mouth' teaches her that she is to return good for evil and that her husband can trust her to strive to obey the Lord, whether she can or cannot trust him to do the same. She does all of this out of both the love she has for her husband and because she fears God who tells her to submit herself to her husband as unto the Lord. How you, as a wife, serve your husband is a direct reflection of how you are serving your Lord. If you blame your husband for his faults, you are blaming Christ Himself, because you know that Christ is working all things after the counsel of His own will.

Look again at verses 26 and 27, and consider how closely associated are those two verses.

Pro 31:26  She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the law of kindness is on her tongue.
Pro 31:27  She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

When a Godly wife "opens her mouth with wisdom" she is looking well to the ways of her household by never ever bringing up the past sins or faults of her husband, regardless of how her husband treats her. A Godly wife "opens her mouth with wisdom" which instructs her to return good for evil, and to "cover a multitude of sins", which instructions must especially be applied to her own husband, her "first love". In doing so she is acting in accordance with her knowledge that her husband's faults and sins are not his sins, but they are the Lord's work in her own life. It is only by applying all this knowledge that you as a wife will "look well to the ways of [your] household".

Pro 31:28  Her sons rise up, and call her blessed. Her husband [also], and he praises her.

Your children and your husband will call you blessed because you did not revile when you were reviled. You submitted yourself to your head, even under adverse circumstances.  Doing what Christ says to do is to be greatly admired, greatly valued and greatly praised by all.

Pro 31:29  Many daughters have done worthily, but thou excel them all.
Pro 31:30  Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, [but] a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Pro 31:31  Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

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

No newly married couple starts out as a mature husband and a mature wife. Only Christ within you can be submissive while you are feeling abused by your husband. It takes "Christ in you" to endure the time of adjustment needed to adjust to putting your husband ahead of all else, and it takes Christ in your husband to begin to put you, his wife above all else in this world. Your husband and your children will praise you as a wife who is submissive to Christ even when being abused for a time, because you really do "fear the Lord" enough that you obey the Lord's commandments even when your husband does not. You are obedient under such trying circumstances because you "fear the Lord", and a wife and mother who fears the Lord "shall be praised". This "good... wife" loves her Lord even more than she loves her husband and her children, and because she is willing to lose her entire family, she will be given her family in the Lord's time:

Act 16:30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Act 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

1Co 7:16  For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

A Godly husband is not a domineering tyrant who gives no consideration or responsibilities to His wife. A Godly husband will leave the affairs of the home in the care of his God-fearing wife whom he knows He can trust and who will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. But that does not mean that the husband forfeits his proper place as the head of his wife and the head of his family to a domineering wife. That simply will not produce the fruits of the spirit of God.

Being subject to your husband as unto Christ is the goal of every Godly wife. A God-fearing wife wants to be subject to her own husband in everything, as unto the Lord, and as the church is subject unto Christ. This is what any Godly wife aspires to do if she has even just a cursory knowledge of her place within a Godly family. Without this subjection to her husband there is no Godly order, and there can be no peace of Christ because every properly functioning 'body' has a head which instructs that body and leads every member of that body to do that which is for the good and the health of that body, "even as Christ gives Himself for the church."

Now, since I am speaking to the wife in this study, let's read Ephesians 5 from that perspective, substituting the word 'women' for 'men' and the word 'husband' for the word 'wife':

Eph 5:28  So ought [wo]men to love their [husband]s as their own bodies. [S]he that loveth h[er] [husband] loveth h[er]self.

Remember, we are informed that the entire church is the bride of Christ:

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Rev 19:6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

When we read "blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb", we are speaking of the same blessing pronounced upon those who are granted to be a part of the "blessed and holy... 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.

"The marriage supper of the Lamb [is] the blessed and holy... first resurrection." There will not be one wife in the first resurrection who has continued to complain about her husband's faults and shortcomings. If you want to be in that blessed and holy first resurrection, which is the marriage supper of the Lamb and His bride, then stop deriding your husband and start right now "doing him good and not evil as long as [you] live." The only wife who will be part of that bride of Christ in the first resurrection will be that wife who has repented of being resentful of the trials the Lord has given her.

The wife of the first resurrection will, like Job, have overcome that great sin against herself and against her husband and against her friends and her children and her family of 'contending with, reproving and condemning her husband'. Every wife in the first resurrection will have repented of condemning God for giving her a husband whose shortcomings have only served to manifest her own self-righteousness in condemning God while thinking she is condemning her husband. All the wives who are given to be in this wedding supper of Christ and His bride will be those men and women who have learned to really mean it when they pray, "Not my will but thine be done."

Any wife will just naturally ask, "But shouldn't men seek to please their wives? Should not men be considerate of their wives?" Of course they should, but not at the expense of letting "the neck turn the head", as the wife of a world famous mega minister told the 60 Minutes TV news magazine some years ago.

When "the neck turns the head" becomes acceptable household philosophy, this is the fruit of that family, and in time it becomes the fruit of the entire nation:

Isa 3:12  As for my [apostate] people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

We will stop here for now and resume this discussion next week. In that third part of this discussion we will see that it is as natural for a wife to ignore the Words of Christ and to want to lead her husband, her head, as it is for our rebellious, sinful, old man, to ignore the clear instructions Christ gives to him, and to want to usurp the headship of Christ.

These words apply equally to both husbands and wives, because in the spirit both are the wife of Christ, and both just naturally want to be the head of Christ, and both deal treacherously with their Head:

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Mal 2:10  Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Mal 2:11  Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
Mal 2:12  The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.
Mal 2:13  And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Mal 2:14  Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
Mal 2:15  And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
Mal 2:16  For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
Mal 2:17  Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

We must, and in time we will, learn never to reprove, contend with or condemn the Lord who is working every trial in our lives for our good.

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.
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

So what are we to do when we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
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 next part of this marriage series can be found here.]

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 93

“The Splendor of the Tabernacle”

December 2, 2015

In our previous studies covering the tabernacle, we have discussed the various items contained within the tabernacle. In our next group of studies, we are going to cover the various linens and materials used to make the covering, frame and structure of the tabernacle.

As was previously covered, here is the offering the Lord expects from His people:

Exo 25:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 25:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
Exo 25:3  And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
Exo 25:4  And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
Exo 25:5  And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,

The study today is going to cover the layers overlaying/covering the tabernacle.

We are covered

Anytime we talk about a covering, we know there is some linkage to Jesus Christ since He is our covering in various ways. Some of the attributes of the covering of the tabernacle will directly connect us with our savior in a most wonderfully planned way.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psa 91:3  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Psa 51:2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Exo 12:22  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
Exo 12:23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

Dan 7:9  I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

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 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Why have I taken the time to read these various verses in the context of curtains, linens and covering we are covering in Exodus 26?

As we have all come to learn, scripture uses many examples of various items to describe our relationship with the Lord. As we read about the various items found in chapter 26, let us see if they correlate to the covering of the tabernacle and the covering of Jesus Christ over us, His people, the temple of the living God.

Fine Twined Linen

Exo 26:1  Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.
Exo 26:2  The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.

So the first layer of the tabernacle is going to be made of fine twined linen. These 10 twined linen curtains are going to have all of the colors of blue, purple and scarlet but also have cherubims embroidered into them. They will also all be the same size.

When we see the number of the 10 being mentioned, then we know there is going to be a connection to the flesh and the old man. If you’ve studied the series Mike has done on the colors in scripture, then you’ll remember that blue, purple and scarlet show the progression of our walk with God.

We all start off with red, purple is a mixture of blue and red, and then we finally progress to the heavenly blue. There is much more to those colors, but I would welcome every to re-visit those studies or read up on them if you haven’t already so that I do not need to re-create those studies within my own series.

The point I want to make is that these colors are all spiritual types and shadows of the war happening to us while we are living. We have a war of the flesh and spiritual happening daily, and as this war rages on, we have a progression happening from fleshly carnally minded “red” to heavenly minded “blue”. If there is any doubt that the Lord is showing us this connection, remember that Cherubim are no merely overlaid onto these curtains later, they are embroidered INTO the actual curtain/covering.

In this progression, we are shown grace as we can see in the dividing of the curtains into manageable sections.

Exo 26:3  The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another.
Exo 26:4  And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.
Exo 26:5  Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another.
Exo 26:6  And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.

Fifty is the number of liberty in scripture. There is a reason that this layer of the tabernacle has fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the other.

These loops were made of blue linen signifying their heavenly connecting of the “curtains of one”. I phrase this “curtains of one” because each side of this “one tabernacle” has five curtains making one side and five curtains making the other side. The five curtains were then sown together to make one side and the other 5 to make one piece for the other side.

Each of these “sides” of the tabernacle were connected with taches of gold.

When I see the details the Lord has placed on this first layer of the covering of the tabernacle, I notice that He wants us to know this is one tabernacle as mentioned in verse 6.

Where else are we told we are one with God and His sanctification of this tabernacle?

Exo 29:43  And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by MY GLORY.

Lev 8:10  And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.

Joh 17:19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 17:22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Joh 17:23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be MADE PERFECT IN ONE; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Joh 17:24  Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; THAT THEY MAY BEHOLD MY GLORY, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Our glory is one with Christ’s because Christ’s glory is the Fathers. We are One tabernacle. However, this tabernacle is still the temporary one which no longer exists because it was just the shadow of what the true tabernacle is.

Heb 8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Goats Skin

 

Exo 26:7  And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.
Exo 26:8  The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure.
Exo 26:9  And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle.
Exo 26:10  And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.
Exo 26:11  And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.
Exo 26:12  And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle.
Exo 26:13  And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.

There are several significant differences about the goat skin layering of the 4 layers mentioned here in Exodus 26.

First off, the length of this “tent” is 2 more cubits longer than the 28 cubits that the tabernacle and covering of fine linen was made of.  This was so that it could hang over the sides and back of the tabernacle.

This layer is a “covering”, a “tent”, for the tabernacle. The fine linen was to be “one tabernacle” while this layer of goats hair was a covering for the tabernacle.

Num 4:25  And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers’ skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

The fine linen with cherubim was included as the “one tabernacle” while the covering for the tabernacle was the tent or the goat hair.

Next, this covering was to be 11 curtains made into 2 pieces. One piece had 5 curtains and the other had 6. Five being the number of grace and six being the number of man, we should start to see a connection to the goat with this layer.

The connecting of the one whole piece of 5 breadths or curtains to the 6 breadths or curtains is done with BRASS this time and NOT gold. The loops are also not defined as blue which indicates they were made of the same material as the curtain themselves since the loops of blue were material used in the making of the first layer of the tabernacle.

Esau was represented by goat’s skins/hair when his blessing was stolen by Jacob who was “underneath” the goat’s hair. Jacob went on to be renamed to Israel. Being the True Israel of God, God’s people, we can see this as a shadow of the goat’s hair covering the true beauty beneath or inside.

Next we can see a connection to the scapegoat which is a sin offering. Most Christians today do not understand not can fathom that WE are sin offerings through the work of Jesus Christ in us.

Jesus Christ represents both the goat that was sacrificed and the goat that was released into the wilderness as the scapegoat. In connection with the goat hair covering, we can see that what we have hidden inside of us is the kingdom of God and what is in the Kingdom of God is Jesus and His and our Father.

Lev 16:5  And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

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:

Since it was Aaron who let the scapegoat go, and Aaron is the high priest who typifies Christ, we can correlate that type to Jesus Christ our high priest releasing the scapegoat into the wilderness.

Ram and badgers skin

Exo 26:14  And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins.

As you can see from this verse, there isn’t much said about the ram and badger skins used. There isn’t much said about either of these coverings.

We know that the rams’ skin was dyed red and we can make an educated guess that these coverings were at least as big as the fine linen and goat layers.

A male sheep has a fairly easy to see spiritual correlation to Jesus Christ especially when the Lord says to dye the “skin” red. As I mentioned in the beginning of the study, we are all covered by the blood of Jesus and we are all guilty of that blood.

The badger’s skin was the last of four layers which is said in many commentaries to be uncomely. In other words, the outermost layer of these coverings was something that would make an onlooker see this tabernacle and not find much value in it.

Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

There was items made of pure gold and others overlaid in gold, but from the outside an onlooker could not know what beauty was inside this tabernacle.

From the inside, the priest was surrounded by gold and had beautifully embroidered cherubim all around. The fine linen layer was the closest layer to everything pertaining to the glory of God in the tabernacle. The fine linen layer was also the outermost layer referred to as “the tabernacle”.

With this study, I hope we are able to glean a little bit more about the relationship the Lord has given us with Him and the beauty of what will be revealed when we see Him as He is.

In the next study, we are going to cover the structure of the tabernacle with the wood boards, the sockets and the bars. We are also going to cover the location the Lord tells Moses to place all of the items pertaining to the tabernacle and what they mean for us.

(Key verses: Gen 9:28-29, Gen 10:1-5)

[Study Aired June 5, 2014]

The flesh and its carnal spirit in man is the enemy of the spirit of God, and naturally we reject spiritual things, even the very truth of God (Rom 8:5-8; 2Th 2:2-10-12; Joh 14:17; 1Co 2:14). Spirit life is the extreme opposite to what physical life entails, and the natural man cannot even properly understand or control his own physical environment, neither his own mental state, nor anything to do with “earthy things” (Joh 3:6, 12; Gal 5:17). The things of the spirit of God are therefore impossible to receive by the natural man – it is all foolishness to his puffed up mind:

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Every detail given to us in God’s Word is what every man lives from, even the evil and darkness first which also proceeded from the mouth of God (Gen 1:2; Ecc 1:13; Jer 18:4; Rom 8:20):

Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

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

Evil and carnality, like all things related to spiritual death, are temporary creations of God which will all be done away with after they fulfill their purpose according to God’s counsel and will (1Co 15:26; 1Co 15:53-57; Rev 1:18). The earth-shattering destruction caused by the global flood in the days of Noah typifies this (Amo 3:6; Psa 90:3; Pro 16:4; Rom 11:36). The new world which appeared in all its earthy splendour after that flood is a type of spirit life that will be given to all after the judgment of the flesh (Heb 9:27; Isa 26:9; 2Pe 3:10-13; Joh 12:24). Everything on the physical earth was very different after the flood. Within a short, but cataclysmic, space of time the whole composition of the earth’s upper crust, which maintains earthy life, changed and looked vastly different (Gen 6:17). The “scoffers” who focus on vain babblings and on knowledge (Greek: gnōsis = science) “falsely so called” rather deny that something of the magnitude of the global flood could ever have taken place (Hos 4:6; 1Ti 6:20). For those who can receive it, the Bible is the only source on which all true knowledge or true science rests. This knowledge is rejected because it contradicts the calculations of those scoffers who oppose the truth as they want to believe that “all things continue as they were from the beginning” – whatever that “beginning” means to them:

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.
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.

Noah and his other seven family members emerged with all the animals from the ark after the waters subsided. Noah lived another three hundred fifty years and died at the high age of 950 years, and through his three sons all the current generations and nations of men came into being (Gen 9:28-29):

Gen 10:1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

The three sons of Noah are the natural ancestors of all humanity since the global flood (Gen 9:1). These three physical lines of the human family are for most people a very interesting and fascinating study which gave rise to many diverse viewpoints of categories and distributions of nations and groups we have on the earth today. Some use these categories to determine each population’s superiority or inferiority in relation to each other which has led to much hatred and uncountable wars in history, as per God’s design. These destructive forces come from the vain, prideful imaginations and lusts of the carnal heart with all its natural envy and competitiveness (Jas 4:1-5; Jer 17:9; 1Jn 2:16). All these things are caused by God to keep the nations of flesh occupied with vanities when they cannot see the true hidden purposes of God which He reveals to His elect in Christ, even as they themselves have only to look behind them to see and understand His works (Psa 25:14; 1Co 2:10; Amo 3:7; Rev 1:10-12):

Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

Worldly debates and natural entanglements in the genealogies which we find in Scripture, for example in Genesis 10, are not the focus of the spirit of Christ and His church (1Ti 1:4). The spirit of God teaches only through the comparison of spiritual with spiritual, and also within that context a deeper inward application to these genealogies of the three sons of Noah become much more interesting (Gen 10; 1Ch 1; 1Co 2:13, 16). The Bible is quite unique as far as the detailed facts of the origins of nations on the earth are concerned – these are not mythical accounts as some want to proclaim in their error (2Ti 3:16; Psa 119:160):

Joh 5:46 For if ye believed Moses [the first five books of the Bible written by Moses], ye would believe me; for he wrote of me.
Joh 5:47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

In our last discussion, the purposes of God through Canaan, Ham’s youngest son, were highlighted within the context of the prophecy of Noah regarding his sons. Unlike the immature actions of Ham, the maturity in the actions of Shem and Japheth was quite obvious because they did not look on their father’s nakedness when he was drunk within his own tent, but rather covered it. The mature in Christ will always cover sin through a respectful private admonition first (Jas 5:19-20; Mat 18:15):

Gen 9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
Gen 9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
Gen 9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

Noah was very upset with what Ham did, but also pleased with the love and maturity in which Shem and Japheth operated. He blessed these two sons, and in this blessing a few things should be noted within these prophetic words of Noah:

Gen 9:26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Gen 9:27 God shall enlarge [Hebrew: “pâthâh”] Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

This blessing on Japheth links to our foundational theme of “enlargement” or “expansion” in this discussion, as Japheth and his offspring are the first to be mentioned among the three sons of Noah. Japheth had seven sons:

Gen 10:1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
Gen 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

An interesting correlation here is that Japheth’s name also means “expansion” or “enlargement” which connects with the prophecy of Noah. God’s will for everything He creates is to increase and grow into what He wants that thing to be in the end, and nothing can resist and change that will of God (Isa 46:10; Rom 9:19). All natural things are given to grow and increase, and that could also be the reason why Japheth’s name and his offspring are mentioned first in this list of genealogies. Japheth shall be enlarged in fleshly terms first, but the ultimate increase is not with the flesh but within the “tents” or covering of Shem. Shem was the forefather of a very important man who was also known as “the faithful Abraham” (Gal 3:9):

Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.

Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Jesus Christ is the Father of true faith and of the faithful (Isa 9:6). Abraham is the Old Testament symbol of what “the faith of Christ” is all about (Gal 3:16; Php 3:9; Gal 2:16). The theme of expansion or increase in terms of the offspring of Japheth helps us to see that immature fleshliness in all its vastness and earthly glory was never to be the ultimate habitation and glory for all in the generation of Adam (2Co 3:7-11). God is indeed working a beautiful process whereby all who were born within the limitations of flesh will be given “a large place” or increase in the spirit of Christ – an enlarged heart (Psa 18:19; Psa 118:5; Psa 31:8; Exo 24:34; Deu 12:20; 1Co 15:22-28; Psa 119:32; 2Co 6:11). This spiritual increase or enlargement is also typified in the prayer of the “more honourable” Jabez who was born in the genealogy of the Israelite tribe of Judah and is the focus of all the genealogies which surrounds these verses (1Ch 4:1-23):

1Ch 4:9 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
1Ch 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge [Hebrew: “râbâh” = increase] my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

It is also how we all will enlarge spiritually when we can see and acknowledge that God’s hand is the only one that can withhold evil so that we do not grieve Him in our disobedience. This is when we accept that our old barren tent of flesh is our biggest hindrance to obtain spirit life (2Co 5:1-5). That is also when we give up the earthy wells over which the Gentiles strive – only then can we find “Rehoboth” when “the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land” (Gen 26:22):

Isa 54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
Isa 54:2 Enlarge [Hebrew: “râchab” = broaden/make room] the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
Isa 54:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Here is Dr. Strong’s explanation of the Hebrew word “pâthâh” which is translated as “enlarge”:

A primitive root; to open, that is, be (causatively make) roomy; usually figuratively (in a mental or moral sense) to be (causatively make) simple or (in a sinister way) delude: – allure, deceive, enlarge, entice, flatter, persuade, silly (one).

It is interesting to note that this word “pâthâh” also means to be deluded and deceived as it is also translated as such in numerous verses in the Scriptures (Deu 11:16; Job 31:9; Jer 20:7; Eze 14:9; 2Sa 3:25; Pro 24:28). How many can believe that God sends strong delusion on all deceivable and unrighteous flesh, even in its belief of having prosperity and increase – even doing many wonderful works in His name (Eze 14:9; 2Th 2:10-11; Mat 7:22-23)? The word “pâthâh” is also frequently translated as “entice” or “enticed” in the Scripture (Exo 22:16; Jdg 14:15; Jdg 16:5; 2Ch 18:19-21; Pro 1:10; Job 31:27; Jer 20:10; Pro 16:29). Our natural heart is indeed secretly enticed by its own lusts to follow after deceitful self-righteousness as Job found out afterwards (Jer 17:9; Jas 1:13-15):

Job 31:27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand.

The Greek Septuagint equivalent of the Hebrew word “pâthâh” is “platunō” which has a root word “plassō” and this is Dr Strong’s explanation of this word:  “plassō = a primary verb; to mould, that is, shape or fabricate: – form.”

God is shaping everything of humanity from start to finish, even the evil and corrupt vessel of clay of the first Adam which very few can see or accept in this age:

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.

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?

The flesh in all its various expansions is in actual truth just a very limited and temporary spiritual prison of death with an “evil eye” that is not satisfied with seeing and an “ear [that is] uncircumcised” and never “filled with hearing” (Isa 61:1-2; Luk 4:18; Heb 13:3; Pro 28:22; Jer 6:10; Mar 7:21-22; Ecc 1:8; Ecc 4:8; Mat 13:15):

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.

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.

This expansion or enlargement of Japheth is intimately connected to God’s commandment to all the sons of Noah to fill the whole earth and replenish or repopulate it (Gen 9:1-2). God will never expect us to do anything if He did not supply all the provisions needed for the task. We also know that humans do not naturally do what God commands, as in the case of all the offspring of Noah and his sons. It was actually only after God confounded their one language at Babel that these families started to fulfill God’s command to fill the earth (Gen 11:6-9). As master artisans, and in particular skillful shipbuilders, all of the sons of Noah were given the provisions and authority by God to do His commandments. God delivered every beast of the earth, fowl of the air, every moving thing on the earth and the fishes of the sea into their hand. Not one part of this new looking earth (with all its new continents, islands, mountains, etc., which were formed during the deluge) was not accessible to Noah’s offspring. Wherever they went they took the provisions of God with them (including the plants and animals for food) to fulfill their God-given mandate to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the whole earth:

Gen 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Gen 10:3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
Gen 10:4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
Gen 10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

Only God determines the exact place where everyone and everything must be at any specific point in time as God directs each step of each moving creature on this earth from the beginning (Psa 139:16; Jer 10:23; Pro 20:24). This place that God gives is not limited to terrestrial geography only, but ultimately refers to our spiritual “expansion”, as when the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob with her unfulfilled lusts for companionship met the real companion in Christ (Rom 1:20; Joh 4:5-30). The fleshly offspring of Japheth, as with all flesh of all men, is not let loose by God to do their own thing, but is always in God’s hand and will all be drawn back with hooks in their jaws to go through God’s judgment to receive their spiritual enlargement:

Eze 38:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Eze 38:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
Eze 38:5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
Eze 38:6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

By Japheth and his offspring shall the “isles of the Gentiles [be] divided in their lands”, even under the covering of Shem, the forefather of Abraham who was the type of Christ in whom all the earth, Jew and Gentile, will be blessed (Gen 9:27a; 1Ch 1:17-19). And among all the lists and names of the sons of Noah and their offspring, these three verses in Chronicles zoom in on the man of faith through which God typifies His elected seed in spirit (Heb 11:6):

1Ch 1:24 Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,
1Ch 1:25 Eber, Peleg, Reu,
1Ch 1:26 Serug, Nahor, Terah,
1Ch 1:27 Abram; the same is Abraham.

Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Next week, God willing we will look at the others sons of Noah and what we can learn through their generations.

———

Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:

Spirits In Prison 2012

Life Comes Out Of And Through Death

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 “All Is Vanity”

Ecclesiastes 10:11-20 “The Labour of The Foolish Wearieth Every One of Them”

http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/Rev_19__20_God_and_Magog.php

Wow, Mike,

I’m very glad to have stumbled onto your website. I was really trying to find out how God answered David. It sounds so easy; David inquired of the Lord and God said to pursue them. How did God talk to David? Now that the Holy Spirit resides in us, it seems that it’s still hard to determine what God’s will is for me or to hear God’s voice.

C____

Hi C____,

Thank you for taking the time to write.

You ask:

How did God talk to David?

Here is what the scriptures tell us:

1Sa 23:2 Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.
1Sa 23:4 Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.

Any time you see the word LORD in the King James in all caps like that, it is taken from the Hebrew word Yahweh. There are many such instances where David spoke directly with Yahweh, just as did many others before him. We will begin with Adam and Eve:

Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely 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.
Gen 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
Gen 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Yahweh also spoke with and appeared to many other Old Testament patriarchs and kings and prophets, including King David, just as we talk to each other today.

But for us now, it is a matter of knowing the voice of the True shepherd through His Words. That is a blessing which is given to very few indeed.

Joh 10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

It is my prayer that you will recognize the “voice” of the True Shepherd in the writings on iswasandwillbe. com. I would also encourage you to read Rightly Dividing The Word in the essential reading section of the iswasandwillbe. com web site.

Here is that link:

http:// iswasandwillbe. com/ understandingbible. php

I hope this answers your question. The fact that King David, and so many others, saw and talked with Yahweh, tells us that Yahweh was none other than Christ Himself, the Word of God.

Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Joh 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

I hope this has served to answer your questions.

Your brother in His service,

Mike