“The Spiritual Significance of Directions”

North, South, East and West

[Study Originally Aired January 7, 2025
Revised and re-recorded January 28, 2025]

Introduction: Understanding Direction in Scripture

In our pursuit of spiritual understanding, we must begin with Jesus’s foundational teaching that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20). This truth transforms our study of directional references in Scripture from mere geographical indicators to profound spiritual realities. When God established physical directions in creation, He provided patterns that would reveal spiritual truth, for “the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (Romans 1:20).

God deliberately established directional patterns from the beginning of creation. This pattern became physically visible when “God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” (Genesis 1:16). By setting the sun to rise in the east and set in the west each day, God created an enduring natural cycle that would teach spiritual truth. The prophet Malachi captured this teaching purpose: ”For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles” (Malachi 1:11). Through this daily journey of light, we learn how divine revelation progresses to completion in our lives.

To understand these spiritual patterns, we must rely not on natural reasoning but on divine wisdom. Paul emphasizes this necessity: “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” (1 Corinthians 2:14). As Jesus taught, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Therefore, we must approach directional references in Scripture seeking their spiritual significance.

The Divine Pattern: Israel’s Tribal Arrangement

God’s arrangement of Israel’s tribes around the tabernacle provides our first complete picture of how directions reveal spiritual truth. This wasn’t random positioning but deliberate placement teaching eternal principles. Each tribe’s location carried specific spiritual meaning that would illuminate God’s working in our lives.

On the east side, God positioned Judah: “On the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies” (Numbers 2:3). Through Judah would come Christ, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5). This eastern placement established that direction’s connection with divine revelation, just as natural light first appears in the east.

The south side belonged to Reuben: “On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben” (Numbers 2:10). As Jacob’s firstborn who lost his birthright through sin, Reuben’s position revealed how the south represents progressive testing and judgment in our lives. His story shows how God uses circumstances to reveal and deal with what lies within us.

Continuing with the tribal arrangement, God placed Ephraim on the west side: “On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim” (Numbers 2:18). Ephraim had received a blessing of multiplication from Jacob: “his seed shall become a multitude of nations” (Genesis 48:19). This western position reveals how God brings His work to completion and fullness, just as the sun completes its daily journey in the west.

Finally, the tribe of Dan occupied the north: “The camp of Dan shall be on the north side” (Numbers 2:25). The name Dan means “judge,” establishing the north’s connection with God’s judgment and authority. This positioning teaches us how God’s authority works in our lives through judgment to accomplish His purpose.

The Language of Direction: Hebrew and Greek Insights

The original Hebrew and Greek words for directions provide deeper insight into their spiritual significance. Each directional term carries meaning that illuminates how God uses these patterns to accomplish His purpose in our lives.

The Hebrew word for north, tsaphon (צָפוֹן), derives from a root meaning ”to hide or treasure up. ” God reveals this connection through Solomon’s instruction to ”lay up (tsaphan) my commandments with thee” (Proverbs 7:1). Just as precious things are carefully stored until the right moment, so God’s judgments from the north are released according to His perfect timing. The Greek equivalent, borrhas (βορρᾶς), relates to strength and hardness, reinforcing the north’s connection to God’s unmovable authority and judgment.

The south’s Hebrew designation, negeb (נֶגֶב), literally means ”to be parched” or ”dry, ” referring to desert regions. This parching process pictures how God uses testing to reveal what lies within us, as seen powerfully when Christ was ”led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1). After forty days in this desert testing, angels came and ministered to Him, showing how God’s testing ultimately brings refreshing. The Greek term notos (νότος) reinforces this pattern – connecting to moisture and rain, it reveals how testing leads to spiritual renewal, fulfilling the prophet’s words: ”For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud” (Isaiah 55:10)

In Hebrew, east is mizrach (מִזְרָח), from zarach meaning “to rise or shine forth.” The Greek anatole (ἀνατολή) carries the same meaning of rising or dawning. Both terms connect directly to sunrise, reinforcing how God’s revelation dawns progressively in our lives, as “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).

The Hebrew ma’arab (מַעֲרָב) for west comes from a root meaning “to grow dark,” referring to sunset. Similarly, the Greek dusme (δυσμή) means “a setting.” Rather than suggesting negative darkness, these terms speak of completion – just as each day finds completion at sunset, God brings each aspect of His work to its appointed conclusion.

These linguistic foundations reveal how God embedded spiritual meaning even in the basic terms for direction. As we study how Scripture uses these terms, their root meanings enrich our understanding of God’s working in our lives. This aligns with Solomon’s observation that “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

The North in Scripture: A Place of God’s Judgment and Authority

Scripture develops the north’s spiritual significance far beyond Dan’s initial placement. Job provides foundational insight when he declares, “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7), connecting the north with God’s absolute authority over creation. The Psalmist reinforces this, declaring “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King” (Psalm 48:2), linking the north specifically with God’s kingship and throne of judgment.

The prophet Ezekiel deepens this understanding through his dramatic vision: “a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it” (Ezekiel 1:4). This appearance from the north preceded God revealing His throne and glory, showing how experiencing God’s judgment prepares us for deeper revelation of His nature.

Through Jeremiah, God reveals how He uses northern powers as instruments of His judgment: “Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 1:14-15). Yet this judgment serves His redemptive purpose, for He promises restoration through this same direction: “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers” (Jeremiah 3:18).

Isaiah illuminates the north’s significance when recording the king of Babylon’s proud boast: “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). This reveals the north as the place of highest authority – a position belonging to God alone. As Isaiah further declares, “I am the LORD, and there is none else… I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things” (Isaiah 45:6-7). Through this authority, God works all things according to His will, establishing His kingdom within us.

The South: A Direction of God’s Progressive Judgment

Building on the north’s establishment of judgment, the south reveals how God’s judgment progresses to accomplish His purpose. This progression begins with Reuben’s placement on the south side of the tabernacle. Just as Reuben’s position changed through testing, the south represents how God’s judgments work progressively to transform us.

Just as He told Satan regarding Job, ”Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand’‘ (Job 1:12), every testing from the south operates within His set boundaries. The progression of these tests follows His perfect timing, for ”to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Job provides a key witness to how God uses the south for progressive testing: “Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north” (Job 37:9). This verse reveals how both directions serve God’s purpose – the north establishing judgment and the south advancing that work. The progression through the south appears powerfully in Ezekiel’s prophecy when God commands him with threefold emphasis: “Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field” (Ezekiel 20:46). This repetition emphasizes the progressive nature of God’s work through this direction.

The Psalmist captures the transformative nature of God’s southern working when he prays, “Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south“ (Psalm 126:4). These streams in the south speak to how God’s judgments flow progressively, bringing transformation as they advance. The context reveals the joyful outcome of this work: “When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing” (Psalm 126:1-2).

North and South: The Progression of Judgement

The distinction between the north’s judgment and south’s testing is crucial. North’s judgment establishes God’s authority, like when God told Job from the whirlwind, ”Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2). This judgment firmly establishes God’s sovereign rule.

South’s testing, by contrast, works progressively to reveal and purge what opposes God’s life within us. This appears when God tested Abraham: ”And it came to pass after these things, that God did test Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). Testing reveals what lies within, as Moses explained to Israel: ”to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no” (Deuteronomy 8:2).

Both judgment and testing serve God’s purpose, but in different ways. Judgment establishes His authority and right to rule, while testing progressively reveals and removes what opposes His life. As Isaiah declared, ”when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9).

North and South: The Boundaries of Judgment 

Unlike east and west which continue without end, both north and south reach definite boundaries. This natural pattern reveals important truth about God’s judgments and testing. As David observed, ”As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Significantly, David did not say ”as far as north from south, ” because those distances are measurable and finite.

The finite nature of the north and south appears clearly in creation. Traveling north, one eventually reaches the pole and can go no further – any continued movement becomes southward. The same limitation occurs when traveling south. This natural boundary reminds us that God’s judgments and testing serve specific purposes and have appointed ends. As the prophet Isaiah declared, ”In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind” (Isaiah 27:8).

This truth brings comfort during times of judgment and testing. Job learned this when God appeared to him from the whirlwind, revealing that even his intense trials had prescribed limits. The Lord reminded him, ”Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed” (Job 38:11). Just as God sets bounds for the sea, He sets boundaries for every judgment and testing.

The finite nature of judgment appears again when God promises restoration: ”For the Lord shall not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies” (Lamentations 3:31-32). All judgment serves His purpose of transformation, leading to the prophet’s confidence: ”The Lord doesn’t enjoy sending grief or pain.” (Lamentations 3:33 CEV)

The East: The Direction of God’s Glory and Light

The east holds special significance as the direction from which God’s glory and revelation proceed. As mentioned earlier this pattern begins in creation itself when God said “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.” (Genesis 1:16). He established the sun’s daily rise in the east as an enduring pattern teaching how spiritual light and understanding come to His people. After creating man, “the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden” (Genesis 2:8), and when man sinned, God placed cherubim “at the east of the garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:24), establishing the east as both the direction of divine glory and the way back to God’s presence.

Ezekiel witnessed this connection dramatically when “the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory” (Ezekiel 43:2). This appearance carried such power that “the earth shined with his glory,” showing how divine revelation illuminates everything it touches. When Israel’s disobedience caused God’s glory to depart from the temple, it moved eastward in stages, “Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.” (Ezekiel 10:18-19), yet God promised restoration would come from the same direction, as the prophet later saw the glory return “from the way of the east“ (Ezekiel 43:4).

This pattern of revelation from the east finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, for “in him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). The wise men declared, “We have seen his star in the east“ (Matthew 2:2), following this light to find Him who would later declare “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). This connects the east’s natural light with Christ as the source of all spiritual illumination.

The east’s association with God’s glory reminds us that even divine revelation serves His sovereign purpose. When the Psalmist declares, “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge” (Psalm 75:6-7), he emphasizes that all true advancement comes from God alone, not from any direction or means.

The West: Completing God’s Work and Gathering His People

The west in Scripture reveals how God brings His work to completion and gathers His people. Just as the sun completes its daily journey in the west, this direction teaches us about the fulfillment of God’s purposes. This completion pattern begins with Ephraim’s placement on the west side of the tabernacle. Through Ephraim’s blessing of multiplication and fruitfulness, the west reveals how God’s work reaches its full increase.

The west’s completion pattern demonstrates God’s sovereign control over every work’s fulfillment. Nothing reaches completion except according to His purpose and timing, for ”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” (Ephesians 1:11).

The west’s connection to completion appears powerfully in God’s promise to Joshua about the Promised Land: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast” (Joshua 1:3-4). This western boundary, marked by the setting sun, represented the full extent of their inheritance.

The Psalms connect the west to the completion of God’s praise and glory: “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised” (Psalm 113:3). This shows how God’s work extends throughout the whole earth, from beginning (east) to completion (west). Similarly, Isaiah declares “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun” (Isaiah 59:19), revealing how God’s glory fills the entire earth as His work reaches completion.

Christ particularly connects the west to the gathering and completion of His work: “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” (Matthew 24:27). This gathering work culminates in His promise that “many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11). The progression from east to west in these verses shows how God’s revelation leads to completed gathering.

The Unified Working of All Directions

Understanding how these directions work together reveals the completeness of God’s purpose. We see this comprehensive pattern first in God’s promise to Abraham: “And the LORD said unto Abram… Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever” (Genesis 13:14-15). This all-encompassing view represented not just physical territory but the fullness of God’s spiritual promise.

Isaiah reveals how these directions serve God’s gathering purpose: “Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 43:5-6). Each direction receives specific commands that reveal its role in God’s complete work – the north must “give up,” showing release of judgment; the south must “keep not back,” allowing progression of judgment; while east brings forth “thy seed” and west completes the “gathering”.

The prophet Ezekiel witnessed this comprehensive working through the four living creatures: “As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle” (Ezekiel 1:10). These four faces, looking toward the four directions, show how God’s authority extends everywhere. Their movement according to God’s spirit – “And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went” (Ezekiel 1:12) – reveals how all directions serve His sovereign purpose.

Practical Application of Directional Truth

Understanding these directional patterns transforms how we view and respond to every circumstance in our spiritual journey. Each direction reveals specific aspects of God’s work in us, helping us cooperate with rather than resist His purpose.

When facing judgment from the north, we recognize God establishing His authority in our lives. Rather than resisting these experiences, we can submit like Job who declared “He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). This understanding helps us yield to God’s establishing work, knowing His judgment serves His perfect purpose.

The south’s progressive testing reveals God’s transformative work advancing in our lives. Like the Psalmist, we learn to pray “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). God’s testing process accelerates our spiritual growth as each trial reveals and purges what opposes His life within us.

When divine revelation comes from the east, it brings increasing light and understanding to transform our walk with God. The prophet captured this progressive illumination: “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” (Isaiah 58:8). As Hosea declares, “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning” (Hosea 6:3). Each new day presents fresh opportunities for increased spiritual understanding.

The west reminds us that God will complete what He has begun, bringing every aspect of His work to its appointed conclusion. Paul expressed this certainty: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). When circumstances seem to hinder or delay God’s purpose, the west’s completion pattern encourages our faith to trust His perfect timing.

These directional workings ultimately point to internal spiritual realities, fulfilling Christ’s declaration that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20). The north’s judgment works within to establish God’s authority in our hearts. The south’s progression moves us through internal testing that reveals and purges what opposes God’s life. The east’s light illuminates our understanding of spiritual truth. The west’s gathering brings all these workings to completion in our experience.

This internal working aligns perfectly with God’s promise through Ezekiel: “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. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Each direction serves this transformative purpose as God works to conform us to Christ’s image.

Conclusion: The Perfect Pattern

These directional patterns ultimately reveal the perfection of God’s working in every aspect of our lives. From the north’s establishment of divine authority through the south’s progressive testing, from the east’s revelation to the west’s completion, each direction serves God’s purpose of conforming us to Christ’s image.

The prophetic visions of both Daniel and Ezekiel reveal how God orchestrates all powers and movements according to His directional purposes. Daniel’s vision of the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward demonstrated how God uses even earthly kingdoms to accomplish His purpose of judgment (north), testing (south), and moving toward completion (west). Notably, the ram’s inability to push eastward aligns with our understanding that God alone brings revelation and glory from the east.

Together, these prophetic visions reveal how God maintains absolute control over all directional movements in creation. Whether through spiritual beings or earthly powers, every directional movement serves His sovereign purpose, for ”all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand” (Daniel 4:35).

This comprehensive understanding brings peace amidst life’s various circumstances. Whether facing judgment, testing, revelation, or completion, we recognize each experience as part of God’s perfect pattern. As Paul declared, ”we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

May this understanding of Scripture’s directional patterns deepen our walk with God and strengthen our faith in His sovereign working. For truly, ”of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36)

Jer 19:1-15  I Will Bring Evil Upon This Place That Will Make The Ears Tingle

[Study Aired October 3, 2021]

Jer 19:1  Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests;
Jer 19:2  And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,
Jer 19:3  And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.
Jer 19:4  Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
Jer 19:5  They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
Jer 19:6  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
Jer 19:7  And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
Jer 19:8  And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.
Jer 19:9  And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.
Jer 19:10  Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,
Jer 19:11  And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.
Jer 19:12  Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet:
Jer 19:13  And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.
Jer 19:14  Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’S house; and said to all the people,
Jer 19:15  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.

The Lord is very clear that the “evil in the city” comes at His hand and with His “foreknowledge”. Here are just two of many examples given in scripture:

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?
Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
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.

What Amos 3:7 is saying is that the Lord always reveals His judgments to His servants the prophets. The “evil in the city”, regardless of its apparent cause, is the fruit of our sins, and the fruit of our sins is the result of being made of dust, being “marred in the Potter’s hand”.

Pro 26:2  As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.

“The first man Adam” was “made to be taken and destroyed” by the judgment of the Lord.

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  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.

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;

‘Babylon’ is the Biblical symbol for the Lord’s apostate people, and in that sense this 19^th chapter of Jeremiah introduces the Lord’s fiery judgments upon that corrupt, rebellious, apostate system which has deceived the whole world. The Lord uses a very graphic depiction of what He is doing to that hypocritical system within us and what He will do to Babylon when He appears to rule the kingdoms of the world:

Jer 19:1  Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests;

As we saw in the previous chapter, the “potter’s earthen vessel” is all mankind who are “marred in the Potter’s hand”. The point the Lord is making is that the clay and the pot are in the Potter’s hand, and this clay has absolutely nothing to do with what the Potter is doing with the clay that is in His hand:

Jer 18:1  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2  Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
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.
Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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.

There is no room for the Babylonian false doctrine of “free moral agency” in the symbolism of clay in the hand of a Potter. In this 19^th chapter we are being shown what the Lord intends to do to the “the vessel of clay [which] was marred in the hand of The Potter”, and the Lord is demonstrating the purpose for which He created this “marred… vessel of clay”. Jeremiah is instructed to “get a potter’s earthen bottle [and take along] the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests” and go to the valley of Tophet with these witnesses to hear the words of the Lord concerning the judgment He is bringing upon His apostate people.

Jer 19:2  And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,

“The valley of the son of Hinnom” is called ‘Tophet’ earlier in this prophecy:

Jer 7:31  And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
Jer 7:32  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
Jer 7:33  And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
Jer 7:34  Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

This entire chapter is really just repeating what the Lord told Jeremiah in chapter 7. This same message concerning the judgment upon the apostate sins of His people… that would be each of us… was repeated earlier in:

Isa 30:33  For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

Look at those words! “Tophet is ordained of old”. What is Tophet’s ordained function? For God’s (“the king’s”) preordained judgment of our old man. If we take the words “the king” to be our rebellious old man who sits in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be God, the message is the same. Taken either way, the message is the same. It is “ordained of old” by the Lord… “made deep and large” to consume all the ‘wood, hay and stubble’ that is our flesh. The fire and brimstone, which kindles the consuming of all the wood, hay, and stubble of our flesh, is “the breath of the Lord”, His “inspired…God breathed” Word.

Here is the meaning of the name ‘Tophet’:

H8613

– Original: תּפתּה
– Transliteration: Tophteh
– Phonetic: tof-teh’
– Definition: Tophet = place of fire

1. a place in the southeast end of the valley of the son of Hinnom south of Jerusalem
2. same as 8612

– Origin: probably a form of H8612
– TWOT entry: None
– Part(s) of speech: Proper Name Location
– Strong’s: Probably a form of H8612; Tophteh a place of cremation: – Tophet.

This is what we see when we look up H8612:

H8612
תֹּפֶת
tôpheth
to’-feth
The same as H8611; Topheth, a place near Jerusalem: – Tophet, Topheth.
Total KJV occurrences: 9

This Hebrew name appears in three different forms all meaning the same thing… “a place of burning”.

The Hebrew word for ‘breath’ here in Isaiah 30:33 is:

H5397
נְשָׁמָה
neshâmâh
nesh-aw-maw’
From H5395; a puff, that is, wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration,  intellect or (concretely) an animal: – blast, (that) breath (-eth), inspiration, soul, spirit.

This word is not ‘ruach’, the Hebrew word for spirit, yet we are told in Psalms 18 that this ‘neshamah’ comes “of the breath (Hebrew: ‘ruach’, spirit) of Thy nostrils”:

Psa 18:15  Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast [H5397: ‘neshamah’, physical “breath of life” (Gen 2:7)] of the breath [H7307: ruach, spirit] of thy nostrils.

This is what “the breath of His nostrils “discovers” to be our judgment:

Jer 19:3  And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.

These are the same words the Lord used to describe the effect of His judgment upon the house of Eli the priest many years earlier:

1Sa 3:11  And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
1Sa 3:12  In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
1Sa 3:13  For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.

Then the Lord reiterates the list of our sins:

Jer 19:4  Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
19:5  They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it;  neither came it into my mind:

This is the second time the Lord has made this statement… “neither came it into my mind”. Here is the first time earlier in this same prophecy of Jeremiah:

Jer 7:31  And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

This statement, like many others in scripture, appears to our natural mind to make the scriptures contradict themselves. If indeed it is God who “works all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11) how can He then tell us “neither came it into my mind… to burn their sons… and their daughters… with fire for a burnt offering unto Baal”?

The answer is the same in every case where the scriptures appear to contradict themselves. The Lord had to give Himself an adversary, a ‘Satan’, in order to have an evil foil against which to contrast the goodness of His heart and His intentions for all of mankind. He must let us know He is sovereign and full of mercy even as He works all the evil in this world “after the counsel of His own will”:

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

‘The sum of the Lord’s words’ (Psa 119:160 ASV), reveals that everything, including every “power… and principality” were created by and consist only in Christ:

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

This sovereignty of Christ extends to “the fruit of [our] lips” which comes from “the abundance of [our] heart”:

Isa 57:19  I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.

Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

The Lord Himself ‘makes us to err from His ways’ so He can judge us and drag us through that fiery judgment to Himself:

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

The Lord sends evil spirits to incite our rebellion against Him and His ways, so He can tell us, “neither came it into My mind… to burn [our] sons unto Baal”.

Here are a couple more examples of how the Lord is orchestrating all things after the counsel of His own will:

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.

1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

Knowing it is all of God does not make it any less of a fiery trial requiring the Lord’s judgments upon us:

Jer 19:6  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
Jer 19:7  And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
Jer 19:8  And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.
Jer 19:9  And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.

The sword is the Word, and the Word is “the sword of our enemy” just as the Lord was Job’s enemy when Job ignorantly made this self-righteous statement:

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.
Job 27:7  Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

This was Job’s iniquity which brought these fiery words of the Lord down upon him:

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?

Here is how the Lord inspired Jeremiah to describe what God did to Job. Here is what the Lord is doing to each of us:

Jer 19:10  Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,
Jer 19:11  And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.
Jer 19:12  Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet:
Jer 19:13  And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.

This ‘burning of incense unto the host of heaven’ is the keeping and observing of the traditions of all the men about us in this world and in this present society. This is what the Lord says to us concerning our strong desire to be accepted by this world by keeping its traditions:

Deu 12:29  When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
Deu 12:30  Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
Deu 12:31  Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
Deu 12:32  What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

But we do ‘add to’ and ‘diminish from’ the Words of the Lord to make them conform to the idols of our hearts. So, the Lord sends Jeremiah back to the capital of Judah to reaffirm His impending judgments upon us and all our ‘towns’… all the idols of our hearts.

Jer 19:14  Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’S house; and said to all the people,
Jer 19:15  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.

Again, it is simply undeniable that when the Lord says, ‘because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words”, “they” do so because:

Exo 7:3  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

Joh 12:40  He [the Lord] hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

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.

It is natural that we all react to this knowledge with the question: “Why have you made me thus?”

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?

We just naturally despise the Lord’s answer to this question:

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 [our old man]:
Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy [our new man], 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?
Rom 9:25  As he saith also in Osee [Hosea], I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
Rom 9:26  And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
Rom 9:27  Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

Outwardly Israel is physical Israel. Inwardly ‘Israel’ is spiritual religion in opposition to Christ and His Truth. The doctrines of outward ‘Israel’ are “as the sand of the sea”, whereas the Truths of Christ are comparatively few. Truth stands firm in itself, whereas lies require more lies to bolster the original lies. That is why the curses of Deuteronomy 28 are almost four times more numerous than the blessings.

That chapter has 68 verses in it. The first 14 verses give us the blessings for obedience to the Lord. The remaining 54 verses give us the curses which come upon us for being disobedient to the Lord.

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.
Rom 9:29  And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
Rom 9:31  But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness [Physical Israel, “the son of the bondwoman” (Gal 4:25-26)].

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Rom 9:32  Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Rom 9:33  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

“Jerusalem above” signifies “the mind… of Christ” within “the children of the freewoman”.

Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

“The son of the bondwoman” is our own flesh and blood which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God”:

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

Our own old man, and the same carnal mind of others, will always hate and persecute our new man, “Christ in [us] the hope of glory”.

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:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

That is our study for today, and these are our verses for our next study:

Jer 20:1  Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.
Jer 20:2  Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
Jer 20:3  And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.
Jer 20:4  For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
Jer 20:5  Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.
Jer 20:6  And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
Jer 20:7  O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
Jer 20:8  For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
Jer 20:9  Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
Jer 20:10  For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.
Jer 20:11  But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
Jer 20:12  But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
Jer 20:13  Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
Jer 20:14  Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.
Jer 20:15  Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.
Jer 20:16  And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;
Jer 20:17  Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.
Jer 20:18  Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

Heb 8:7-13 “Ye are our Epistle Written in our Hearts, Known and Read of all Men” – Part 2

[Study Aired November 19, 2020]

Heb 8:7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 
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: 
Heb 8:11  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 
Heb 8:12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 
Heb 8:13  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. 

The title of this second part of our study of Hebrews chapter eight is taken from 2Corinthians 3:1-6 (verse 2) which is a very telling section of scripture regarding how and where the new covenant is being written, which reads, “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men.”

This chapter of Hebrews is again another opportunity for us to see the contrast that God is demonstrating through those who have been called to witness (Rev 11:3, Joh 13:35, Joh 14:15) to the world of what God is capable of doing through the sufficiency we receive from Him.

2Co 3:1  Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
2Co 3:2  Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
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.
2Co 3:4  And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us [Rev 19:7] able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. [Why is God saving the elect in this manner? 1Co 2:5, Joh 13:35, Joh 14:15, 1Jn 5:3-4]

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

The old covenant and the laws within it are called a “ministration of death” (2Co 3:6), and the law itself is a law for the “lawless and disobedient” (1Ti 1:9, Rom 5:20) created to make manifest the sinful nature within us which can only be changed by having God write upon our hearts the new covenant (Heb 8:10). This writing of the new covenant on the hearts of God’s people is the great act of mercy He is showing to the remnant (Rom 11:5) whom He has predestined to be recipients of that goodness in this age (Rom 2:4, Rom 11:22).

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.

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

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

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:

[Gods grace or favor, “charis^G5485“, is demonstrated in judging us in this age (1Pe 4:17) so that we can learn to deny “ungodliness and worldly lusts” and “live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” which is what happens when He writes these things “in their hearts” (Tit 2:12, Heb 12:6-7). God’s love is being perfected through His chastening grace (1Jn 4:17, 1Pe 4:17).

Tit 2:12  Teaching^G3811 us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth^G3811, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening^G3809, [2Ti 3:16, Pro 6:23] God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth^G3811 not?

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction^G3809 in righteousness:

Pro 6:23  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction^{H4148 = G3809} are the way of life:

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.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: [“that we may have boldness“] and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Rom 11:5  Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace^G5485 [“charis” (Luk 1:28)].

Luk 1:28  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favouredG5487,”charis” the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

[the church, the body of Christ is highly favoured^G5487,”charis” to be filling up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ (Col 1:24)]

highly favoured^G5487
– Original: χu945 ρu953 τu959 ́u969 
– Transliteration: Charitoo
– Phonetic: khar-ee-to’-o
– Definition:
1. to make graceful – [Rev_19:7] – “hath made herself ready.G2090 G1438” [Mat_20:23] “but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is preparedG2090 of my Father.”
a. charming, lovely, agreeable
2. to peruse with grace, compass with favour
3. to honour with blessings
– Origin: from G5485
– TDNT entry: 15:12,1
– Part(s) of speech: Verb
– Strong’s: From G5485; to grace that is indue with special honor: – make accepted be highly favoured.  – [Eph_1:6]
Total KJV Occurrences: 2
•accepted, 1
Eph_1:6
•favored, 1
Luk 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured^G5487, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Having God write this new covenant “in their hearts” so that he can be to us “a God, and they shall be to me a people” is what makes His children in this dispensation of grace (Eph 3:2) the generation that has no confidence in our flesh. We are chastened and scourged to that end so we lean less and less on our own flesh (Heb 12:6-8) as we are received of our Father and assured in our newly fashioned hearts that the gates of hell will not prevail against us in this relationship of trust and faith given to us by God (Rom 8:38-39, Mat 16:17-19, 2Co 1:9, Php 3:3, 1Jn 5:4). Saying “grace did much more abound” of Romans 5:20 is just another way of reminding us that we must continue to fight a good fight of faith as we “continue in the faith” and that we must “through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God”, which we will if God permits (Act 14:22, Heb 6:3).

With all this in mind let’s look at this highly favoured relationship that God is forming in us through Christ Who is writing on our hearts His laws and commandments, expressed this way in scripture, “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men, 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.” (2Co 3:2-3) All of this is happening so we can be presented as a chaste virgin (Rev 19:7) who has learned of His faithfulness through the church, through the body of Christ that is typified by Christ’s mother, Mary, who supplied (Eph 3:10) all that Christ needed in her womb to bring forth the son of God unto maturation (2Co 11:2-4, Isa 66:9, Isa 9:6, 1Jn 4:17).

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.
2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty^G3834, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity^G572 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.

In order to become a chaste virgin to Christ, we must have His new covenant written on our hearts, a covenant that will make us of one mind (Php 2:2), having a simplicity^G572 or singleness of mind that will keep us undefiled from this world and able to overcome the subtilty^G3834 of the devil who is always trying to deceive us and destroy that unity if it were possible, which God tells us is not going to happen to His little flock (Mat 24:24, Luk 12:32).

Php 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Simplicity^G572
– Original: αu788 πu955 οu769 τu951 ςpar – Transliteration: Haplotes
– Phonetic: hap-lot’-ace
– Definition:
1. singleness, simplicity, sincerity, mental honesty
a. the virtue of one who is free from pretence and hypocrisy
2. not self seeking, openness of heart manifesting itself by generosity
– Origin: from G573
– TDNT entry: 07:26,6
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Feminine
– Strong’s: From G573; singleness that is (subjectively) sincerity (without dissimulation or self seeking) or (objectively) generosity (copious bestowal): – bountifulness liberal (-ity) simplicity singleness.
Total KJV Occurrences: 8
•bountifulness, 1
2Co_9:11
•liberal, 1
2Co_9:13
•liberality, 1
2Co_8:2
•simplicity, 3
Rom_12:8; 2Co_1:12; 2Co_11:3
•singleness, 2
Eph_6:5; Col_3:22
subtilty^G3834
– Original: πu945 νu959 υu961 γu953 ́u945 
– Transliteration: Panourgia
– Phonetic: pan-oorg-ee’-ah
– Definition:
1. craftiness, cunning
2. a specious or false wisdom
3. in a good sense, prudence, skill, in undertaking and carrying on affairs
– Origin: from G3835
– TDNT entry: 17:02,8
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Feminine
– Strong’s: From G3835; adroitness that is (in a bad sense) trickery or sophistry: – (cunning) craftiness subtilty.
Total KJV Occurrences: 5
•craftiness, 4
Luk_20:23; 1Co_3:19; 2Co_4:2; Eph_4:14
•subtlety, 1
2Co_11:3

Heb 8:7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 
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. 

These first three verses are revealing that the law for the lawless and disobedient of 1Timothy 1:9 cannot perfect anyone, “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.” Also, that old covenant law is used to bring us to see our need for a new covenant law, “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers”, but rather a new covenant that is founded upon better promises; (Heb 8:6) promises which tell us that we can be more than conquerors through Christ (Rom 8:37) as we gain dominion over sin in our members little and by little as we go from glory to glory in the Lord at the hand of “a fit man” (Rom 6:14, Eph 2:6, 1Co 6:14, Exo 23:30, 2Co 3:18, Lev 16:10, Lev 16:21).

Heb 8:6  But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

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

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

1Co 6:14  And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

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:

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The fault that is found with “them” “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“, is speaking of the old covenant and not the law itself, which, if used properly is good (1Ti 1:8). However, our inability in our minds to live by the spirit of the law, which only Christ can come and fulfill within our hearts and minds so that we can overcome the wretchedness of sinful flesh, cannot use the law properly (Rom 7:24-25). The new covenant head is Jesus Christ represented by Judah and Melchisedec, and the new covenant body is “the Israel of God” (Gal 6:16), the body of Christ, the church, represented in the old covenant as the “house of Israel” (Col 1:24).

1Ti 1:8  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

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.

The two laws are being discussed in this section of scripture (Rom 7:24-25), and it is only through Christ that we can “serve the law of God” which is speaking of this law spoken of in Galatians: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ“(Gal 6:2). “The law of sin” is governed by the law that is not made for a righteous man, but for that lawless old man in me who is potentially “lawless and disobedient” and is guilty of all. That was the point of these scriptures, not just to remind us of the depth of God’s mercy which will be extended to all the world, but also to remind us of what would manifest within any human at anytime if God did not stay the hand of Satan and strengthen us through Christ (1Ti 1:9-10). God determines the times and seasons when that hedge must come down in the life of His children so that we never lose sight of the fact of this verse that comes right after what we just read: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1Ti 1:15).

Christ is the one who enters into our temple to give us the ability to live by the spirit and no longer by the letter that kills (Mat 5:17, 2Co 3:6, Joh 8:36 – to be free indeed is to be able to fulfill the spirit of these commandments of Christ which new commandments (Joh 13:34-35) were earmarked with Him saying to those who could receive it: “But I say unto you” (Mat 5:28-48).

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Mat 5:32  But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

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

Notice the language that describes how the Lord worked with us when we were yet carnal and being led out of the wilderness, “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”. It was written this way for our admonition to show us that we were being dragged by God to Christ (Joh 6:44) and yet the rebellious spirit was still there coming along for the ride. This murmuring and rebellion took place at this time by Israel of old and was written to cause us to move with fear knowing that it is only because of God’s mercy, God’s chastening grace and faith, that anyone of us can ‘come out of her my people’ and be led by the spirit of God (1Co 10:10-11), not going where our flesh would like to go, but regardless, still going (Heb 3:17, Rev 18:4, Rom 8:14-16, Joh 21:18).

1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
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 [This is the end of the world of which God is speaking to elect (1Jn 2:16-17)].

Heb 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

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:

Joh 21:18  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not [“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God”].

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: 
Heb 8:11  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 

The day will come when the outward dispensational fulfillment of these verses will happen, but for God’s elect today, these things are happening every day as we die daily and fight a good fight of faith that will result in God putting His “laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts“, provided we are granted to keep under ourselves and continue to see the need to move with fear as Noah did to the saving of his house (1Co 9:27, Heb 11:7).

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.

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

This is the covenant relationship that we have with our Father today, and it is his good pleasure to give us this opportunity today (Luk 12:32) as we give thanks unto Him who has made us “meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints” (Col 1:12).

Col 1:12  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Even now we don’t “teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest“, in the sense that we have no need that any carnal man teach us (1Jn 2:27). However the sum of God’s word shows us that we need the epistles of Christ to be ministered to us as God provides us what we need through the manifest knowledge that is made known through the church (2Co 3:3, Eph 3:10).

1Jn 2:27  But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

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.

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.

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Heb 8:12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 8:13  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Our sins and iniquities will “vanish away” by the ripping of the veil in the temple that represents our blind self-righteous flesh that cannot help but operate from the law in its members (Rom 7:23) that God put there as the lawgiver (Jas 4:12). He put that law there and knows we are all naturally subject unto this vanity of self-righteousness that causes us to sin (Isa 63:17, Rom 9:19-21). He will overcome this spirit within us by blessing us to be found with the righteousness of Christ within us (Eze 33:13, Php 3:9).

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.

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

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 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? [“as seemed good to the potter to make it.” (Jer 18:4)]

The answer to why is simple if we can receive it, and the answer is we were made this way so that we could be fashioned into something new by the hand of the Potter, each man in His order (Jer 18:4, 1Co 15:23).

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.

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: [1Jn 5:4]

Overcoming through Christ is precisely what the new convenant is about. It is about God bringing us to see that He is our all powerful Sovereign Father who can take “that which decayeth and waxeth old” to a point where it is “ready to vanish away” so that something new can come out of the old. The old covenant can be thought of as a worm, and the new covenant written upon our hearts is how the beautiful butterfly that God is able to bring out of darkness as “the righteousness which is of God by faith” will be born. The epistles of Christ are being written on our hearts so that we can become that new creation that will one day be revealed to all the world in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye. A brand new creation that was formed out of weakness to the glory of our Father in heaven (2Co 5:17, 1Co 15:52, 2Co 12:9).

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.

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.
1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Heb 7:12-17 “Whither the Forerunner is for us Entered, Even Jesus” – Part 3

[Study Aired October 29, 2020]

Heb 6:20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. 
Heb 7:13  For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. 
Heb 7:14  For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
Heb 7:15  And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,
Heb 7:16  Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. 
Heb 7:17  For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

In this section of Hebrews 7 we’re going to look at how Christ fulfills the law within us (Mat 5:17-20) through a process of sanctification (Joh 17:17) which God makes possible through Christ as we become doers and not hearers only of the law who are being consecrated by the Son “who is consecrated^G5048 for evermore” (Rom 2:12-13, Php 2:13, Heb 7:28).

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Mat 5:19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them [Php 2:13], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven [Php 3:9].

Joh 17:17  Sanctify^G37 them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

G37 hagiazō hag-ee-ad’-zo
From G40; to make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: – hallow, be holy, sanctify.

Heb 7:28  For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated^G5048 for evermore.

G5048 teleioō tel-i-o’-o
From G5046; to complete, that is, (literally) accomplish, or (figuratively) consummate (in character): – consecrate, finish, fulfil, (make) perfect.

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

Rom 2:12  For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
Rom 2:13  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers [Php 2:13] of the law shall be justified^G1344.

G1344 dikaioō dik-ah-yo’-o
From G1342; to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: – free, justify (-ier), be righteous.

Rom 3:20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified^G1344 in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:21  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed [1Pe 1:12] by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe [Joh 6:28-29]: for there is no difference:

[In order to be sanctified, which is an ongoing work of God, we must believe (Joh 6:28-29) and in order to believe and continue in that belief (Joh 8:31, Joh 8:36), we must have this hope of glory within us cleansing us as we go from glory to glory (1Jn 3:3, Col 1:27, 2Co 3:18)]

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; [Col 1:27, Eph 2:10]
Rom 3:24  Being justified^G1344 freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

G1344 dikaioō dik-ah-yo’-o
From G1342; to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: – free, justify(-ier), be righteous.

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 [Eph 1:4-6], them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified^G1344: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
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^G1344.

G1344 dikaioō dik-ah-yo’-o
From G1342; to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: – free, justify(-ier), be righteous.

In Hebrews 6:20 we read, “Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” In today’s study we will look more closely at why Christ is called “a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec” (Heb 7:17) and what that means for “the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Rev 14:4) who are being sanctified in this age through a process of judgment that has begun at the house of God (2Co 5:10, 1Pe 4:17, 2Co 5:17-21)

2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

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?

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.
2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation [Eph 2:10, Joh 8:36];
2Co 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
2Co 5:20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God [Rom 12:1].
2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

What was required of the first Levitical priesthood could only be satisfied in ordinances which were a type and shadow of the heavenly things [the body of Christ] that would be instituted through Christ whose life was typified by the order of Melchisedec. The ministry of reconciliation that we just read is typified by Melchisedec who represents Christ our head, who is the one who is going to reconcile all mankind to God in time (1Co 15:22). Abraham giving tithes to Melchisedec is a reminder to us that Christ [Melchisedec in type] will use the body of Christ [Abraham in type] to lose their lives in order to be instrumental in bringing about the all-in-all event of 1Corinthians 15:28 having “given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (Heb 9:23-26, Oba 1:21).

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us (Col 1:27, Eph 2:6):
Heb 9:25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself [1Jn 4:17].

The new priesthood of which Christ is the head as our high priest (Col 1:18, Heb 4:15) is typified by Melchisedec and the “change also of the law” is speaking of the law of Christ (Gal 6:2) which tells us we can lay our life down at the altar through our Lord and Saviour for each other (Mat 10:39-40, the life in Christ that we find when we lose ours is the life of Christ in each other Mat 19:29, Mat 12:50, Mat 5:17-18).

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

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.

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

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.

[“My Father which is in heaven” of Matthew 12:50 reminds us how John 14:20 is being fulfilled today in our lives.]

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 12:50  For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

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

In order to go from being a priesthood in our hearts that ceremonially washes the outside of the cup (Mar 7:4), we must be cleansed by the blood of the lamb. Then we will no longer be those whited sepulchres of which Christ spoke (Mat 23:27) by identifying with Christ’s death within the tomb which represents the dying daily process that we endure so that we can be raised into heavenly places where there is newness of life in Christ (Rom 6:4, 1Co 15:31).

Mar 7:4  And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

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

“For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law” happens within us when God gives us the power to mortify the deeds of the flesh through the grace and faith given to us (Eph 2:8). That grace is what brings about that “newness of life” even as we see “that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away” occurring simultaneously (Tit 2:12, Heb 8:13, Joh 3:30).

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Heb 8:13  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease.

Heb 7:13  For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. 

That necessary change of the law spoken of in verse 12 introduces the thought that no man can give “attendance at the altar” because the altar which is represented by the order of Melchisedec is not an earthly order but a heavenly one that can only be accessed through Christ (Heb 13:10). “No man gave attendance at the altar” means that our old man cannot and never will enter into that altar (1Co 15:50, Rev 21:27) to which Christ alone gives us access as He increases and we decrease (Rev 15:8).

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

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

Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

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.

If Christ is in us, we don’t have to wait until we go unto perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32) in order to have “attendance at the altar” in earnest (Eph 1:14, 1Co 13:12, Eph 2:6) as we are accepted through Christ (Eph 1:6) who is in the process of cleansing us at that altar, which is the cross we carry and bear for one another so we can all “come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Gal 2:20, Eph 4:13).

Those seven plagues were poured out upon Christ for our sakes so that we can enter boldly into the temple of God “that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” and through Christ be given that grace and faith that we need in order to become mature sons who can endure until the end through Him who identifies with our sinful flesh (Heb 4:15-16, Php 4:13).

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.

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Heb 7:14  For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. 
Heb 7:15  And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, 

These two verses are just further confirmation of where the true and everlasting foundation (1Co 3:11, Gal 4:4-5) of life springs from [sprang G393] or arises from [ariseth G450]. God’s elect in this dispensation of grace (Eph 3:2) are the first few of many who are called (Mat 22:14) to be redeemed from being “under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Eph 3:2  If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

G393 anatellō an-at-el’-lo
From G303 and the base of G5056; to (cause to) arise: – (a-, make to) rise, at the rising of, spring (up), be up.

G450 anistēmi an-is’-tay-mee

From G303 and G2476; to stand up (literally or figuratively, transitively or intransitively): – arise, lift up, raise up (again), rise (again), stand up (-right).

As a result of the redemption process that is unfolding, we are raised in heavenly places together in Christ (Eph 2:6) and are being sent forth as Christ was by God (Joh 20:21). The “exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” will be shown to the world through the elect by redeeming “them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

What is evident is that Our Lord “sprang out of Juda” and not the tribe of Levi, and that truth is being further confirmed with the “similitude of Melchisedec” where “there ariseth another priest” in the order of Melchisedec which is a type and shadow (1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11) of the ministry of reconciliation of which Christ is the head of today (2Co 5:18, Col 1:18).

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.

2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Heb 7:16  Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. 

“Conquest and Failure”

August 31, 2020

The Awesome Hands series is now at the book of Judges. We have seen the blessings the Lord has given Israel so far, but things will change when the old man dies.

The process of the old man dying is always with us. Moses had to die before the crossing of the Jordan could take place. Now, Joshua must die before the next phase of the relationship with Israel and the Lord can move along. These are just examples of types and shadows of the old man dying and the new being born into the next “phase” of that particular story.

Jdg 1:1 KJV  Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
Jdg 1:2 KJV  And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.
Jdg 1:3 KJV  And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.
Jdg 1:4 KJV  And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

It is so true, and the point of the title of this series I’ve been doing, that the hands of the Lord are in the workings of all things if only we would stop to marvel at it.

Here we read the same story, written in this generation of God’s people from which these events took place, but it is the same story with different details.

We are God’s people, chosen to do something for the kingdom of God during our lifetimes, our aion, for this “age” and on the day of the Lord, and when you look at what happens, it simply points to God being in control of it all. Judah here is a part of the same story, and that is how we can relate to it in the sense of “us and them”, “me and thee”, head and body, above and below, Jesus Christ and another Jesus, Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, Jacob and Esau, Judah and the rest of his brothers.

Judah goes up against the Canaanites first, just like it happens with Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He goes before us in the fight.

Gen 49:8 KJV  Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
Gen 49:9 KJV  Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

Rev 5:4 KJV  And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:5 KJV  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

The Lion must be changed into something else for the plan of God to work, and therefore the Lion is “raised” into the Lamb.

Rev 5:6 KJV  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Rev 5:7 KJV  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Rev 5:8 KJV  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9 KJV  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10 KJV  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

These two aspects are speaking about the Lord from two different angles.

Joh 1:29 KJV  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

So, from the beginning the Lord has been with Judah.

Jdg 1:5 KJV  And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
Jdg 1:6 KJV  But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
Jdg 1:7 KJV  And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
Jdg 1:8 KJV  Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
Jdg 1:9 KJV  And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.
Jdg 1:10 KJV  And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

The enemies of Judah are completely destroyed in type and shadow. Not only are they conquered, but the king reaps what he sows because Judah requires the king to cut off two thumbs and two big toes. Without big toes, your walk is always affected, and you can barely do anything with no thumbs.

The “walk” of the enemies of God and the “work”, that which is done with working hands, are now controlled by God.

There is so much symbolism being given here in this first introduction to Judah in the book of Judges.

The “old man”, King Adonibezek, goes to Jerusalem to die. The “children” of Judah, spiritually you and I, are the ones who are being used for judgment. These are just types and shadows to show us who we are in the Lord from the foundation of Israel on through from the foundation of the world.

There is a new Jerusalem and an old Jerusalem, one above and one below, and they also strive against each other.

You can see this mini-story here, even though this story is talking about different physical nations. The “children of Judah” go to the mountains, valleys, and south and conquer as they go.

They even slay three more giants. Giants were so common that they are casually named like everyone else here in scripture, “Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai”.

It is clear that the Lord is with Judah, so He is against something or someone else. The next mention of hand is found towards the end of the chapter, but we will read the context of things on the way to getting there.

Jdg 1:11 KJV  And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:
Jdg 1:12 KJV  And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
Jdg 1:13 KJV  And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
Jdg 1:14 KJV  And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
Jdg 1:15 KJV  And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
Jdg 1:16 KJV  And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
Jdg 1:17 KJV  And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
Jdg 1:18 KJV  Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.
Jdg 1:19 KJV  And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

The Lord gave Judah many victories, but for some reason, the inhabitants of the valley were not driven out. Maybe these inhabitants become a thorn in the flesh of Judah, spiritually speaking.

When God is with you who can be against you?

From the beginning of this chapter, God has been showing us that He indeed favors certain people for His continuation of His kingdom. While some tribes in Israel could not conquer those around them, Judah and Simeon, and a few other tribes, succeeded overall.

Jdg 1:20 KJV  And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
Jdg 1:21 KJV  And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
Jdg 1:22 KJV  And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.
Jdg 1:23 KJV  And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
Jdg 1:24 KJV  And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.
Jdg 1:25 KJV  And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.
Jdg 1:26 KJV  And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

Speaking of marveling at things the Lord does, when the spies saw a man come out, those spies probably didn’t know this guy would be the future establisher of a opposing city named Luz?

When we follow the breadcrumbs, we see that Luz is only used a few times in scripture.

Jdg 1:26 (KJV+)  And the man^H376 went^H1980 into the land^H776 of the Hittites^H2850, and built^H1129 a city^H5892, and called^H7121 the name^H8034 thereof Luz^H3870: which^H1931 is the name^H8034 thereof unto^H5704 this^H2088 day^H3117.

Jdg 1:26 KJV  And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

H3870
lûz
Total KJV Occurrences: 8
luz, 8
Gen_28:19, Gen_35:6, Gen_48:3, Jos_16:2, Jos_18:13 (2), Jdg_1:23, Jdg_1:26

H3870
lûz
looz

Probably from H3869 (as growing there); Luz, the name of two places in Palestine: – Luz.

Total KJV occurrences: 8

The Hebrew word H3869 is the root word of Luz.

H3869
lûz
looz

Probably of foreign origin; some kind of nut tree, perhaps the almond: – hazel.

Total KJV occurrences: 1

It is used one time in scripture.

H3869
lûz
Total KJV Occurrences: 1
hazel, 1
Gen_30:37 

There is a certain story that is meant to show the simplicity there is in the Lord and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is fairly memorable once you have heard it, but in case you haven’t, I am going to read a little of it out of Genesis 30:37.

This is known as the prosperity of Jacob. Nothing captures the word of God like the Word of God, so I am going to read some of these verses pertaining to the only time we see the root of the word “Luz” used in scripture.

It has to do with the separation of the property of the Lord, us, as opposed to the separation of the property that is of the “them” of the world. Yes, the Lord favors one versus the other.

Gen 30:25 KJV  And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
Gen 30:26 KJV  Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
Gen 30:27 KJV  And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
Gen 30:28 KJV  And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
Gen 30:29 KJV  And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
Gen 30:30 KJV  For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
Gen 30:31 KJV  And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:
Gen 30:32 KJV  I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.
Gen 30:33 KJV  So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
Gen 30:34 KJV  And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
Gen 30:35 KJV  And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
Gen 30:36 KJV  And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
Gen 30:37 KJV  And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
Gen 30:38 KJV  And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
Gen 30:39 KJV  And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
Gen 30:40 KJV  And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle.
Gen 30:41 KJV  And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
Gen 30:42 KJV  But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
Gen 30:43 KJV  And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

Though the Lord shows us favors, he still gives us our “Luz”, our thorn in the flesh. Early in our walk we need Luz, but Luz later is sent packing and stays a thorn in our side afterward. It is because Luz is still the “anointed of the Lord.”

I say this because king David points out just who “Luz” is.

1Sa 26:7 KJV  So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.
1Sa 26:8 KJV  Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.
1Sa 26:9 KJV  And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?
1Sa 26:10 KJV  David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.

David could have killed him here, but he lets him go.

David even wept for Saul and Jonathan.

2Sa 1:17 KJV  And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:

This rod Jacob used is the root of Luz.

Jdg 1:22 KJV  And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.
Jdg 1:23 KJV  And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

Bethel is Luz, and Bethel had such a presence that in the bible there are several times that the house of God is the same word house of Bethel.

H1008
bêytḣ’êl
Total KJV Occurrences: 76
bethel, 66
Gen_12:8 (2), Gen_13:3 (2), Gen_28:19, Gen_31:13, Gen_35:1, Gen_35:3, Gen_35:6, Gen_35:8, Gen_35:15-16 (2), Jos_7:2, Jos_8:9, Jos_8:12, Jos_8:17, Jos_12:9, Jos_12:16, Jos_16:1-2 (2), Jos_18:13, Jdg_1:22-23 (3), Jdg_4:5, Jdg_21:19 (2), 1Sa_7:16, 1Sa_10:3, 1Sa_13:2, 1Sa_30:27, 1Ki_12:29, 1Ki_12:32-33 (3), 1Ki_13:1, 1Ki_13:4, 1Ki_13:10-11 (3), 1Ki_13:32, 2Ki_2:2-3 (3), 2Ki_2:23, 2Ki_10:29, 2Ki_17:28, 2Ki_23:4, 2Ki_23:15, 2Ki_23:17, 2Ki_23:19, 1Ch_7:28, 2Ch_13:19, Ezr_2:28, Neh_7:32, Neh_11:31, Jer_48:13, Hos_10:15, Hos_12:4, Amo_3:14, Amo_5:4-6 (4), Amo_7:10, Amo_7:13

god, 5
Jdg_20:18, Jdg_20:26, Jdg_20:31, Zec_7:2 (2)

house, 5
Jdg_20:18, Jdg_20:26, Jdg_20:31, Zec_7:2 (2)

Jdg 20:18 KJV  And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

Jdg 20:26 KJV  Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

Jdg 20:31 KJV  And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

Zec 7:1 KJV  And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;

Zec 7:2 KJV  When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,

Yes, indeed, the Lord always works out His anointing on those whom He sees fit. I’d day this man was anointed and favored of the Lord to be the one coming toward the spies when he did.

He helps the spies and doesn’t get slaughtered, but is also used to set up a city.

The Lord is always keeping His plan which He has created in order to bring about His kingdom the way He sees fit. Our lives are just another puzzle piece in that plan.

Isa 40:11-20 All the Nations Before Him Are as Nothing - Discussion

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Isa 40:11-20  All The Nations Before Him Are As Nothing

Isa 40:11  He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. 
Isa 40:12  Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 
Isa 40:13  Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 
Isa 40:14  With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? 
Isa 40:15  Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 
Isa 40:16  And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. 
Isa 40:17  All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. 
Isa 40:18  To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 
Isa 40:19  The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 
Isa 40:20  He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

This prophecy of Isaiah is founded on all the scriptures which precede it, and in turn, it is the foundation of the prophets who followed Isaiah. This prophecy is the “vision” and understanding of the work the Lord is performing in “Judah and Jerusalem” as types of His elect.

Isa 1:1  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 
Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD , they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Judah and Jerusalem are Old Testament types of the Lord’s elect who were chosen from “before the world began” (2Ti 1:9 and Tit 1:2) to be “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” (Rev 14:4), and to be those “who first trusted in Christ (Eph 1:12).

Neither this nor any other prophecy of scripture was ever intended to be understood by anyone other than the Lord’s elect at “this present time” (Mat 13:9-15 and Rom 8:18). This prophecy of the entire book of Isaiah concerns the apostasy and redemption of the Lord’s first fruits, and it is built upon the truth which had been revealed many years earlier by King Solomon:

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

Those words being the Truth, it follows that the Lord’s elect, typified by Judah and Jerusalem, should be the first to understand that the Lord has given them an evil experience to humble them. It is for that reason this prophecy is addressed to the Lord’s typical elect who are the first to see themselves as ‘rebellious children… a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.’

God’s elect ones are not His elect because they are any better than other people. The fact is the exact opposite. God’s elect must come to see themselves as “the basest of men… chief of sinners”:

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.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

As we have clearly demonstrated in the scriptures, Jacob was far more offensive to Esau than Esau was to him. King David was far more offensive in taking Uriah's wife and then his life than King Saul was in taking the spoils of the Amalekites. Hezekiah was no better than his wicked father, Ahaz. Yet Jacob, King David, and Hezekiah were all given “place for repentance” and were all given the humility to confess their sins and repent. But the scriptures want us to know that the Lord’s elect, you and I, are “chief of sinners… the basest of men”, and that “no flesh should glory in his presence”. Here are our qualifications as the Lord's elect:

1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

The verses above are the Biblical list of the qualifications of those whom “God has chosen” as His elect. The Greek word translated as ‘chosen’ is ‘eklegomai’. It appears in the New Testament 22 times and it is always translated as ‘chosen, chose, or choice’. 

G1586
ἐκλέγομαι
eklegomai

Total KJV Occurrences: 22

chosen, 16
Mar_13:20, Luk_10:42, Joh_6:70, Joh_13:18, Joh_15:16 (2), Joh_15:19, Act_1:2, Act_1:24, Act_15:22, Act_15:25, 1Co_1:27-28 (3), Jam_2:4-5 (2)

chose, 4
Luk_6:13, Luk_14:7, Act_6:5, Act_13:17

choice, 1
Act_15:7

This word has the same root as the word translated ‘elect’, which is the Greek word ‘eklektos’, which is also translated as ‘chosen’ seven times in the KJV:

G1588
ἐκλεκτός
eklektos

Total KJV Occurrences: 23

elect, 13
Mat_24:24, Mat_24:31, Mar_13:22, Mar_13:27, Luk_18:7, Rom_8:33, Col_3:12, 1Ti_5:21, Tit_1:1, 1Pe_1:2, 1Pe_2:6, 2Jo_1:1, 2Jo_1:13

chosen, 7
Mat_20:16, Mat_22:14, Luk_23:35, Rom_16:13, 1Pe_2:4, 1Pe_2:9, Rev_17:14

elect’s, 3
Mat_24:22, Mar_13:20, 2Ti_2:10

This prophecy and all of scripture demonstrate that the Lord is just as merciless on the old man of His elect as He is on the old man in all the rest of mankind. In other words, those who are blessed to “find a place for repentance” do so only because of their election; their being chosen by God for that blessing and for that position, and the Lord wants us to know that if we are given that blessing it has nothing whatsoever to do with our own righteousness or anything that comes of ourselves. That is why this book begins as it does:

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD , they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

It is in spite of our weakness and corruption that we as the Lord’s elect are granted to ‘find a place for repentance’ while all others are not given that grace, even though they might seek to do so:

Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

The entire story of King Hezekiah, starting in chapter 36 with the Assyrian invasion, the deliverance of Hezekiah from that invasion, His ‘sickness unto death’, the turning back of the sundial, his healing and Hezekiah taking the credit for all the Lord’s works for him and through him, typify how the Lord’s elect do the same things, and yet we are ‘given a place for repentance’, while others, who are no worse than we are, are not given that blessing. The entire story of the experience of King Hezekiah is given to us, not just as a history lesson, but as types of us, to let us know just how special we are to our Lord, and to let us know just how powerful He is on our behalf.

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

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 
1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have inquired 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.

The Lord is intent on making His elect aware of the work He is doing in and through them for their good and as His tool to bring salvation to all men:

Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 
Eph 3:12  In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

At the same time He is intent upon making us aware that we bring absolutely nothing to the table. Everything is being done “by the faith of Him… [and it is all being made] known by the church”, signified by ‘Zion’ and ‘Judah’ in the last two verses of the most encouraging words of our last study:

Isa 40:9  O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 
Isa 40:10  Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

Being given the commission by the Lord to be the bringer of “good tidings… unto the cities of Judah” and assuring them that their success is “His work” is something special and worthy of our greatest “respect”:

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Just as we are being sent to feed and comfort the Lord’s flock, He Himself feeds and comforts us:

Isa 40:11  He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. 

We are in the very best hands anyone could hope to be. Christ Himself is our spiritual ‘insurance policy’, and to keep us aware of His qualifications to keep us safe in Himself, He asks us to consider:

Isa 40:12  Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 
Isa 40:13  Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 
Isa 40:14  With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? 

The answer to every one of those questions is, “Absolutely No one!” So instead, this is what we are given as answers to these questions:

 1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 
1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 
1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 
1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 
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. 
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. 
1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 
1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

As our experience has and does and will continue to demonstrate, it is very few indeed who are given to “know the things that are freely given to us of God”.  

Paul drives home this point concerning the promises of God in the second epistle to the Corinthians:

2Co 1:18  But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. 
2Co 1:19  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. 
2Co 1:20  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 
2Co 1:21  Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 
2Co 1:22  Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

“In Christ”, inwardly and in spirit, we can say with Him, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth:”

Mat 28:16  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 
Mat 28:17  And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. 
Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Here is how we apply these words if we are “in Christ” and as we understand what it means to be “as He is… in this world”.

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” does not give me the power to speed up the Lord’s agenda, or to start at this moment acting as if I have all power in heaven and in earth in an outward manner. That day will NOT arrive until after the first resurrection at the spiritual last ‘trump’, meaning the time of the beginning of the outward judgment of the kingdom of this world as we are plainly told:

Let's put those verses together.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
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.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

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.

No, “in this present time” (Rom 8:18) we are to ‘be subject to the powers that be [because they] are ordained of God [and if we] resist the power [we are] resisting God… and [we] will reap to ourselves damnation’:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 
Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

Here is what “all power in heaven and in earth” empowers the Lord’s anointed to accomplish at this time:

Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Rom 6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 
Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 
Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

That is what is “freely given to us of God… [at] this present time”:

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

At “this present time” we are given power over all sin within. We are not yet given power over all sinners outside ourselves or outside the body of Christ because at “this present time… the kingdom of God is within [us]:

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

Where in those two verses do we read that there will never be an outward kingdom? The answer is, it is not there because that is not true. There will be an outward kingdom of God ruling over all the outward kingdoms of this world and not just “the kingdom… within you”:

Rev 11:15  And, the seventh messenger, sounded; and there came to be loud voices in heaven, saying—The kingdom of the world, hath become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign unto the ages of ages. [The “thousand years” and the “second death/ white throne judgment/ lake of fire]”.

We are not yet given “power over the [outward] nations” as we will be given if we are granted to ‘have part’ in the blessed and holy first resurrection’:

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 [“of life” Joh 5:28-29]: 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 saints of God have never before been raised up from the dead in “the first resurrection”, and those who are “in Christ” have never before been given “power over the nations [to] rule them with a rod of iron” nor to “dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel”. Nevertheless, that is exactly what will happen at the appointed predestined time, and all those who doubt and deny these Biblical Truths will be just as astonished as the whole world was when the flood of Noah occurred.

Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  

However, there will not be one soul in the first resurrection who has not first been humiliated in this present time and granted to dash in pieces all the nations within themselves. Only after having experienced the death of our old man in the first judgment, which begins at the house of God in “this present time”, will we be granted the blessing of being in the “blessed and holy first resurrection to judge this world and then judge angels.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 
1Pe 4:13  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 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 
1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 
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.

Why would we not “commit the keeping of our souls to him in well doing” after all:

Isa 40:15  Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 
Isa 40:16  And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. 
Isa 40:17  All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. 

As the Lord’s elect, those words are just as true and as reassuring to the nations inwardly and spiritually as they are outwardly. If indeed our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, then our inward nations and giants and our passions and our flesh is “counted to him less than nothing and vanity”, and nothing can separate us from Him and His love:

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. 
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. 

It is my prayer the Lord will give every one of us the faith of Christ to simply believe the Lord’s inspired words here, and to accept it as a true Biblical fact that the Lord is making everything work together for our good as “the called according to His purpose” whom He foreknew and predestined to be the firstborn among many other brothers, who will come to him through our mercy (Rom 11:31), and that Christ is at this very moment in “this present time” (Rom 8:18) at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us, and that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 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. What more can we ask of the Lord?

Isa 40:18  To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 

The answer is obvious considering what we were just told. There is nothing to which our Lord can be likened. Nevertheless, it was only yesterday that even the Lord’s elect were worshipping the man of sin who had set himself up in the temple of God showing himself to be God with a will that was free from the will of God.

It is spiritual adultery to believe and teach that our salvation depends upon anything other than Christ and His work and His will, but because we at first think only physically, we all deny that we have ever been guilty of our last verses in today’s study:

Isa 40:19  The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 
Isa 40:20  He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

According to the scriptures we are this “goldsmith”, and the ‘gold’ we ‘melt’ and ‘spread’ and the ‘silver’ we ‘cast’ is the Lord's words, which we twist to say what we want to hear:

Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

Joe 3:5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

Idolotrous images in scripture are false doctrines and “idols of the heart”:

Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?

In our next study the Lord will again reassure us that He is at the helm, and no one and nothing can deter what He is doing, and nothing anyone does is hidden from Him who is working everything after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11):

Isa 40:21  Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 
Isa 40:22  It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 
Isa 40:23  That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 
Isa 40:24  Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 
Isa 40:25  To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 
Isa 40:26  Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 
Isa 40:27  Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD , and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Isa 40:28  Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD , the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 
Isa 40:29  He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 
Isa 40:30  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 
Isa 40:31  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 74 Discussion

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Isa 19:16-20 Egypt Shall Cry Unto The Lord And He Shall Send Them A Savior

Isa 19:16  In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.
Isa 19:17  And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
Isa 19:18  In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.
Isa 19:19  In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.
Isa 19:20  And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

In our last study we were told:

Isa 19:14  The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
Isa 19:15  Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

Egypt, and 'the waters and rivers of Egypt' (Isa 19:5-6), as we have demonstrated, are just an earlier type of Babylon with its 'rivers and waters' (Psa 137:1).  In the story of Joseph, his time as a slave in charge of Potiphar's house preceded the time he spent in the dungeons of Egypt. In the same way, we spend our own time as a slave to sin in Egypt just prior to the time we spend enslaved to sin while slaves in Babylonian captivity.

This is how the holy spirit reveals this process of our judgment:

Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Hos 11:2  As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
Hos 11:3  I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
Hos 11:4  I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
Hos 11:5  He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian [Babylon] shall be his king, because they refused to return.
Hos 11:6  And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

"The sword" which "abides on his cities" is "the sword of the Word" which the Lord sends to destroy the kingdom of "the first man, Adam" within us. The promise of an ultimate victory over sin's dominion over us was given to us "from the foundation of the world".

Gen 3:16  Unto the woman [our rebellious nature] he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to [Hebrew: 'el' - against] thy husband [Christ within us], and he shall rule over thee.

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 [Hebrew: 'el' - against] thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
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 [Hebrew: 'el'] Abel his brother, and slew him.

As we have come to see, it is "through death", through the death of the kingdom of "the first man Adam" within us, that our "new man... the last Adam" is birthed within our hearts and minds.

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

We are admonished to die with, and be raised with, Christ in spirit:

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

As the "flesh and... bones" of Christ, we must be "crucified with Him" because:

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

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.

"Our old man is crucified with Him" is of course in the Greek aorist is, was, and will be tense and is a daily process as Paul makes perfectly clear in:

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

That is what we will see concerning Egypt within us in our study today. The first Egypt within us is our "first man Adam", whose doom and destruction from Genesis to Revelation is preordained and predestined:

Isa 19:16  In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.

This is the holy spirit's selection of words expressing the process of the destruction of the first Adam, the man of sin, through the truthful words of Christ. The words of "the first man, Adam" are the words of "that old serpent the devil and Satan" (Rev 12:9) whom Adam and Eve believed instead of believing the Words of their Creator. Adam and Eve typify each of us, and it is the conflict between the words of Christ and the lies of the adversary which creates the storms of life that bring us to our "wits' end" (Psa 107:27). The lies we have all believed are the wood, hay, and stubble which are devoured by the fiery words of Truth which proceed from the mouths of His elect.

This is what the Truth does to all the lies of Egypt and Babylon 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:

"The spirit of His mouth [which] shall destroy... that Wicked" is "the brightness of His coming" because He is the Word, and the Word is "the spirit of His mouth".

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

The Lord's words which "are spirit and... life" come to us via the Lord's elect prophets.

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.

These words are speaking to you and to me, and we will live by every word that has proceeded out of the mouth of God.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
Jer 5:15  Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
Jer 5:16  Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
Jer 5:17  And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
Jer 5:18  Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.

The only people who are "wood... [being] devour[ed]" by the fiery words of God at this time and in this age are you and me and all who are given eyes that see and ears that hear "the mysteries of the kingdom of God" (Mat 13:10-15) and the "judgment [which] is now on the house of God". It is the kingdom of our old man which is being judged at this time (1Pe 4:12-17). It is we, who at this time, are enduring the fiery trials of this life, if Christ is judging us at this time:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  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 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The phrase "that day" here in Isaiah 19:16 is the day of the judgment upon Egypt and Babylon within all of us who know that it is all of mankind who must live by every word of God (Mat 4:4). But judgment comes on each and every man "in his own order" as ordained by God (1Co 15:23). "That day" is the judgment which "must begin at the house of God", and when it does then "In that day shall Egypt [within us] be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it."

This "shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He [is] shaking over [Egypt]" within each of His elect in this age, is just another way of saying:

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.

Egypt within us, like "the first man Adam" within us, must endure an "experience of evil" to humble every one of us:

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

In the scene before us here in Isaiah 19 "the land of Judah" symbolizes the Lord's elect, those who have in their mouths the fiery words of Truth which cause "the fiery trials" of our old man. "The land of Judah" typifies the sum of those who have within their hearts the words of Christ which "are spirit and... life" (Joh 6:63).  They are that 'fire' simply because they have been through that fiery sword which guards the way of the tree of life, and they are now qualified to be a terror to the land of Egypt within themselves and within all who, "through their word", are granted to receive their doctrine and their testimony:

Isa 19:17  And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

It is our old man who is "afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He has determined against [Egypt, against our old man]" because, it is the Lord of hosts "who works all things after the counsel of His own will".

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

"The land of Judah[is] a terror unto Egypt" simply because Judah has the Lord's Words and knows and lives by His Truth. It was Christ's doctrine, His words, which terrorized the Pharisees, and the chief priests and elders of His day.

Luk 20:1  And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders,
Luk 20:2  And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?
Luk 20:3  And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:
Luk 20:4  The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?
Luk 20:5  And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not?
Luk 20:6  But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.
Luk 20:7  And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was.
Luk 20:8  And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
Luk 20:9  Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.
Luk 20:10  And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.
Luk 20:11  And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
Luk 20:12  And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
Luk 20:13  Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
Luk 20:14  But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.
Luk 20:15  So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?
Luk 20:16  He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.
Luk 20:17  And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?
Luk 20:18  Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
Luk 20:19  And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

"The land of Judah" here in Isaiah 19:17 refers to all those who dwell in Christ's fiery words, who "dwell with the devouring fire, who... dwell with the "everlasting burning [fiery words of Christ]"

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Isa 19:18  In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.

Here again we have the phrase "In that day", referring to "the great day of the Lord... the judgment of the great day... the great day of His wrath" to be poured out upon the kingdom of our old man. It is through the judgment of that great day that "the land of Egypt... shall... speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts." It is through the destruction of our old man that our new man is born into the kingdom of God and the kingdom of our old man is called "the city of destruction".

Here is the spiritual significance of "that day":

Zep 1:14  The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

Jud 1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

The answer to "who shall be able to stand" is that "no one can withstand Him", and:

2Ch 20:5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
2Ch 20:6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

Mal 3:2  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
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.
Mal 3:4  Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
Mal 3:5  And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

"The day of His wrath [is] the day of His coming".

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

Psa 110:5  The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

That is when "the land of Egypt" will turn to the Lord and to His altar, the cross on which our old man and His kingdom must be sacrificed:

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

Isa 19:19  In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.

"In that day [the] altar [of] the Lord [the cross of Christ] shall be for a sign and a witness unto the Lord... in the land of Egypt", and look at the fruits of that witness:

Isa 19:20  And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

The whole so-called 'Christian world' acknowledges that 'Egypt' typifies the world out of which God's people must come. "He shall send them a savior, and a great one, and He shall deliver them" is the doctrine of the salvation of "all in Adam", and it is being taught to us right here in Isaiah 19:20.

In our next study we will see the glorious fruit of the judgments of the wrath of God. What we will see is that Egypt, symbolizing all of mankind, will be smitten of the Lord and then He will heal them of their dying, rebellious, carnal mind and He will bring them to sacrifice to Himself.

Isa 19:21  And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.
Isa 19:22  And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.
Isa 19:23  In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
Isa 19:24  In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
Isa 19:25  Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 10 Discussion

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Isa 2:6-14 Enter Into The Rock

Isa 2:6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
Isa 2:7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
Isa 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
Isa 2:9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
Isa 2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
Isa 2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
Isa 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
Isa 2:13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
Isa 2:14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,

Our study today will demonstrate that it is God who leads us into temptation, and it is He who brings us out. We will see that this was His plan from "before the world began" (2Ti 1:9 and Tit 1:2) and that He is carrying out this plan in every life (Ecc 9:2), "each in his own order" (1Co 15:23). It is this knowledge which will explain the abrupt change in tone between the last week's study and this week's study.

The first five verses of this chapter are in stark contrast in tone, and in time, to the entire first chapter of Isaiah. Both chapters are addressed to the same audience, to the Lord's own people. Of course all men are the Lord's creation, and thereby they belong to Him, but scripture is not intended to be understood by all men at this time, as Matthew 13 and Ephesians 1 make clear concerning the difference between those who "are not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" in this age, and those who are given "eyes that see... and ... ears that hear" in this age, and who are given to be those "who first trusted in Christ":

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.

Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 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.

Paul says "In whom we have redemption". So we must ask, "is that not referring to all who will be given life in Adam (1Co 15:22)?" The answer is an unequivocal, No, it is not! We know this is so, because he qualifies all these personal pronouns with "We... who first trusted in Christ", and he tells us we were chosen in Christ "before the foundation of the world [to be] those who fist trusted in Christ" . He is not at this place in scripture speaking of or to 'all in Adam'.

Verse 10 is speaking of 'all in Adam as well as all the heavenly realm:

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:

This next verse is the "we" of Ephesians 1, and this is who Isaiah also is addressing in this age:

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.

Those who first "enter into the Rock.. for the fear of the Lord " are those to whom it is given to be those for whom "judgment must first begin" (1Pe 4:17), those who are the first to be "given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" and who were "chosen in Him before the foundation of the world... to be the firstfruits unto God and the lamb" (Rev 14:4). These are "the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb" (Rev 14:4). But they are nowhere ever called 'the only fruits". This first harvest is said to be "few", and these few are called those who "first trusted in Christ". It will be these "few... who first trusted in Christ [who will] have part in the... blessed and holy... first resurrection" (Rev 20:6).

Just as the phrase "the first resurrection" necessitates a later resurrection at the "great white throne judgment", so also does the phrase "the firstfruits" necessitate a later harvest of "all in Adam" (1Co 15:22), at that same later "great white throne... judgment". Those who are resurrected at this later, great, white throne judgment are those who are raised to what the King James calls the "resurrection of damnation".

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 ["the first resurrection"]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [resurrection of condemnation, not "damnation'].

The 'condemnation' is the same condemnation under which our own old man, our own "first man Adam", is condemned:

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.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God [in either resurrection]; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

But contrary to what the daughters of the great harlot teach about how easy it is to become a faithful disciple of Christ and to appear in that blessed and holy first resurrection, the truth is the exact opposite, that it is only through "much tribulation that we must enter into the kingdom of God.

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.

The message of our study is that we must all, each in our own time, first be the children of that great whore, who are "not given... to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven... because you have forsaken you children" (Isa 2:6). Only after we have spent a symbolic 'seventy years' being completely deceived by the great harlot, then we must all "come out of her" (Rev 18:4) before we can truly "enter into the Rock... for the fear of the Lord (Isa 2:10)". All these words are addressed to us, and they are "for [our] sakes" (1Co 3:22), nevertheless it is those to whom it is "not given... to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" in this age who comprise the harlot herself. This is the harlot of whom Isaiah 1 and all but the first five verses of chapter two tell us we must "come out" (Rev 18:4):

Jer 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

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;

2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Look at the message and tone of Isaiah 1:

Isa 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Isa 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward ["because you have forsaken your people..." Isa 2:6]

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.

Pro 20:24 Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

Verse 10 tells us "Judah and Jerusalem" are the same as "Sodom and Gomorrah", and verse 21 tells us Judah and Jerusalem are the great harlot of Revelation 17 and 18. That "great harlot" is God's own people who "have rebelled against [Him]". (Isa 1:2)

Now we can understand what is the reason for the stark change in tone in verse 6, from the first five verses of chapter 2, which we covered in last week's study. Going from chapter 1, informing us of our rebellious and whorish ways which we all are given to live through as we live out our symbolic seventy years in Babylon, where we believe and claim to be His people, chapter 2 jumps way ahead to "the last days" and begins with a very different tone:

Isa 2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

It is only the "few... firstfruits, [the] overcomers" who live out and experience Isa 2:1-5 inwardly in this age. These verses do have an inward application at this time, but that application is only lived out in this time in God's elect few.

Now let's go to the rest of this chapter beginning with verse 6, the first of the 9 verses we will be covering in today's study, and ask ourselves why the sudden and dramatic change of tone:

Now let's read verses 5 and 6 together and see if we can make any sense of why we have this incredible change of tone between these two verses:

Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Isa 2:6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

Taken by themselves these verses appear to say "Let us walk in the light of the Lord. Therefore you have forsaken your people the house of Jacob..." and that appears completely incoherent.

God does not forsake His people because they walk in the light of the Lord. According to Christ Himself to "walk in the light of the Lord" is to "follow [the Lord]":

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.

If we follow Christ, why then, are we being told "Therefore you have forsaken your people..." That appears to be completely contradictory... 'Follow Christ... therefore Christ has forsaken [His] people the house of Israel'???

There are two reasons why that appears so impossible to understand. The first is that, as is so often the case, it is not properly translated, and the second reason is that we are forgetting that the first five verses concern themselves with what will "come to pass in the last days", while verse 6 is bringing us back to the necessary process which God uses to get us each to our "last days".

Let's read it again:

Isa 2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

So if we want to understand why there is such an abrupt change in tone from verse 5 to verse 6, we must keep in mind first, that the work of God in His creation is through the process of judgment He is working in all men to judge and to destroy the kingdom of the carnal, rebellious, beastly man of sin, the first man Adam, the old man within all of us. Then secondly, when we discover that the word translated as "therefore" is the exact same word translated as "because" in this very same verse, then these two verses begin to make much more spiritual sense to those who know something of that spiritual process known as God's chastening judgment:

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.

1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [to a later judgment] with the world.

With the necessity of that chastening process in mind, notice that the word "therefore", the first word of verse 6, has the exact same Strong's number as the word translated "because" in this very same verse. Here is this verse with all of its Strong's numbers:

Isa 2:6 Therefore^H3588 thou hast forsaken^H5203 thy people^H5971 the house^H1004 of Jacob^H3290, because^H3588 they be replenished^H4390 from the east^{H4480 H6924}, and are soothsayers^H6049 like the Philistines^H6430, and they please themselves^H5606 in the children^H3206 of strangers^H5237.

So how is this Hebrew word most commonly translated? Here is where it appears in the Old Testament, and the various ways it is translated in the order of the most common to the least common:

H3588
כּי
kı̂y
Total KJV Occurrences: 1120
because, 460; when, 245; if, 166; surely, 58; though, 48; yet, 15; save, 14; how, 11; yea, 10; except, 9; seeing, 9; although, 8; even, 7; nevertheless, 5; whereas, 5; much, 4
assuredly, 3; else, 3; now, 3; than, 3; until, 3; while, 3; forasmuch, 2; so, 2; then, 2; therefore, 2; unless, 2; whether, 2; certainly, 1; doubtless, 1; either, 1; inasmuch, 1; more, 1; rightly, 1; since, 1; thus, 1; till, 1; truly, 1; truth, 1; what, 1; wherefore, 1; which, 1; whom, 1; whose, 1

The English word 'because' is by far the most common translation for this Hebrew word 'kiy'. Of the 1120 times this Hebrew word appears in the Old Testament, it is translated as 'therefore' only two other times. Now 'therefore' and 'because' are not that different in meaning. So let's replace 'therefore' with 'because', and let's replace 'because' with 'therefore' remembering that the first five verses "concern... the Lord's house... in the last days", and let's see what verses 5 and 6 reveal to us when this change is made:

To get the proper understanding of what the holy spirit is telling us, I will read the first five verses along with verse 6:

Isa 2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Isa 2:6 [Because] thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, [therefore] they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

While the word 'because' may seem little different from the word 'therefore' to those who are given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the word 'because', which is the proper translation for the Hebrew word 'kiy', connects that which comes to pass in the last days to what the Lord Himself must first do in the lives of His people before they can be prepared to "come out of [Babylon]. What God must do before He can bring His people out of Babylon is to "forsake your people the house of Jacob", turn them over to a cruel task master, replenish them from the east, and make them soothsayers like the Philistines. He must send them as slaves into Babylon to serve a symbolic 70 years in the deceitful lies of that apostate, adulterous system. It is He who is ruling in the kingdoms of men and in the lives of all men who live in those kingdoms, and it is He who makes His own people to err and who hardens their hearts from His fear. That is why that change of tone is there, and that is exactly what these verses reveal:

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.

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 future is no mystery to God. He foretold exactly how long Israel would serve Babylon, exactly what would be the fruit of that curse upon His people, and exactly what would become of their oppressors when they had served their purpose.

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 [Hebrew: olawm - age] desolations.

Jer 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

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.

It is Jer 29:10 which explains what God tells us in verse 6 of Isaiah 2. The "good word[s] toward you" of the first five verses of chapter 2 can only come to pass after '[He] forsakes [His] people the house of Israel', sends them to Babylon for seventy years, and only then can the Lord can call them out of Babylon to walk in the light of the Lord.'

Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Isa 2:6 Because thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, therefore they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

In other words, it is all being worked by God for Himself after the counsel of His own will:

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

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.

Now we will return to the judgment we must endure before we can truly walk in the light of the Lord and establish the Lord's house in the top of the mountains of our lives (Isa 2:2).

And where do we get all of this silver and gold and treasures with which Babylon is so full? Here is where it originates:

Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

Rev 18:12 The [spiritual] merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, [in spiritual Babylon].

It is with God's own word that we make false doctrines that accord with our own deceived minds, and it is with His own word, symbolized in this verse by gold and silver, that we make to ourselves our "idols of the heart" (Eze 14:1-9). In that deceived state, 'olawm', an age, becomes 'perpetual', and in the Greek, the word 'aion', an age, becomes 'eternity'.

But as the next two verses of Ezekiel 16 reveal, we only want God's name to justify our shameful actions even as we insist on wearing our own garments and eating our own food, both of which we took from Him and now use to prostitute ourselves to our own shame, in which shameful works we glory as did Sodom.

Eze 16:18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them [our idols of our hearts]: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them [wresting the scriptures, 2Pe 3:16].
Eze 16:19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee [the Word of God], thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.

Isa 4:1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel [keep our false doctrines]: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Isa 3:9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

Where do we get the chariots in which we trust while living in our deceit? Here is the source of all of our supposed great strength as we live the life of a whore:

Isa 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

'Egypt' typifies this world which lives in rebellion against the laws of God. That is the source of our strength while we, too, live in rebellion to the Words of Christ. But Egypt will sadly disappoint us:

Isa 36:6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.

In the spiritual realm we trust in our own idols of our hearts, and in the physical realm we trust in our own physical strength and physical weapons of war. Both are of no value when the iniquities of our lives and our nation are fulfilled, and our day of judgment has arrived:

Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

The next verse fits right in with all the idols we make for ourselves at this time "[because God] has forsaken [His] people".

Isa 2:6 [Because] thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

The mark of God and the mark of the beast are both 'in our right hand and in our foreheads':

Deu 6:8 And thou shalt bind them [God's commandments] for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

"The work of [our] own hands, that which [our] own fingers have made" refers particularly to the idols of our hearts, which we place ahead of and before the words of Christ and His Father. The "land" is our individual lives, and at this time in our lives we have very little or no time or thought for the words of Christ and His Father simply "because [God] has foresaken [His] people" at this time in our experience. It is the same "one event" in the process of being judged, which is to be experienced by all men of all time (Ecc 9:2).

Every facet of our lives, everything great and small, is given over to bowing down before the dominion of sin in our lives at this time in our experience. We live these words inwardly, and we are watching this take place outwardly and dispensationally as we witness the decline of our society and our nation and the entire world in which we live. It is only at the point of the full bloom of the self-destructive nature of the kingdom of our old man that our loving heavenly Father admonishes us:

Saul of Tarsus is a Biblical type of each of us and also of the outward, dispensational application of these words. At a young age he had arisen within the harlot system of His day to the position of being given the charge of overseeing the persecution of the body of Christ.

Act 7:58 And cast him [Stephen] out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

But Saul was zealous to serve his harlot mother, to the extent that he desired from the high priest letters authorizing him to bind Christians outside Israel in Damascus and bring them back to Jerusalem to be judged.

Act 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

Even though Saul is a Pharisee, he is now allied with, and at the zenith of his zeal for the worship of his obsolete, false god, the corrupt Jerusalem Sanhedrin, whose leaders, the high priests, were Sadducees, who did not even believe in a resurrection, nor angels, nor spirits.

Mar 12:18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

Act 23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

Just like the churches today, the one thing that unites them is their hatred for Christ and His Christ, and they are intent on putting their dead bodies in the street of the 'great city, where also our Lord was crucified':

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt (Isa 1:10 and 21), where also our Lord was crucified.

But it is just at this point of the apparent victory of the beast over the Christ of Christ, when we are all brought by God to our wits' end, that the fear of God strikes our hearts and we cry out to the rocks to fall on us and hide us from the face of the Judge of all men. This is the point where we want to "enter into the Rock for fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty":

Here is how that all worked out in the life of Saul of Tarsus:

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

This "fear of God" takes place within us spiritually, but it will also come over the whole world when 'the iniquities of the Amorites' are fulfilled on an international scale at the time of the manifestation of the sons of God. This is all foreshadowed by the fear which God struck into the hearts of all the nations which He gave over to Israel when they came up out of Egypt:

Jos 2:9 And she [Rahab the harlot] said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
Jos 2:10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
Jos 2:11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

That is what happened to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. Here is that same experience as it is described for us in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ and it is lived out in our lives:

Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? [Isa 2:10]

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies [of the two witnesses] shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Rev 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
Rev 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Rev 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

This horrifying experience is not unique to Saul of Tarsus. While our experience may not be as immediate or as dramatic as that of Saul, it is still the same "one event [common] to all" (Ecc 9:2), and this is the product of what happened to Saul of Tarsus, and this is the product of God's wonderful works in all the children of men (Psa 107:21-31).

The phrases "that day, [and] the day of the Lord" are always speaking of the day of His judgments upon His people. That is why He must first "forsake His people", humble them, instill His fear within us all and bring us "to [our] wits' end" (Psa 107:27), and then place within us His kingdom [Luk 17:20-21]. It is at that point in our walk the mountain of the Lord's house will begin to be placed in the top of the mountains to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Then when the thousand years are expired, we are given to judge all the messengers, all the angels of Satan, in the lake of fire.

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

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

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
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.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ["We shall judge angels"]
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire [the destruction of "the last enemy... death" 1Co 15:26]. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. [The second death, the lake of fire, is the destruction of death].

This "great white throne judgment, [which is] the lake of fire" is not a bad thing for mankind. This is the very foundation of the beginning of the process of the salvation of all men to bring them to learn and to live righteous lives:

Psa 119:67 Before I was afflicted [judged] I went astray: but now [that your judgments are in the earth] have I kept thy word.

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

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.

(Key verses: Genesis 49:8-12)

Nearing His death in Egypt, Jacob called his twelve sons to him to inform them “which shall befall [them] in the last days”:

Gen 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Gen 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

The theme of the “last days” is an important aspect of the revelation of Christ, and although there is an outward application of the “last days” (also called “the end of the world”), this applies inwardly to the lives of the elect of God when their old physical temple is being “thrown down” with the coming of the Lord:

Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

What Jacob said to his sons, and what happened in the lives of these sons of Israel, are all “ensamples” or types of the lives of God’s elect. We indeed live by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Mat 4:4).

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 [Greek: aiōn = age] are come.

We already touched on the lives of Jacob’s first three sons, Reuben, Simeon and Levi in previous discussions. In this discussion we will take a look at what we can learn of our own lives from the words of Jacob and through the life of Judah, as written down (Mat 4:4).

Judah

Judah was Jacob’s fourth son from his less loved wife, Leah, and the name “Judah” means “praise”:

Gen 29:35 And she [Leah] conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise [Hebrew: yâdâh] the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah [Hebrew: yehûdâh = praise]; and left bearing.

We know from scripture that the number four spiritually points to the whole of a thing under discussion (Isa 11:12; Mat 24:31; Joh 4:35; Act 10:11; Rev 4:6). In Jacob’s words to Judah we also see how Judah’s function within the commonwealth of Israel affected the whole of Israel:

Gen 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Gen 49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
Gen 49:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

Let us break this up to help us see what these words of Jacob mean to us “upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

Gen 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies. Thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.”

The word “Judah” is translated from the Hebrew word “yehûdâh” from which the Hebrew word “yehûdı̂y” comes which means “Jew” in English. We know that the whole nation of Israel is called “Jews” (“yehûdı̂y”) in the scriptures, especially from the time of the trouble with Assyria and their period of exile in Babylon (2Ki 16:6; 2Ki 18:26; Ezr 4:12; Neh 1:2; Est 2:5; Isa 36:11; Jer 32:12; Dan 3:8). This naming of the Jews and the link with the name of Judah again highlights the effect this fourth son of Jacob had on the whole of Israel, especially in terms of authority. Judah’s authority among his father’s children typifies the spiritual authority of Jesus Christ and His name within His elect (Joh 14:6; Act 9:4-5; 1Co 2:16; 2Jn 1:8-9). This connects with knowing who the Father and His Son are in terms of their mind and their teaching, which all bring spirit life to us:

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

Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

The natural Jews serve only as a shadow of the real spiritual Jews, who are the true “Israel of God” (Eph 3:4; Gal 6:15-16; Col 2:2; Col 4:3; Rev 10:7). The true spiritual Jew has indeed obtained advantage in “much every way” and profits through the new creation in Christ “chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.”

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.
Rom 3:1 What advantage then hath the [spiritual] Jew? or what profit is there of [spiritual] circumcision?
Rom 3:2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them [that is the spiritual Jew] were committed the oracles [the Word] of God.

Inward circumcision points to this Word of God establishing the new heart and mind which God gives to His church in this age whom He has given authority above all other powers as their “hand shall be in the neck of [their] enemies” (Mat 28:18; Luk 10:19-20; Joh 4:24; Php 3:3). This spiritual authority is revealed in having knowledge, understanding and wisdom of the application of God’s will and judgement (Rom 13:1-2; Eph 2:6-10; Eph 3:7-11; Rev 20:4-15):

1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up.

Judah is a lion’s whelp…a lion…and an old lion – three stages of spiritual growth and progression. Here in the words of Jacob to Judah, we see the first time in the scriptures that this symbol of a lion is connected to any person. The lion is one of the images associated with the beasts, the elect of God, who are “in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne” of God:

Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
Rev 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
Rev 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

The lion is the symbol which spiritually indicates rulership, whether in the negative or the positive application. In the negative application, this lion is roaring and feasting on flesh having the spirit of the world with all its pride and lusts (1Jn 2:16):

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

This symbolic lion is also a wicked deceitful beast in us who deludes us in our spiritual immaturity as he also thinks he is the ruler of his own destiny with his fabled free will (Pro 28:15; 2Th 2:3-4; Rev 13):

Psa 10:9 He [the wicked] lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
Psa 10:10 He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
Psa 10:11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

After we have lived under the influence of these wicked and evil authorities in our own time, we can appreciate the revelation of the true Lion, Jesus Christ, who is the true spiritual authority and the sovereign Ruler over all that happens in our lives and in this creation from start to finish:

Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

The spiritual tribe of Judah follows Jesus in the spirit “of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” to serve God and others in humility (Pro 28:1; Pro 30:29-31; 2Co 7:4; Eph 3:12; Php 1:20; 2Ti 1:7). A true leader does not rule over others with a domineering spirit, as it was Judah who persuaded his brothers not to kill Joseph (Mat 20:25-28; 2Co 1:24):

Gen 37:26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Gen 37:27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

Judah and his offspring are also blessed by Moses to be a help to others who need to be freed from their enemies. True leaders are servants and the helpers of the joy of others (2Co 1:24; Col 1:28-29):

Deu 33:7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.

A true leader seeks to benefit others – to preserve life – and is concerned for the welfare of all. This spirit in Judah also helped him to convince his father Jacob to send Benjamin to Egypt to achieve these aims:

Gen 43:8 And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
Gen 43:9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever.

It was also Judah who negotiated for the release of Benjamin in Egypt after Joseph’s silver cup was found in Benjamin’s sack, admitting their sin and submitting to authority – more signs of true leadership (Rom 13:1-10; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:17; 1Ti 3:1-13; 1Pe 3:1-6; 1Pe 5:1-6):

Gen 44:16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.

Gen 44:18 Then Judah came near unto him [Joseph whom they could not recognised at this stage], and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.

Judah’s intimate plea moved Joseph to finally reveal himself to the brothers as we are also given to see so much more of Christ when we can submit to His authority:

Gen 45:1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

This elevation of Judah is also witnessed in his tribe, as they were also first mentioned in connection to the positions of the tribes around the tabernacle in their time in the wilderness:

Num 2:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 2:2 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard [no comparing among themselves allowed (2Co 10:12)], with the ensign of their father’s house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.
Num 2:3 And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.

“The east side toward the rising of the sun” emphasizes this leadership role of the tribe of Judah as it was also from this position the tribe of Judah was appointed by God to give direction in battle:

Jdg 1:1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
Jdg 1:2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

As with the tribe of Judah, it is indeed from this spiritually elevated position “at the east” that the elect in Christ, symbolised in scripture by the Cherubims, which are the four beasts “in the midst…and round about the throne” of God, can do battle in the spirit with the sword of the spirit as they keep His way and do His commandments (Eze 46:1-3; Eph 2:6-10; Eph 6:17; Rev 4:6-8):

Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Eze 10:19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

It is from the east gate of the temple that the waters of life issued according to Ezekiel, typifying the words of life coming from the Christ and His elect that will reach everyone in Adam (1Co 15:2).

Eze 47:1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.

John confirms this position of those who can see their spiritual inheritance through this tribe of Judah, as this tribe is also mentioned first of those who are spiritually sealed in the book of Revelation:

Rev 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Rev 7:5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand.

True leadership also admits mistakes as Judah also acknowledged his sin of fornication and self-righteousness to his daughter-in-law, Tamar, with whom he unknowingly slept and conceived twins with her:

Gen 38:26 And Judah acknowledged them [his signet, bracelets, and staff], and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

Through the twins born from Tamar we see how the two generational lines of Judah typify the two generational lines of Christ. Through Pharez or Phares (meaning “breach”) we see the physical or earthly linage of Christ “after the flesh”, and through his twin brother, Zarah or Zerah (means “rising” or “east”), we see the spiritual linage of the heavenly Christ (Gen 38:27-30; Mat 1:3):

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.

The linage through Zarah is obscured in the scriptures, which in itself makes such a powerful spiritual statement of how God indeed reserved His spiritual remnant throughout the church age:

Rom 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him [Elijah, who thought he was the only true prophet left]? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Rom 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

When the kingdom of Israel divided after the death of Solomon, the tribe of Judah played the dominant role in the southern kingdom with their headquarters in Jerusalem. With the destruction of the temple and the death of the last physical king in Judah, Zedekiah and his sons, after seventy years God caused a small remnant to return to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem – again under the leadership of the tribe of Judah. We move from the temporary rule of the flesh, which was typified by the physical kingly lineage through the firstborn Pharez, to the leadership of the spirit, typified by Zarah. This is what the prophet Ezekiel saw when he wrote down these words:

Eze 21:25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel [the kingly linage of the flesh, even in Judah], whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,
Eze 21:26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high [the rule of the last Adam, Jesus Christ].
Eze 21:27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose [birth] right it is; and I will give it him [King Christ and His elect].

It is also interesting to note that one of Judah’s offspring through the lineage of Zarah, whose name was Pethahiah, is specifically mentioned in the scripture as being in a position of power with the Persian king, and he was placed “in all matters concerning the people” when the remnant returned to the promised land (Isa 10:22; Isa 37:32-31; Jer 29:10-15; Ezr 1:1-4):

Neh 11:24 And Pethahiah [meaning “God has opened/set free” or “at the gate”] the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand [Hebrew: yâd = position of power] in all matters concerning the people [of Israel returning to Jerusalem].

It was indeed under the leadership of Zerubbabel that this remnant returned from exile to live in the promised land where the walls of the city of Jerusalem and the temple were rebuilt (Ezr 2:1-2; Ezr 3:8; Ezr 5:2; Hag 1:1-2; Hag 1:14; Mat 1:12). Zerubbabel, also known under his Persian name “Sheshbazzar” in the scriptures, was from the tribe of Judah and was appointed governor over Israel by the Persian king (Ezr 1:11; Ezr 5:14; Ezr 5:16; Zec 4:9):

Ezr 1:8 Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar [meaning “worshipper of fire”/“joy in tribulation”], the prince of Judah.

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver [Hebrew: châqaq = engrave/enact] from between his feet, until Shiloh [Hebrew: shı̂ylôh = tranquil/ peaceful/secure/successful] come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

The sceptre indeed shall not depart from Judah, as we can see how these sons of Judah and their rulership applies to us. Leadership is necessary to affect the gathering of people. As we know Judah and his offspring typify God’s elect and their spiritual development in terms of leadership. This leadership is all the result of the work of Jesus Christ in us to eventually gather all in Adam in Him (1Co 15:22-28; Eph 2:8-10). Christ, who is the foundation and rock of His church, is first gathering His elect from the four corners of the earth, and through all these centuries He has been focussing on this task at hand without fail:

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

Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Jesus Christ and His body becomes this completed “Shiloh”, Mount Zion, to whom the task is given by the Father to gather the rest:

Eph 1:9 having made known to us the secret of His will, according to His good pleasure, that He purposed in Himself,
Eph 1:10 in regard to the dispensation of the fulness of the times, to bring into one the whole in the Christ, both the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth–in him; (YLT)

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.

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Gen 49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk”

The rulership of Christ was typified in the lineage of Judah, the kingly tribe of Israel who was also known as the vine of God in the scriptures, albeit an “empty vine…[which] bringeth forth fruit unto himself” (Mat 1:1-16; Eze 15:6; Hos 10:1; Zec 7:6). It is through the death of this Christ “after the flesh” that the new spiritual lineage of the “Choice Wine” is made available through His resurrection life (Joh 11:25; 1Jn 5:11-12):

Mat 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Mat 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

It is also by dying daily to the old man in us, and getting the new spirit life through Christ’s righteous mind, that we are born into the spiritual lineage of Christ (Joh 6:63; Joh 15:1-8; 1Co 15:31; Gal 2:20). It is indeed Christ’s body and His blood that is given to all as we all come from physical Edom and in our time of flesh we hate the truth and kill God’s elect. We must die with Christ to this fleshly Edom to receive His glorious righteousness and life:

Isa 63:1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.

The blood is the spirit and life of Christ which produces the white raiment we all need to be in God’s spiritual kingdom as we all will be spiritually translated from the kingdom of darkness into His glorious light:

Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

Those who are sitting on these thrones are indeed clothed with white raiment because they overcome this earthly corruption and attachments in this life. They are the ones who indeed follow Jesus and take their own cross moving forward in His strength and righteousness (Mat 10:38-39):

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
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.

It is the elect of God who are that white throne through which He brings judgment to all when their book will be opened:

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

—————

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

Revelation 4:6-7 – Part 4
Animals in Scripture – Leopards, Bears, Lions, Dragons – Part 1
Animals in Scripture – Leopards, Bears, Lions, Dragons – Part 2
Colors in Scripture
Numbers in Scripture

(Key verses: Gen 37:12-17; Gen 38)

The theme of spiritual glorification is intimately connected to the caring for God’s flock and the salvation of all, as we also see typified in the life of Joseph. The following words come from the mouth of Joseph as written in scripture. These are words Joseph spoke to his brothers after they sold him to slave traders who brought him to Egypt, where he eventually, through much tribulation, ended up as ruler in Egypt under the Pharaoh:

Gen 45:5 Now do not be troubled or angry with yourselves for sending me away, because God sent me before you to be the saviour of your lives. (BBE)

Gen 45:5 Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me ahead of you to save people’s lives. (GNB)

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

Joseph was sent ahead of his brothers by God not only to supply food for his own family, but eventually to save many people’s lives. This is what God’s elect are called to be – saviors. However, they are admonished by scripture to be diligent even in the process of caring for those who have been given to them in this age (Oba 1:21, Joh 21:15-17, Rom 12:10, Gal 6:10, Php 2:4, Tit 1:5-10, 1Ti 5:8, 1Pe 5:2-4):

Pro 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

The elect of God are called to be good shepherds, among other things, but we all need to be aware that there are also thieves and robbers who are indeed strangers and bad shepherds among God’s flock whom we need to be able to discern (Joh 10:1-5). The distinction between the good shepherd and the stranger is something few are given to discern properly in this life. The basic distinction is first given to us in the lives of the first two sons of Adam and Eve – one who loved to feed the sheep, which points to an honest caring attitude for others. The other son was more focused on “the ground” – focused on the self and ensnared in what man thinks and says (Deu 1:17, 1Sa 15:24, Pro 29:25, Gal 2:12):

Gen 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper [Hebrew: “râ‛âh” = feed/pastor/a companion] of sheep, but Cain was a tiller [Hebrew: “âbad” = servant/in bondage/worshippper] of the ground [Hebrew: “ădâmâh” from “âdam” and link to “âdâm” = man].

This distinction between the two types of shepherds becomes more disguised and needs much deeper discernment as we are all fooled by our own deception (Jer 17:9). This is also what we learn through the family of Jacob while they lived in the promised land. Under the direction of God, Jacob gathered a special breed of flock for himself in the last six years of the twenty years he worked for his uncle Laban in Haran (Gen 31:10-12). Back in Canaan Jacob trusted the care of his flock to his sons, but they did not always inform their father concerning the wellbeing of these flocks. Jacob had a keen interest in his flock and regularly inquired as to the wellbeing of this flock and the welfare of the sons, as he also appointed his favourite son, Joseph, to help in this regard:

Gen 37:1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
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 37:12 And his [Joseph’s] brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
Gen 37:13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
Gen 37:14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

In this instance, Jacob was under the impression his sons were attending to his sheep in Shechem, but Joseph could not find them there. They were not at the appointed place. Even a certain stranger whom Joseph met in the field knew more about the whereabouts of these ten sons than Jacob knew at this point in time:

Gen 37:15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
Gen 37:16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
Gen 37:17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

The manner in which these ten brothers cared for the flocks of their father became more apparent when we read that they even killed a kid of one of the goats of Jacob to cover for their evil deed of selling Joseph to the slave traders:

Gen 37:31 And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood.

The way they treated Joseph, their own brother, is a further testimony against these brothers’ shepherding and caring attitudes. These brothers of Joseph not only had no respect for the life of Joseph and the father’s flock, they also saw no problem in using lies and deceit in the process of reporting to their father on the status of their own brother and the flock:

Gen 37:32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.
Gen 37:33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
Gen 37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
Gen 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

Although Reuben, the eldest of the twelve sons of Jacob, was the first to save Joseph’s life by giving his fellow brothers the idea to cast Joseph in a pit, the role of one of the other brothers, namely Judah, also becomes very interesting:

Gen 37:26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Gen 37:27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

The words “for he is our brother and our flesh” reveals something about Judah’s caring heart which will become more apparent as we follow this man’s life, as he also distanced himself physically from his brothers after this ordeal with Joseph:

Gen 38:1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

It is especially through the story of Judah, and his life away from his brothers, that certain aspects of Judah’s life are brought to our attention. We also know through Jacob’s words on his deathbed that Judah’s future role in his own family and in God’s plan becomes clearer:

Gen 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

It is through the generations of Judah that the true kingly offspring and pastoral leadership of the physical Jews came, as we also see in the life of king David. This, of course, typifies the rulership of Christ and the role of God’s elect who will be kings and priests (shepherds) for God in the symbolic thousand-year reign on earth and judges in the spiritual eon (1Co 6:2-3, Rev 20:4-15). Judah took leadership among his brothers in many instances, especially on his return to the family later in negotiations with Joseph, whom they did not recognize at that time (Gen 37:26, Gen 43:8-10, Gen 44:14-34, Gen 46:28). The word “Jew” is an abbreviation of the word “Judah” which gives us an idea how his leadership eventually covered all the twelve tribes of physical Israel, also in the unified kingdoms under David and his son Solomon. Here again we see the relationship in the roles of Judah and Joseph and why both these typify vital aspects of our own position of rulership within the spiritual kingdom of God:

1Ch 5:2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s.

So while Joseph would endure thirteen years of hardship in Egypt, the spirit of God brings our focus to Judah’s life in this same time period. Before Judah’s leadership was further entrenched among his brothers, however, he mingled with the uncircumcised of the land and had an intimate relationship with one of their daughters in his time away from his brothers:

Gen 38:2 And Judah saw there [when he was with his friend Hirah] a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah [in Hebrew this means ‘wealth’]; and he took her, and went in unto her.

Spiritually Canaanites symbolize the false shepherds who have uncircumcised hearts, meaning also our own time when we are still filled with pride and the lusts of the flesh although we understand spiritual things and are within the promised land (Gen 24:3, Gen 27:46, Gen 28:1, Deu 7:3, 2Co 6:14-16, 1Jn 2:16). Through this marriage of Judah, he fathered three sons, which also indicates the process through which our own heart is revealed to us and how we will be established as a true shepherd of God:

Gen 38:3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
Gen 38:4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
Gen 38:5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.

The place where Judah lived at this time was called “Chezib”, which means “falsified” relating to living a lie. The names which Judah gave to these three sons are also significant in terms of this falsified state of his thinking at this stage. We all encounter this part of our journey when God works out the old false shepherd in our own hearts to establish the characteristics of the true Shepherd in us. The first characteristic of a true shepherd in the flock of God is revealed through the name which Judah gave to his first son – he called him Er, and it means “to be watchful”. Er married a certain Tamar whom Judah chose for Er as a wife:

Gen 38:6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.

Tamar means “palm-tree” which is also the stature of the bride of Christ as seen on the doorposts, doors and walls in the spiritual house of God, which is His temple and His heavenly city (Son 7:7, 1Ki 6:29-33, Eze 40:16, Eze 41:23-25). Here are a few characteristics of the palm tree and the true shepherds who are watchful:

Psa 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Psa 92:13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
Psa 92:14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
Psa 92:15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

This stature of the true shepherds is a reflection of God’s righteousness with unfeigned love of the brethren:

1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.

Not to be watchful and sincere in our love and care for our heavenly Father’s flock is a wicked thing, and what happened to Er is a serious admonition to God’s shepherds:

Gen 38:7 And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.

God admonishes His true shepherds to always be diligent in taking “heed unto thyself” first of all, but also in their watchfulness in leadership within the flock of God as we are our brother’s keeper (1Co 16:13-14, Eph 4:11-12, Col 4:2, 1Th 5:6, 1Ti 4:16, 2Ti 4:5, 1Pe 4:7, Rev 3:1-3). The sheep need a constant watchful eye because the spiritual wolves are always busy bringing their worldly care, which is just a camouflage to enlarge their own profile (1Sa 17:34-35, Isa 40:11, Joh 10:11, Heb 13:17, Rev 7:17):

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.

Er was the firstborn of Judah, and he died without fathering any children. This also links to our own firstborn, our flesh and its failure to be a true shepherd of God’s spiritual offspring. There is truly little profit in fleshly care as that will not bring us to spiritual glorification (1Co 15:50, 1Ti 4:8):

1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

The second son of Judah was named “Onan”, which means “to be strong or courageous.” This is another important characteristic of a true shepherd, especially seen in the life of David, who is another example of a true shepherd of God (1Sa 17:34-36). Judah gave Onan a special command:

Gen 38:8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

To raise seed for one’s brother was also codified later in the law of Moses (Deu 25:5-6). This is just another way of saying that life comes through death, which the flesh is also incapable of producing (Joh 6:63, Rom 5:12-21). It is only through Christ, the life-giving spirit, that anyone can be a good shepherd to do the Father’s commandments (Joh 15:16). The true Shepherd is strong indeed and will see to it that the sheep will be cared for and that they will produce and bring forth the fruit of the spirit to the glory of the Father (Gal 5:22-23). However, Onan revealed cowardice and a selfish spirit and did not honour his father’s request:

Gen 38:9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

This spirit in Onan also reveals how those fleshly shepherds are “measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves” (2Co 10:12). Flesh is selfish and is always looking for its own glory and whatever benefits it can get hold of as quickly as possible. Self-centeredness runs in every fiber of the first Adam, and no one is immune to that. This is the spirit that rules in the false shepherds who live from the sheep instead of caring for the sheep:

Eze 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Eze 34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

Onan was also slain by God as flesh can never please God in terms of the true caring for others (Mat 7:22-23, Rom 8:8):

Gen 38:10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.

Another characteristic of a true shepherd is revealed through Judah’s third son, whom he called Shelah, which means “to make a request or petition.” True shepherds always look for green pastures for their sheep. Spiritually this also links to being meek and humble in making petitions on behalf of our brethren in Christ with words of encouragement and deeds of compassion (Psa 23:1-2):

Gal 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Gal 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Tamar typifies the church and its elected shepherds who are patient to be rewarded with an offspring (1Co 15:58, Gal 6:9, Jas 5:7-8):

Gen 38:11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

Judah reneged on his promise to Tamar and his duty to look after the welfare of his daughter-in-law, whom we have seen is a type of the church. Judah was more concerned with the preservation of his own physical offspring, which again admonishes God’s true shepherds as to where their compassion and care should be:

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.

Judah’s own wife died afterward, and after his time of mourning, he and his friend Hirah went to Timnath to his sheepshearers there. Again this theme of shepherding is taken to another dimension through the life of Judah:

Gen 38:12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath [Hebrew: “timnâh” from “mânâh” – to count/an assigned portion], he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

True shepherds are more interested in feeding the flock to the glory of God and for the benefit of the Father, as typified in many of the Old Testament types like Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and David (Gen 4:2, Gen 37:2, 1Sa 17:15, 1Pe 5:1-3). Shearing of our flocks, in its negative application, reveals our desire to benefit personally from God’s works in being preoccupied to give ourselves a reward in this life (Gen 31:19, 1Sa 25:1-4, 2Sa 13:23-24, Isa 53:7). The false shepherds are more attracted to the shearing, or fleecing, of the sheep – receiving benefits for themselves (Gen 31:19, 1Sa 25:2-3, 2Sa 13:23-24, Eze 34:1-8). This fleecing and covering ourselves with wool is not allowed in the clothes of God’s true priests who serve the inner court of the temple:

Eze 44:17 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court [of the temple], they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

This fleecing of the sheep of God is also connected to the covering provided by a self-righteous heart and the glorification of self and our own fleshly works, as also seen typified in the life of Job:

Job 31:19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
Job 31:20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep.

We are admonished to recognize that all things are of God, and to Him we bring honor and glory for His covering of righteousness for us (Rom 11:36):

Deu 15:19 All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.

Tamar heard about these activities in the life of Judah, and she removed her own clothing of mourning (that is when we stop to die to self), and wanted to get what is rightfully hers as was promised by Judah:

Gen 38:13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
Gen 38:14 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

Tamar is indeed a type of the church, and here she shows the road we all must travel, even playing our part in the veiled harlot church which we cannot recognize as such when we are in that state of delusion, as seen here through Judah’s inability to recognize Tamar. Tamar in her blinded state sexually seduced her own father-in-law to enable her to be impregnated by his seed.

Gen 38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.

Judah in this context also represents the false shepherds in that harlot church who are veiled from the truth:

Gen 38:16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
Gen 38:17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?

Judah’s payment for this was a kid from his flock which he pledged with his signet, bracelets and staff which he gave to this veiled woman who was also unknown to him at this stage:

Gen 38:18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff [Hebrew: “maṭṭeh”/“maṭṭâh”] that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
Gen 38:19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

Two of these symbols, the signet and the staff, point to election, strength and rulership in the scriptures (Isa 14:5, Exo 7:12, Num 17:2):

Hag 2:23 KJV In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

Psa 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod [Hebrew: “maṭṭeh”/“maṭṭâh”] of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

The bracelets connect to divine authority and leadership as the same Hebrew word is also translated as the blue laces which were to be found in the attire of the high priest in the physical temple (Exo 28:28, Exo 28:37, Exo 39:3). Judah’s leadership role among his brothers, typified by these three symbols as seen in the scriptures, was transferred in this sense to Tamar and the offspring that would be conceived through this act (Gen 37:26, Gen 43:8-10, Gen 44:14-34, Gen 46:28). When Judah wanted to fulfill this pledge to this harlot, she was nowhere to be found:

Gen 38:20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.
Gen 38:21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

Afterward the veiled lady was revealed to Judah as Tamar, his own daughter-in-law, to the shame of Judah.

Gen 38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

The false shepherds in Babylon are very zealous, but not according to knowledge because they cannot even see that they are intimately involved in spiritual harlotry (Rom 10:2). The false shepherds want sinners to burn forever in the literal hellfire because they have no love in their hearts, but when we see that we are that harlot church, the focus shifts inside. We all are ashamed of our deeds and words spoken in spiritual Babylon when this harlot is revealed to us (Rev 18:1-24):

Gen 38:25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
Gen 38:26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

God always uses evil for good, and twins were born to Judah through Tamar:

Gen 38:27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
Gen 38:28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.
Gen 38:29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.
Gen 38:30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

The concept of a twin here all points to Christ, and it shows that Christ is both the first and the last (Rev 1:8, Rev 1:11). Pharez (or Phares) was a forefather of the fleshly Christ whom we meet first (Mat 1:3, Luk 3:33). The name of the twin brother of Pharez was Zarah, and it means “rising” or “east”, even as our spiritual Sun rises in the east “afterward” with spiritual healing for all (Mal 4:2, Rev 22:16).

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.

Zarah showed his hand first which points to the spiritual Christ which was first with the Father, but appeared to us as the second born (Col 1:15-17, Rev 3:14):

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

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

Numbers in Scripture
Who Spiritually is Tamar?
Awesome Hands Part 27 – Twins Were in Her Womb
Awesome Hands Part 28 – He Thought Her a Harlot
God’s Four Sore Judgments – Part 3, Famine-A
Colors in Scripture – Red, Part 2
Numbers in Scripture – Three, The Process of Spiritual Completion