[Study Aired April 27, 2024]

In this, the third book and study in Hosea, the Lord is reviewing the marriage template. He commanded Hosea to take a known harlot to be his wife to precisely mirror Christ’s wife reflecting Israel’s whorish behaviour to him and her coming chastisement and ultimate redemption.

The remaining eleven chapters detail our Lord’s indictments of Israel, beginning with accusations, judgment, her unrepentance and its consequences, her punishment, His love through chastisement, and His bringing to the minds of Israel and Judah His loving intentions since their conception for a brilliant future. In the meantime, Israel pushes to the back of their minds the many prophets’ consistency in speaking of the same impending doom of exile.

Israel’s entire saga from Egypt to exile was preordained before creation, overwhelmingly primarily for the Elect of God, His Bride, and not her 1,000 sisters remaining in Babylon (the world). The incredible violence Israel inflicted on her neighbours, both ordained by God and upon her own idols of her heart as her neighbors chastised her, is the precise pattern the Elect of God today have spiritually experienced and are now spiritually fleeing Babylon, to which they were exiled over 2,500 years ago.

All of Deuteronomy 28 details God’s warning against Israel for the unwitting inevitability of them not keeping the commandments of God with incredibly sore trials, and it is well worth a review. Since that chapter is 68 verses long, it is left up to the student of Christ to do his own review. However, the last five verses of Deuteronomy 28 for this study in Hosea portray Israel’s looming exile and slavery. Unforeseen by her, imminent slavery will be a harrowing affair until they settle down in Babylon and fully engage the idol of their heart to deem Babylon infinitely richer than the Promised Land they left!

Following is what was prophesied to happen if they failed to keep their espoused dues, and is now about to become reality.

Deu 28:64  And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. 
Deu 28:65  And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
Deu 28:66  And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 
Deu 28:67  In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 
Deu 28:68  And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Israel being sold into Egypt is a metaphor for Babylon, the world, which represents Egypt, Sodom, Syria, and Old Jerusalem as one. Since Egypt represents the world, it is the kingdom of the old man of carnally-minded people – we originally are symbolised as Egypt. We first get enslaved to Egypt, and after a long process of rebellion, we end up enslaved happily in Babylon, where the food and lifestyle are unsurpassed, and we believe the delusion that we are saved. The burden of the Egyptians is bondage from which the spirit of Christ will set His Bride free today; her day of judgment.

Verse 67 covertly states that His Elect, languishing in Babylon, yearns to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls. Hence, the time frame seems tediously slow since “In the morning you shall say, Oh, that it were evening! And at evening you shall say, Oh, that it was morning, for the fear of your heart with which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you [the Elect only] shall see.” 

In Hosea chapter 3, he very briefly summarizes what the Lord has commanded him to do regarding marrying a known whore and what will result from that marriage. Our Lord always has a stupendous and glorious outcome for our obedience to His commands.

Hosea Redeems, His Wife

Hos 3:1  Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
Hos 3:2  So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 
Hos 3:3  And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 
Hos 3:4  For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 
Hos 3:5  Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. 

Returning to verse one:

Hos 3:1  Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 

A wife “beloved of her friend” H7453 denotes (1. friend, companion, fellow, another person a. friend, intimate b. fellow, fellow citizen, another person (weaker sense). From H7462 – 1. to pasture, tend, graze, feed a. (Qal) 1. to tend, pasture 1a b. to shepherd 1a c. of ruler, teacher), and is clearly identified as previous adulterous connections with many paramours and the inevitability of ‘loving’ her immersion in flagons of doctrinal lies.

Gomer is “beloved of friend, yet an adulteress,” which suggests that she is well-liked by the community and no doubt quite lovely to look upon, but “yet an adulteress.” That description speaks volumes to the Elect of God and depicts their sorrowful, unwitting state while in Babylon’s churches, spiritually flirting lewdly as a two-fold child of hell (Mat 23:15) for every man and woman’s salacious attention.

Isa 3:16  Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 

Isa 3:17  Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.

The Gomer within us is “according to the love of the Lord towards the children of Israel” and our former sexual (spiritual) lustful search for the flagons and intoxication of unwitting doctrinal lies. Our Lord’s love for us is to initially send us into Babylon to drink the fullness of her vile cup until we fall and indifferently display our secret parts and spew her brew.

Because of every conceivable sin against Christ’s commands, and for this cause, particularly whoredoms and every other sexual abomination sullying marriage, the Lord says,

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

Hos 3:2  So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 

Notice Hosea ‘buys’ Gomer in that he “bought her”, the hire of a whore, for fifteen pieces of silver. The “another Jesus” (2Co 11:4) we served in Babylon we hired for half the price of Judas’s pay for betraying Christ for 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and officers of the temple guard. The number 10 denotes Gomer’s completeness of corruptible flesh, and 5 for the coming faithfulness of ‘the Christ’ to bring us into a full marital relationship with Him, our Husband. The number 15 can also be viewed as 3×5, equalling the spiritual progression of the Bride of Christ from her filth and chastisement for grace through faith, represented by silver’s symbolised redemptive process. 

Silver, from H3700, means to 1. to long for, yearn for, long after a. (Qal) to long for b. (Niphal) 1. to long for (deeply) 2. being longed for ~ and this perfectly fits Hosea’s speaking “comfortably” through his ‘allurements’ to Gomer in his pleading, typifying our Lord’s same pleading for us to be faithful to his espousals.

A one-and-a-half “homer [H2563] of barley” represents Christ (Definition: 1. cement, mortar, clay a. mortar, cement b. clay c. mire) and symbolises the mire of our powerful ‘glue’ (cement; mortar) that unwaveringly espouses us to him having taken us out of the “mire” of our Babylonish whoredoms to be one in him, the “barley” and first of the first fruits as a wave sheaf (Lev 23:9-14). One-and-a-half is precisely half the number of Christ’s three years of ministry that we mirror in our progressive learning not to play the harlot.

Hos 3:3  And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.
Hos 3:4  For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod [Priestly garment], and without teraphim [Idols]: 

In fact, the children of Israel have lived without a king ever since they went into exile, and to this very day, for the entirety of that time, His Bride alone knows Him as her King of kings and High Priest.

England’s royalty is a God-given utter sham with absolutely no connection to Christ, even though they implicitly state otherwise that they are the direct descendants of King David and thus an up lineage to Christ. They believe it to the point of having a large stone, called “The Stone of Destiny” or the “Stone of Scone” (Google it), deludedly the very one Jacob dreamed his Genesis 28:10-22 dream upon and set beneath the ancient coronation seat where all her kings and queens are crowned.  The Stone of Destiny

The fabled stone must have taken Jacob some time to chisel into shape such an unlikely singular ‘pillow.’ Equally preposterous is the accompanying story about the prophet Jeremiah escorting Zedekiah’s daughter to England in an effort to substantiate the connection of Britain’s royalty with King David:

“Some of the earliest Danite settlements in the Isles were in Ireland. As these colonies became more developed, ruling clans of Danite kings arose. Eventually, however, these kings were superseded in Ireland by a Milesian line of kings made up of royalty from the Jewish line of Zarah (I Chron. 2:4, 6). As will be brought out below, this royal line developed when Danite and Judah-Zarahite refugees settled parts of ancient Greece prior to Israel’s enslavement while in Egypt. This Milesian line eventually made its way to Ireland. Jeremiah’s mission was to join the Davidic throne to the “Irish” throne through the marriage of Tephi, Zedekiah’s daughter, to an heir of the Milesian line—a prince named Eochaidh. This is how Jeremiah was to plant a “tender one” in what would eventually become a “high mountain”—the Israelite birthright kingdom of Great Britain.” [End quote] 

From –   The Prophet Jeremiah’s Mysterious Royal Commission

It all is part of the immensely grand and strong delusion and foundation of British-Israelism and Zionism to similarly “cement” Judeo-Christianity in whoredom with her 40,000 + splinter sects to sustain monetary and government hegemony for world domination. The entire swindle is, at this moment, seemingly in the process of utter decay as the Beast in Revelation 17:1-18 turns upon the multinational conglomerate.

Gen 28:11  And he [Jacob] lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 

Notice that Jacob took an unknown number of stones (Plural) for his “pillows”, which he probably covered with material or hides. This suggests he used them to support his body from the unyielding earth. These stones were not a singular great block, as seen beneath England’s coronation throne! 

It appears that the stratagem of the early British monarchy to hold the empire together typically involved the lockstep of church and state, and no better foundation is there than God’s word. So, some enterprising monarchists hit upon the substantiating brilliance of including Jeremiah 33:14-26 to ratify the Empire. Please read it all for yourself, yet I will only include the following verses.

Jer 33:17  For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel [For the monarchists’ identity, Britain]; 
Jer 33:18  Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. 

Regarding verse 18, Britain never offered burnt offerings continually and neither did Israel after they went into exile dispersed among the nations.

Hos 3:5  Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. 

The children of Israel did figuratively return to Old Jerusalem by never leaving Babylon and continuing to eat their own bread and drink their own water unwittingly as the Great Whore of Revelation. Its correct spiritual parallel means the remnant, a small flock of the Lord’s Elect, are the ones who return to seek their Christ, their God and are represented as King David in these very “latter days” today, since the cross. Our Lord abides in His Elect, His Temple in this age to perform His good word spiritually within.

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

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.
Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 
Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 
Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 
Jer 29:14  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 
Jer 29:15  Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 

May our Lord continue to bless his raised-up prophets in Babylon today and keep all his commandments.

[Study Aired 8, April 2023]

In the previous Study, Part 7, the Priests carrying the Ark, together with the company of armed men and a representation of the Camp, encompassed Jericho once daily for six days. Their daily procession ended with them remarkably compassing the city on the seventh day seven times. 

We must remember that ‘young’ Israel is specifically being set up as a carnal model for the Elect of God to learn His plan of redemption for the First Resurrection. The Bride of Christ learns through the burden of Israel’s physical applications, emphasising for us the incredible brightness of Christ by their comparatively mild spiritual demands.

Mat 11:28 Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls.
Mat 11:30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

Moses instituted the seventh day Sabbath, as written on the stone tablets, before Israel entered the Promised Land. For six days, the Israelites worked by marching around Jericho as the Lord commanded, carrying the Ark and blowing the seven ram’s horns. Enthusiastic Israel purposefully, as best as flesh could, attempted to keep all the Lord’s commands as He instructed. Typically for the flesh, the “accursed thing” was soon found endemic within.

Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

God has allotted mankind six thousand years to toil by the sweat of his brow, as noted by Israel marching around Jericho six times. In that time, we are embroiled in the ways of Babylon, getting married, doing business, and having children, always holding the Lord’s name in vain.

At Christ’s death on the sixth day, a major part of His work in the flesh for mankind was done. The Apostles and other faithful who worked with Christ while He was alive had begun overlapping their spiritual learning from what Law-encrusted Israel demonstrated in the flesh. The seventh day is the Lord’s Sabbath, on which He arose (sometime towards its end), introducing the future first resurrection when He demonstrates His power through His Elect ruling with His rod of iron in the one-thousand year reign.

The fall of Jericho for the Christs today corresponds with us having gradually been given power over our enemies within for a symbolic six thousand years culminating in the Sabbath that spiritually is Christ and Him coming in the first resurrection for our literal seventh-day rest in him.

God’s perfect love is demonstrated by Him creating man out of the dust of the ground in the form of decaying flesh. A colossal part of that love is His choosing His Elect to come out of the world, called Egypt, Assyria, Mt. Sinai (Old Jerusalem) and Babylon, to suffer trials and become as He is. Their embodiment as the Elect is hidden in the Priests of Israel carrying the Ark that represents Christ.

The tumultuous applause by all of Israel for Joshua’s powerful headship is typical of us when we have a series of wins over the flesh; we feel good about ourselves even if we praise the Lord for His work within. Classically, we immediately return to the ways of the flesh, as does Israel, and for our benefit, gloriously portrayed by Achan.

Jos 7:1 But the sons of Israel committed a sin in the cursed thing. For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the thing which was cursed. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the sons of Israel. 
Jos 7:2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Bethel. And he spoke to them, saying, Go up and look over the country. And the men went up and spied out Ai. 
Jos 7:3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, Let not all the people go up. But let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Do not make all the people labor there, for they are few. 
Jos 7:4 And about three thousand men of the people went up there. And they fled before the men of Ai. 
Jos 7:5 And the men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them, for they chased them from before the gate to Shebarim, and struck them in the road going down. Therefore the hearts of the people melted and became as water. 
Jos 7:6 And Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of Jehovah until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust on their heads. 
Jos 7:7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, why have You at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? And, oh that we had been content and lived on the other side Jordan! 
Jos 7:8 O, Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns their backs before their enemies? 
Jos 7:9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear, and shall surround us, and shall cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name? 

———-

Jos 7:1 But the sons of Israel committed a sin in the cursed thing. For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the thing which was cursed. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the sons of Israel.

We learned in Part 7 that an “accursed thing” is something the Lord has specifically detailed as unclean and fit for utter destruction, regardless of how trifling we might think the cursed thing.

The man Achan and his sin is the prime theme of Joshua 7. It is beneficial for us to spiritually understand his sin to better understand some of the events leading up to his scandal in verse 21 to juxtapose the preceding verses.

Jos 7:21 When I [Achan] saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

We must remember that the hapless soul, Achan, and his sins were written in his book for the Elect’s sake before the foundation of the Earth. His mother and father undoubtedly loved the exasperating little guy they named Achan, whose name means H5912 – ‘troubler’; a heap of ruins; to bend, twist, to be perverted, iniquity’, and probably tried hard to raise him to fear the Lord. He is us, on many occasions, spiritually taking an “accursed thing” and thinking it insignificant.

The Lord specifically told Israel in Joshua 6:18, before taking Jericho, to utterly destroy everything in the city, including men, women and children; to not keep any spoil whatsoever, and in Joshua 6:19 to only take for Israel’s treasury the silver, gold and vessels of brass and iron as not deemed “accursed”. Israel, full of bravado at having effortlessly defeated Jericho, thought the Ammonite city of Ai (ah-‘ee – ‘heap of ruins’) would likewise be a pushover. 

The Body of Christ is well-versed in the spiritual meaning of a “goodly Babylonish garment”. The city of Babylon was located in Shinar, of the Chaldeans, on the banks of the Euphrates River, where many years later, the northern tribes of Israel were taken captive to eventually spread throughout the world. Life in Babylon was an eye-opener and vast contrast to keeping the Lord’s commandments and was designed to titillate every sensory delight for its richness. Babylon’s opulence preceded Israel’s imagination of what their Lord could provide in their Promised Land of milk and honey; a “goodly Babylonish garment” was a strikingly rich sample.

Surely it is a “trifling” thing to save such a splendid garment from destruction? Achan’s ‘troubles’ are our troubles when the three foundations of sin are breached, primarily the first two leading to the third, the capstone of all three.

1Jn 2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, 
1Jn 2:16 because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever.

As were hundreds of thousands of people in Israel’s time, even millions of people in our time, they were appointed by God as examples of us, for us. Achan was one such “ensample”.

1Co 10:6 And these things were our examples, that we should not be lusters after evil, as they also lusted.
1Co 10:7 Nor should we be idolaters [worshiper of false gods], even as some of them, as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” [… and upon the Lord destroying Jericho, the Israelites unconsciously felt that her destruction was a result of their eminence of power given them by the Lord ~ they felt indestructible by their pride of life and got up to celebrate ‘their power’]
1Co 10:8 Nor let us commit fornication, as some of them fornicated, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. 
1Co 10:9 Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted Him and were destroyed by serpents. 
1Co 10:10 Nor murmur as some of them also murmured and were destroyed by the destroyer. 
1Co 10:11 And all these things happened to them as examples; and it is written for our warning on whom the ends of the world have come [a warning to the Elect of God].
1Co 10:12 So let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 
1Co 10:13 No temptation has taken you but what is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation also will make a way to escape, so that you may be able to bear it. 
1Co 10:14 Therefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our [The Elect of God’s] learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

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 [Elect of God today] desire to look into.

There is nothing wrong with wearing splendid clothing; it is the ruling desire for the item when it is beyond our financial means, social standing, or some other God-deemed non-necessity. Who knows where Achan thought he could sport such grandeur in Israel’s Camp without all eyes agog. 

So Achan hid the beautiful garment in the earth beneath his tent, a metaphor for suppressing our lust for the pride of life in the filth of dust we are when instead, we are to learn to wear our Lord’s clean white linen representing His righteousness.

Eze 33:13 When I shall say to the righteous that he shall surely live; if he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he has committed, he shall die for it. 
Eze 33:14 Again, when I say to the wicked, You shall surely die; if he turns from his sin and does justice and right; 
Eze 33:15 if the wicked gives back the pledge, gives again what he had robbed, walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, then he shall surely live; he shall not die.

Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 

Eph 5:5 For you know this, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous one (who is an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars [accursed things], will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. 

In Jos 7:1, Achan’s lineage had him squarely related to none other than Esau (Zerah – H2226), the one hated before he was born. Once again, Achan, Esau and we do not have a say in how the Lord designs the ‘pot’ that we are (Jeremiah 18). 

Rom 9:12 it was said to her, “The elder shall serve the younger.”
Rom 9:13 As it is written, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” 

Gen 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder [Esau] shall serve the younger [Jacob before they were born].

Achan’s sad account continues; … [he also took] “two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.” 

The two hundred shekels of silver are a witness against Achan’s lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes is consolidated by his pride in hiding the entire treasure trove in his flesh beneath the temporary dwelling he represents by his tent (or tabernacle). The number 10 is the same metaphor for 100, or 1,000 and relates to the completeness of the flesh, the power of corruptible dying flesh, and the completeness or fullness of a thing multiplied by the witness of 2 ~ just as the Ten Commandments being smashed the first time resulted in a second set that condemns sinful flesh for the ultimate path to purity and redemption in Christ by his word represented as silver.

Both silver and gold are the Lord’s, and we steal them anytime we speak above what is written, thus claiming our righteousness (Hag 2:8-10; Eze 16:17).

We shall step back to see how Achan’s narrative pans out.

Jos 7:2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai [a heap of ruins], which is beside Beth-aven [a reasonably significant location where Ephriam worshipped; much the same as Bethel], on the east side of Bethel. And he spoke to them, saying, Go up and look over the country. And the men went up and spied out Ai.

Just as the Elect of God are rightfully and secretly spying out their inheritance, which is Christ by his direct guidance, Israel preceded us physically as a type of us by them spying on Jericho and Ai, part of their inheritance of the Promised Land. Of course, Babylonian Christians place no value on what the Lord is doing within His Body and laugh in derision at the absurdity. We feel a wry joy when our enemies speak evil of us, as their contempt more likely affirms the righteous path we are given to tread.

Luk 6:24 But woe to you who are rich! [rich in imagined spiritual discernment] For you have received your consolation. 
Luk 6:25 Woe to you who are full! For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now! For you shall mourn and weep. 
Luk 6:26 Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you! For so their fathers did to the false prophets. 

Jos 7:3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, Let not all the people go up. But let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Do not make all the people labor there, for they are few. 

Israel is pretty confident about what the Lord has done for them by the accounts of their dead fathers all the way from Egypt, and now the miraculous crossing of the Jordan, the dramatic destruction of Jericho, and boldly now, the expectation, “Wow, what will the Lord do for us with this pushover pagan town?”  They were correct with their faith but for one God-given, incredibly accursed performance by one of their members, Achan.

For righteous Israel or Christs, the Lord is all we need in taking Ai with only a representation of two or three thousand men of the nation to glorify the Lord. For our learning, David fighting Goliath is one example, and the classic of Gideon’s more than thirty-two thousand fighting men stripped down to three hundred men is synonymous with Israel’s now three thousand men, two other examples.

Israel was confident that no soul belonging to the Lord would be slain, let alone frightened ~ and so can we. We look behind us to all these “ensamples” and parallel our forebearers’ wickedness similarly with ours for our learning, filling up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ.

Psa 91:5 You shall not fear the terror by night; nor because of the arrow that flies by day; 
Psa 91:6 nor for the plague that walks in darkness, of the destruction laying waste at noonday. 
Psa 91:7 A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; it shall not come near you.
Psa 91:8 Only with your eyes you shall look and see the reward of the wicked.
Psa 91:9 Because You, O Jehovah, are My refuge; if You have made the Most High Your dwelling-place, 

Jos 7:4 And about three thousand [Israelite] men of the people went up there. And they fled before the men of Ai.

The lesson here is that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts while searching our hearts daily with a good conscience, knowing that we haven’t submitted to a “trifling” innocuous sin.

Israel’s fate is unwittingly sealed before they march on Ai, particularly by the number 3, representing the progression of judgment and 2 for witness. The small town (“few”) chased Israel’s unspecified count of two to three thousand valiant armed men away. The difference of one thousand men is one-third of the whole. Such was Israel’s utter faith in the Lord’s power going before them since it didn’t matter to them if two, maybe three thousand, nonchalantly give or take a thousand (‘who cares’) went up to fight.

Knowing the end of the fight from the beginning, we see the Lord’s mercy in permitting only “about thirty-six” men sacrificed for Achan’s sin. The Lord was just as “froward” to Israel as they were to him.

Psa 18:20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

That is precisely what the Lord did to Israel and to us anytime we think the “accursed thing” is of no consequence. Thirty-six men died, and two to three thousand courageous men were humiliated because lust ruled in one man’s heart only.

Psa 18:21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 
Psa 18:22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. 
Psa 18:23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

In those preceding verses lies our conscience that stands or falls before God.

Psa 18:24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. 

… and that is exactly how He treated the mighty army of Israel before the pip-squeak town of Ai; He judged Israel according to their righteousness.

Psa 18:25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
Psa 18:26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. 
Psa 18:27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. 

It humiliates the elect of God anytime his arrogance is called out. To boot, every member of the Body has been in that place of shame and hedges the debased one in love. We learn to cheerfully accept humiliation in gladness since one more impurity is hopefully being burnt out of our conscience.

Jos 7:5 And the men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them, for they chased them from before the gate to Shebarim [H7671 – the breaches; breaking, fracture, scattered], and struck them in the road going down. Therefore the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
Jos 7:6 And Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of Jehovah until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust on their heads.
Jos 7:7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, why have You at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? And, oh that we had been content and lived on the other side Jordan!
Jos 7:8 O, Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns their backs before their enemies? 
Jos 7:9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear, and shall surround us, and shall cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name? 

The intense humiliation of Joshua and his ‘dauntless’ army was a classic example of our proud flesh being a two-fold child of hell (Mat 23:15) determined to live and preach the word of God in unwitting self-righteousness. When we become puffed up, thinking that we have arrived with the fullness of the Lord’s understanding and get struck down like Saul (who became Paul) on the road to Damascus, our hearts melt and become like water. In our spiritual infancy, we weep and wail in humiliation as we pray ceaselessly while staunchly claiming our righteousness in utter bewilderment for the Lord’s apparent departure. The near-parallel of our blindness is graphically portrayed by Job in chapter 27.

We try to shame the Lord for the supposed goodness of His heart when all the while, the problem lies squarely in our hearts. While in our spiritual immaturity, and as many have done, we may contemplate as Joshua and Israel did, ‘spitting the dummy’ [as a toddler spitting out the pacifier] by severely questioning the Lord’s intent. Of course, we know that the Achan within pricks our conscience because it is the Lord Himself who, through Satan, gives us the sore trial as He did Job.

Mat 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with my own? Is your eye evil because I am good? 
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last, for many are called, but few are chosen. 

As we learn to be grateful in the fire, the painful lessons become more easily dealt with by the Lord exercising our faith. With AI technology (8-dimensional Artificial Intelligence, not the city Ai) booming, no doubt the enemies of the Christ and His Christs will use lying AI videos to greatly embellish our public sins to condemn us, depicting far more despicable acts than the reality (Rev 22:15). As the outward Great Whore ramps up her persecution of the Saints with the abusive use of AI, we, suffering humiliation by our sins among our brothers’ and sisters’ gentle goodness, is far preferable and an immensely valuable lesson for us learning to cope with the future garnished sins. 

Joh 15:18 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

2Sa 24:14 And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Let us fall now into the hand of Jehovah, for His mercies are great. And do not let me fall into the hand of man. 

Luk 21:10 And He said to them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 
Luk 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in different places, and famines and plagues. And there shall be terrors and great signs from Heaven. 
Luk 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.
Luk 21:13 And it shall return to you for a testimony. 
Luk 21:14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand what you shall answer. 
Luk 21:15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

Earlier, I described the upcoming sin of Achan as “glorious”. The Elect of God’s discretion under Christ in the resurrection to judgment will be given the glorious task of no doubt fewer stripes for Achan and his family since the physical judgment was harrowing for the viewers, participants and particularly Achan and his family. Achan will see, as we do today, that all things are for your sake so that the superabounding grace might be made to abound through the thanksgiving of the greater number, to the glory of God (2Co 4:15). 

Achan and his family will bow before the Lord and His Christs upon being refined in the fiery judgment and, like the entirety of humanity, give God the glory for His wondrous works in every soul’s excruciating birth of the spiritual man.

Lord willing, next week, we shall study in detail how Achan’s sin relates to the relatively light pain of our ‘first fruits’ birthing.

The Book of Joshua – Part 4, Jos 4:1-24 Israel Crosses the Jordan

[Study Aired March 11, 2023]

Concluding the last study, the Priests who represent the Elect of God were the first to touch the word of God with their feet in the Jordan River of His word. It was a momentous event in Israel and, ultimately, for the world.

Today, the spiritual Priests of God already had their feet in the spiritual Jordan upon Christ’s death. They, as the Lord’s Elect, have been routing their land of their enemies for two thousand years.

The entire nation of Israel, including the mixed multitude representing everyone’s eventual salvation in their own order, entered the physical Promised Land. Following everyone’s safe exit from the Jordan, the heaped-up water turbulently cascaded the dead works of Israel’s slothfulness from Egypt to Shittim into the Sea of Salt, through the land where their forebearers, Sodom and Gomorrah, were consumed in a physical lake of fire.

Jos 4:1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 
Jos 4:2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 
Jos 4:3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 
Jos 4:4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 
Jos 4:5  And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the Ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 
Jos 4:6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 
Jos 4:7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 
Jos 4:8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 
Jos 4:9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the Ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day. 
Jos 4:10 For the priests which bare the Ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. 
Jos 4:11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the Ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. 
Jos 4:12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: 
Jos 4:13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. 
Jos 4:14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. 
Jos 4:15 And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 
Jos 4:16 Command the priests that bear the Ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 
Jos 4:17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. 
Jos 4:18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the Ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. 
Jos 4:19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. 
Jos 4:20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 
Jos 4:21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 
Jos 4:22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 
Jos 4:23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: 
Jos 4:24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. 

Jos 4:1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 

Notice that the spirit deemed it necessary to state that Israel “cleaned passed over the Jordan” since it effectively means that the entire world of humanity will ultimately be saved (1Co 15:32). All of Israel, including the mixed multitude, went into the Promised Land, just as the entire world will go into the purifying nature of the Lake of Fire.

Jos 4:2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 
Jos 4:3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 

The twelve tribes of Israel represent the foundations (12 = foundation, which is Christ) of our Lord’s first wife, whose foundations are unwittingly being set up to be rejected for her coming God-given whoredoms. At a much later date, she is the field into which the coming harvest of first fruits will be dragged to go before the main harvest of souls, the entirety of Israel and humanity numbered as the sand of the sea. The Lord lays the foundation for His anointed rejected wife and His anointed elected wife. The latter lively stones of the foundation are spiritually cut out of Christ’s body by His hands, just as Eve was physically taken out of Adam’s body (Gen 2:23, 1Co 11:8-9).

1Co 3:9 For of God we are fellow-workers, a field of God, and you are a building of God.
1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let every man be careful how he builds on it.
1Co 3:11 For any other foundation can no one lay than the one being laid, who is Jesus Christ.

1Co 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

The Body of Christ is the priests bearing Christ, our Babylonian brothers and sisters having collected 12 stones from around our feet, representing the eternal foundation of Christ, and Him the chief cornerstone. The spirit of God eventually dwells in every seed of man conceived, represented by all twelve stones and testifying that all will be made alive in Christ.

There appears to be an unaccounted loss of time from when the stones are elected from around the feet of the Priest and taken to where Israel lodged and their unaccounted-for being returned to be erected in the “midst” of the Jordan. The stones are evidently left unstructured where the Israelites lodged for an unspecified time. All this time, the spring water from the Jordan must have been heaping up into a mighty dam, perhaps kilometres wide, since in verse 9, “Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.”

Jos 4:4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 
Jos 4:5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the Ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 
Jos 4:6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?

The twelve physical tribes of the nation of Israel shouldered in the figurative heat of the day the “natural that [would eventually] point to the spiritual”, symbolised by the memorial of the twelve stones. The people of Israel were to be the model and sign to the rest of the world as an example of how to submit to the Lord physically, that by His design, graphically show the world the consequences of how futile it is to build one’s Temple within without the Lord’s spirit. Of course, the spiritual meaning of the stones also represents that salvation is the burden of the remnant spiritual Jews, carried upon their shoulders by the power and might of Christ.

Isa 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse [King David to Christ], which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek [eventually the entire world]: and his rest shall be glorious.
Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
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.
Isa 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. [Because the spiritual Jews will rule]
Isa 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Isa 11:15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. 

The entire world’s religious systems shall be smitten, as was the Jordan, to make way for the Bride of Christ to rule with Him in the one-thousand year reign with the rod of iron, and then peacefully forever.

Isa 11:16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Christ’s Christs are the final Temple of God dragged from every nation and built upon Him, the heavenly Jerusalem above. How? Before Christ, the physical nation of Israel was depicted as Jews since the Priesthood was from the physical tribe of Judah and Levi, which we know could never bring salvation. Nonetheless, the entire twelve tribes were Christ’s first wife and were holy for that age, even though the memory of Korah’s rebellion and, later, Uzzah would be a painful reminder that only the Priests could ‘touch’ the Ark.

Joh 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. 

Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well:

Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 

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 [living spiritually] is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent my angel [His Bride, the Body of Christ] to testify these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

From those examples, we see that the twelve stones are the foundational memorial of physical Israel’s glory, pointing to the yet unseen spiritual glory of the immovable memorial, Christ.

Jos 4:7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 

Maybe for several hundred years, Israel’s children enquired about the physical twelve stones erected amid the Jordan. While they were taken out of the Jordan, they apparently were returned and constructed amid the Jordan. That action breaks all the laws of physics since when the massive pile of water resumes thunderously on its way to the Salt Sea (Dead Sea), the erected memorial, but for a miracle, would have been washed hundreds of metres, if not kilometres, downstream and destroyed.

The river Jordan represents the world of humanity, particularly Babylonian Christianity, with its false doctrines and whoredoms, whose waters have no strength against Israel’s God. That mighty flood of falsehoods could never sweep away the puny twelve stones piled amid the Jordan as it rushed down past the infamous cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah. Neither could it “cut off” the word of God before the resurrection or destroy the living water of the word of God in the latter days even while held unrighteously in blindness by the same woman from Mount Sinai.

Jos 4:7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 

The meaning of “for ever” is a foundational doctrine in the Body of Christ, knowing that ‘forever’ either means age-lasting or literally eternally lasting. The maturing Christ will know that these physical stones have not lasted “forever”, yet they signify Christ as lasting eternally.

Rev 12:14 And to the woman [Babylonian Christianity] were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The new nation of Israel in the flesh was the precursor memorial that points to the spiritual holy remnant, Christ’s wife, with everything in scripture being done for her and through her in Christ. Together, they are the “memorial” “forever” that eventually brings the world to salvation.

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 Bride of Christ is the twelve stones that remain a memorial to this day, and forever. For the moment, the Dragon continuously makes war as a flood until the First Resurrection when Christ and his Christs cut off the flood of lies.

Jos 4:8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 

Israel passed over the Jordan and laid the stones down where they camped; yet, scripture doesn’t account for the apparent returning of the stones to the midst of the Jordan where the feet of the priests who bore the Ark stood. Therefore, the water was held back for an unspecified time, making quite a “heap” of dammed water. No spring flood of lies can wash away the word of God.

Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

Jos 4:9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.(KJV)
Jos 4:10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until the people had completed everything the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell them, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried across, (BSB)

The theme that the physical precedes the spiritual is a massive spiritual truth, and its presence continues to etch our spiritual minds with the above three verses.

The feet of the Bride of Christ have touched the mountain of the Lord, and Him the Ark and the Covenant with Him as they are being saved “unto this day”.

“Everything” is being finished as the Lord commanded us as we are passing over our Jordan heaped up to our right. The Elect of God bears Christ through the one-thousand years until all Gog and Magog hurry across through the consuming fire into the Lake of Fire.

Jos 4:11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. 
Jos 4:12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: 
Jos 4:13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho. 

As seen, the corresponding ‘passing over’ from the one thousand years and the death of all flesh is with the Priests in the presence of the people into the Lake of Fire.

The tribe of Reuben, who is the eldest son of Jacob by Leah, and Gad, the seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, and Manasseh is the eldest son of Joseph. Reuben and Gad represent the entirety of Israel in becoming the rejected wife from Mt Sinai, while Manasseh, even though full of harlotry, represents the Elect of God, who eventually comes out of Egypt, Sodom, and Assyria, representing collective Babylon.

The Lord, depicted as Moses, addressed His little Church to be ready for war, whereby the sword would never depart our flesh for the whole (number 4) of our time before the First Resurrection. Remember that Jericho means “moon”, and the plains of Jericho will represent the lies of the ‘moon’, the Great Whore of Babylonian Christianity, whom we learn to rightly divide by the sword of truth.

Jos 4:14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. 
Jos 4:15 And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 
Jos 4:16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 
Jos 4:17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. 
Jos 4:18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. 

Unlike Israel’s physical fearing of Joshua and Moses, the Bride of Christ’s fear has matured and has become a delighted fear where they diligently look for the children of lies within all the days of their lives.

It ends with them being the first to “come up out of the Jordan” to receive no more death at the First Resurrection. They have born the Ark in Christ amid tribulations as the world is returned to the deep darkness, depicted as the waters of the Jordan returning to their place, as it did at the Red Sea and Noah’s time, and now the one thousand years.

First, the physical comes before the spiritual, as Israel only begins their wars in the “tenth day of the first month”.

Jos 4:19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. 

The tenth day of the first month represents Passover, and evidently, again, Israel passed over the Jordan.

Exo 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
Exo 12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 
Exo 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

Just as Jericho means “moon”, the month of Abib, or Nisan (H2320 – the new moon; to make anew; rebuild), is the beginning of the new moon that, ironically for us, remains the old moon of the Woman in the wilderness. As we know, the Lord’s Church and His anointed rejected church know He is their Passover, yet, we distinguish that only one holds the truth in righteousness.

Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Eph 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

Jos 4:20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 
Jos 4:21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 
Jos 4:22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 

As we know, Israel was in the process of coming out of a physical “deep” to dry land in light of the Law, only to unwittingly remain in utter darkness until Christ. Even then, the Moon still reigned in her half-light of truth.

Jos 4:23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: 
Jos 4:24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. 

Our sisters and brothers in Babylon will soon become increasingly peeved about His Elect, as did Joseph’s brothers, for his God-given preeminence, since the Elect cheerfully “fear the Lord forever”. However, until the end of the one thousand years, they, like Solomon looking questioningly at the enigma of the Shulamite, will see those who rule over them, yet not entirely “know what mean these stones” until the Resurrection to Judgment, where the rest of humanity will have a forced wait ‘forever’ into that resurrection for His graciousness.

Isa 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
Isa 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
Isa 30:20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
Isa 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

The Book of Joshua – Part 3: Israel Crosses the Jordan – Jos 3:1-17

[Study Aired March 5, 2023]

“The last shall be first, and the first last.”

It is glaringly obvious to the Body of Christ that the ‘natural precedes the spiritual’ when understanding anything in scripture, particularly the physical Promised Land as a shadow of Christ, the Elect’s inheritance.

Since Christ’s death on the cross to this day, and until the First Resurrection, the Elect of God is the last to cross their spiritual Jordan. The rest of immature Babylonian Christianity, and in their minds, jubilantly have already crossed.

Joh 6:44 No man [you, me or anyone else] can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [Greek: helkuō, ‘drag’ against his will] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

It is natural for mainstream Christianity to think it would mirror the Israelites’ mass crossing their figurative Jordan at Christ’s coming and entering eternal life. However, not knowing that the natural precedes the spiritual, nor understanding the spirit, blinds their understanding of the two resurrections.

For the Bride of Christ, we shall see in this study that the Priests bearing the Ark cross last, and represent her.

Jos 3:1 And Joshua rose early in the morning. And they moved from Shittim and came to Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
Jos 3:2 And it happened after three days the officers went through the host.
Jos 3:3 And they commanded the people saying, When you see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then you shall move from your place and go after it.
Jos 3:4 Yet keep a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, so that you may know the way by which you must go. For you have not passed this way before now.
Jos 3:5 And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow Jehovah will do wonders among you.
Jos 3:6 And Joshua spoke to the priests saying, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
Jos 3:7 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Today, I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel so that they may know that I will be with you, as I was with Moses.
Jos 3:8 And you shall command the priests that carry the ark of the covenant, saying, When you have come to the brink of the water of Jordan, you shall stand still in Jordan.
Jos 3:9 And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, Come here and hear the Words of Jehovah your God. 
Jos 3:10 And Joshua said, By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 
Jos 3:11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into Jordan.
Jos 3:12 And now take yourselves twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. 
Jos 3:13 And it shall be, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that carry the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above. And they shall stand all in a heap. 
Jos 3:14 And it happened, when the people moved from their tents to pass over Jordan, and as the priests carried the ark of the covenant before the people, 
Jos 3:15 and as those who bore the ark had come to Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for Jordan overflows all its banks, all the time of harvest); 
Jos 3:16 that the waters which came down from above stopped and rose up all in a heap, very far from the city Adam that is beside Zaretan. And those that came down toward the sea of the plain, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over across from Jericho. 
Jos 3:17 And the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the middle of Jordan. And all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people had passed completely over Jordan. 

——–

Jos 3:1 And Joshua rose early in the morning. And they moved from Shittim and came to Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

Shittim is located east of the Jordan River and approximately 15 miles north of the Dead Sea. The Shittim wood is a particular type of Acacia that must have dominated the area’s landscape to be named, Shittim. The wood of the Ark of the Covenant was made of Shittim wood overlaid with pure gold. The origin of the name Shittim is H7850 and means to ‘scourge; pierce’. If the same Acacia at Shittim is common to most of continental Africa, it is noted for long thorns, among which are the tree leaves that animals, particularly Giraffes, love to forage. 

The type of plant, the thorns that the soldiers plaited for Jesus, is simply referred to as a “briar” and could be any type of thorny shrubbery (Joh 19:2), and one’s Western mindset goes immediately to an easily plaited blackberry-type briar. Yet, that crown of thorns could more likely be a Shittim “briar” from the young flexible branches of the Shittim Acacia, particularly since its name means to scourge and pierce.  Not only that, but the Ark of the Covenant (Exo 25:10) containing the word of God commanded the same scourging and piercing nature.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Body of Christ individually, yet collectively lodged many years in Shittim on the figurative east bank of our Jordan River, unwittingly waiting for the command to pass over. We thought we had arrived in the Promised Land many years ago upon being baptised with water in Gentile Christianity. We never understood that we would have to rise early to fight battles where the piercing sword of our Lord’s word crowning our heads would never leave our house.

Of course, we know that the sword never leaving our spiritual house is a glorious thing which King David wasn’t spiritually given to appreciate. Upon his sin with Bathsheba:

2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Jos 3:2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host [the camp of Israel]; 
Jos 3:3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. 

As we have understood for many years and seen in Part 2 of this study of Joshua, the third (Number 3) is the process of a particular matter. While the Israelites suffered the tribulation of forty years in the wilderness (Number 4 representing the whole of the matter), they were now required to wait three days on the east bank of the Jordan. For the more God-given astute Gentile Christians, adding 4+3=7 signifies their entry into their Promised Land of eternal life, where they erroneously believe, as demonstrated by the Israelites crossing the Jordan, all Christian believers are now saved.

It is the same pattern for the Elect of God today, only with Christ’s spirit within discerning His spirit since we will see an incredible significance that the Priests can only bear the Ark and be last to cross the Jordan.

The Elect of God see that the number 3 signifies the process of spiritual completion through judgment; to them, waiting to cross the Jordan is only the beginning of that process within each member. Having been given eyes that see and ears that hear to discern their Lord’s spirit and becoming perfected on their ”third day” before entering the First Resurrection on the Seventh Day, they are following Christ’s pattern of perfection before He returned to His former glory with the Father.

Luk 13:32 And he said unto them, [the Pharisees] Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. 
Luk 13:33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

The nation of Israel was the growing, yet immature, old earthy Jerusalem being established in the wilderness and remains to this very day as the Great Whore, the Lord’s rejected wife. As such, the prophet Moses didn’t die outside of old Israel, effectively symbolized as a type of Jerusalem (Salem). In perfect parallel, the prophets of Christ, His Christs, die daily inside the same Old Jerusalem as they move into the heavenly Jerusalem being established within. 

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Jos 3:4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits [1 cubit = 18 inches] by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. 

Interestingly, a space exists between Christ’s death and the First Resurrection of approximately two thousand years (two thousand cubits). In parallel, like physical Israel preparing to cross the physical Jordan, a mighty space exists between the anointed rejected wife and the anointed elected Bride of Christ. Only the Bride can know the way they must go since nobody other than the Lord’s Priests can or any person preceding them have ever passed this way since (“heretofore”) Adam.  

Num 4:15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

The origin of the cubit measurement of distance means H517′ mother’. How fitting that the Bride of Christ, who is becoming our Lord’s wife, is the “mother of us all”, and nobody may come near her understanding of the Lord’s spirit. Yet for the moment, on the banks of the Jordan, the two women within the one woman, greater Israel, are oblivious to her inherent bondage, even while ecstatic at the prospect of possessing the physical Promised Land.

Gal 4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 
Gal 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 
Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 
Gal 4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 
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.

Jos 3:5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

As we are accustomed to knowing, sanctifying ourselves means setting ourselves apart from our ways and devoting ourselves to the Lord for any occasion, and for this cause, the coming battle against Jericho. Today, the Bride has mighty spiritual strength by His faith for us to win our daily battles (1Sa 17:47, 1Jn 1:9, 1Pe 5:6-7). The Body of Christ has seen the wonders of Him in each joint of the Bride and is physically seen by the particular account of the Lord going before Israel against Jericho. In human history, this is the only generation (since the cross) led by the Bride of Christ ever to experience passing “this way” through Christ going spiritually before them. Through being in Christ, she is as He is, represented by the Priests being the only ones who can touch the Ark and not die, taking it up and passing over before the people of the entire world.

Jos 3:6 And Joshua spoke to the priests saying, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
Jos 3:7 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Today, I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel so that they may know that I will be with you, as I was with Moses.

Although the ones who say that they are Jews do unknowingly lie about their spiritual orientation (Rev 2:9, Rev 3:9, Rom 2:28), for the moment, they are blind to Christ being magnified in their sight. It will only be after the First Resurrection that they will become disconcertedly aware that the Lord is primarily with that little flock represented by the Priests, as he was with Moses.

In Israel, Joshua and the Priests are magnified for the incipient separation of the two women; the rejected wife and the finally elected wife. Hence, both parties “pass over” the Jordan, unaware that the Priests and the main camp of Israel will become two women. The fact that Israel unwittingly crossed the Jordan at harvest time prophesies the future established little harvest and the main harvest of souls in two very different resurrections. 

Jos 3:8 And you shall command the priests that carry the ark of the covenant, saying, When you have come to the brink of the water of Jordan, you shall stand still in Jordan.

The significance of standing still on the bank of the raging spring water overflowing the banks of the Jordan (from H3381 – to go down, descend, march down, to be taken down) is to magnify the strength of God in the hearts of the people. To the natural mind, Wildebeest en-mass crossing the Masai Mara River in central Africa has more hope of survival.

There were tens of thousands of mothers with children burdened with clothing and possessions; helping the young men manage animals and carts looked like a catastrophe waiting to happen. What will the Body of Christ do in every likelihood in this age to be tested similarly and typified by a host of other preceding Saints having faced dire circumstances (Remember Daniel; Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego; Christ)? Of course, if the Lord wills, He will likewise conduct a physically safe passage even though our spiritual passage is assured.

Psa 27:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 

Psa 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. (See all of Psalm 27)

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

Jos 3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 

The Lord was teaching the children of Israel to believe in Him. It took a multitude of miracles in Egypt to the brink of the Jordan to teach a carnal nation that the Lord is true to his word, and now, with another series of miracles. A little upcoming win over Jericho would bolster Israel’s faith in her Lord to rout their land of more significant enemies.

For the Body of Christ, miracles are largely terminated. No hearts before or after Christ were converted by miracles.

Mat 16:1 The Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Him, tempting Him. And they asked Him that He would show them a sign from Heaven. 
Mat 16:2 He answered and said to them, When it is evening, you say, Fair weather; for the sky is red. 
Mat 16:3 And in the morning, Foul weather today; for the sky is red and gloomy. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky, but you cannot see the signs of the times! 
Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. And there shall no sign be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. And He left them and went away.

Jos 3:11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into Jordan. 

Stephen, like Christ, did many miracles before the people, yet the Pharisees and Christians still killed them both (Act 6:8). Nonetheless, endless physical miracles must precede the Body of Christ, and they, having not personally witnessed outward miracles, have no excuse to not believe spiritually. Hence, Christ, the covenant of all the earth, has passed over by His spirit and shown us the way to likewise save our brothers and sisters.

Jos 3:12 And now take yourselves twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. 
Jos 3:13 And it shall be, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that carry the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above. And they shall stand all in a heap.

The twelve sons of Jacob represent every person and nation on Earth and spiritually signify the ultimate salvation of every conception since Adam. It begins with the feet of Christ touching the mountains of the Lord, the Bride of Christ, and Him taking his Bride over her figurative Jordan into the First Resurrection. His feet touched the Mount of Olives two thousand years ago, and he cleaved the woman in two – the Old Jerusalem and the Heavenly Jerusalem.

That original rift was unwittingly created by Hagar, the Bond Woman, Old Covenant Israel, crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land leaving behind those who died in the wilderness. As we know, she continued her unfaithfulness to her Husband, and the process was again implemented spiritually at the cross; only this time for his very few faithful followers. 

Just as the Lord’s first wife was baptized crossing the Red Sea and sanctified crossing the raging Jordan, the Lord’s new Bride is baptized with fire as she crosses her spiritual Jordan in the duality of the Mount of Olives split in two with a gulf the Bond Woman cannot cross.

Zec 14:4 And His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall divide from its middle, from the east and to the west, a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

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

“And it shall be, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that carry the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above. And they shall stand all in a heap.”

For two thousand years, the sea of humanity has been cut off and stands in a heap, like the waters of the Jordan, while the Lord’s Elect cross into the First Resurrection. 

After which, and having been cut off, they rage in a torrent as Gog and Magog as they, too, rush into the Dead Sea, which symbolically is the Lake of Fire that will purify the great harvest in the Resurrection to Judgment.

Jos 3:14 And it happened, when the people moved from their tents to pass over Jordan, and as the priests carried the ark of the covenant before the people, 
Jos 3:15 and as those who bore the ark had come to Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for Jordan overflows all its banks, all the time of harvest);
Jos 3:16 that the waters which came down from above stopped and rose up all in a heap, very far from the city Adam [‘red; first man’] that is beside Zaretan [‘their distress’]. And those that came down toward the sea of the plain, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over across from Jericho. 

The Bride of Christ carries Him, as Solomon was carried in his royal carriage on the shoulders of his ascribed ‘elect’. Carrying the Ark, she goes before her brothers and sisters of Gog and Magog, who number as the sand of the sea (Rev 20:8) who are pictorially heaped up waiting in turbulent distress and their order for salvation since Adam, having been completely cut off from the First Resurrection.  

Even though the entire nation of Israel, including the mixed multitude, are all symbolised going into the Promised Land, it signifies that the entire world of humanity will be saved upon the completion of the Eight Day. 

Isa 43:1 Now this is what the LORD says— He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine!
Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze. 
Isa 43:3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. (BSB)

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Jos 3:17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan. (BSB)

The Elect of God, the Priests, stand firm in their Lord’s word on the dry ground amid the Jordan, by the Lord’s power, holding back the water while their children, the “many called”, pass on the dry ground (Note: probably at a distance sustaining two thousand cubits, 3,000 feet or 1.33 miles to the Priest’s left since greater Israel has been distanced from the Ark) being the first to step into the physically Promised Land. The Priests shouldering Christ, the Ark, are the “few chosen” who are last to complete the crossing.

In speaking of the disgruntled laborers in the vineyard, greater Israel is the first laborers, and the Elect of God shouldering the Ark are the last,

Mat 20:14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 
Mat 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. 

The Priests representing the Elect of God come from behind the entirety of the world of greater Israel. Having been the last, the very few chosen become the first to represent the much later spiritual crossing of a figurative Jordan into the First Resurrection.

Instructions for Entering the Promised Land

[Study Aired February 18, 2023]

The book of Joshua begins following the death of Moses (120 years), one of the most incredibly iconic figures in the Bible. Joshua proved his dedication to the Lord’s commands revealed in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and was chosen to lead Israel into the Promised Land. Because of their perpetual complaining about the Lord’s goodness, out of the entirety of Israel none over the age of 20 at the time of leaving Egypt could enter the Promised Land; Joshua and Caleb were the only exceptions.

Num 32:11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:
Num 32:12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD (also Deut 1:34-46).

Caleb was 40 years old when he helped spy out the land of Canaan:

Jos 14:7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.

Scripture doesn’t precisely state Joshua’s age. However, in all likelihood, the twelve spies in Joshua and Caleb’s company were of similar age, generally, give or take 10 years for maturity and spying experience. That makes Joshua roughly 30-50 years of age when he spied on Canaan. Add 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and it places him roughly a minimum age in his eighties when Israel entered the promised land. Caleb tells us he himself was 85 (Jos 14:10). Of course, Joshua died when he was 110 years of age. (Jos 24:29)

Since everyone over the age of 20 died in the wilderness, the Lord continued his espousal to a young wife in the bloom of her youth with Israel until his divorce, whose legacy of whoredom has lasted to this day.

Toward the end of Israel’s journey in the Promised Land as the Lord’s wife, a representation of purity was discovered by Solomon in a beautiful Shulamite girl. As brightly seen in the Song of Solomon studies, the wisest man to have ever lived saw something painfully unidentifiable in the beautiful Shulamite girl. His spirit seemed dreadfully unfulfilled upon his persistent “looking upon” her to distinguish the last irksome piece of the puzzle for the meaning of her presence. Scripture doesn’t say that he married the Shulamite. Even though he nearly perfectly imagined being married to her, his spirit of understanding was still of the Old Covenant Laws, and the spirit of God through Christ hadn’t yet come to reveal who Shulamite was, will be and is! The whorish nation of Israel, the Lord’s first wife, had many more works of harlotry in this new land before the distant Christ was revealed with his spiritual wife.

Before the foundation of the world and upon Moses’s death, the Lord had planned that the son of Nun, Joshua (Num 11:28), would lead Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua had proved his valour and dedication in following the Lord’s commands. The painful journey of the Lord’s people in the flesh, which unconsciously pointed to eternal life, was still in its infancy. The entirety of the old brigade of Israel over the age of 20 upon leaving Egypt, including Moses, perished in the wilderness.

Although God’s laws were evident primarily since Adam’s experience of sin, they were mostly hidden before the Lord revealed their written code through Moses, everyone since Adam, did what was right in his own eyes (Rom 2:14).

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. 

Num 14:26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 
Num 14:27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. 
Num 14:28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: 
Num 14:29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
Num 14:30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

If we don’t recognise the commandments of Christ, we perish without the fulfillment of the Law in Him. All, including those under the carnal laws of Moses and Joshua’s rule to this day, sinned in the Law and perished under the Law, that of its own and without the spirit to come, could never change hearts for eternal life.

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 [Christ’s spiritual laws] are just before God, but the doers of the [Christ’s] Law shall be justified.
Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the Law, do by nature the things contained in the Law, these, having not the Law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
Rom 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

The theme of the elder serving the younger runs powerfully throughout scripture. An old, weary, and no doubt melancholy, Moses, having suffered his brother’s and sister’s endless complaining, was given to see the vast extent of the land to be possessed as the nation of Israel’s inheritance, but he himself would die without possessing it. In a sense, Moses died outside the city, the Promised Land, to figuratively sanctify the nation of Israel. He diligently served the tabernacle of God and bore the disgrace of the old company of Israel, who likewise died outside of their inheritance.

Son 6:13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

Spiritually:

Heb 13:10 We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
Heb 13:11 Although the high priest brings the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, the bodies are burned outside the camp.
Heb 13:12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood. 
Heb 13:13 Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore.
Heb 13:14 For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Deu 34:1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,
Deu 34:2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, 
Deu 34:3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
Deu 34:4 And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
Deu 34:5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
Deu 34:6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.
Deu 34:7 And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 
Deu 34:8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
Deu 34:9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Deu 34:10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 
Deu 34:11 In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, 
Deu 34:12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.

After forty years of pain, suffering and death in the wilderness of sin, the elder of Israel served the younger Israel and the younger, with a high hand, was about to enter the Promised Land. That principle of the elder serving the younger began in Rebecca’s womb with Esau, the elder twin serving Jacob, his brother. (Rom 9:12-21. Gen 25:19-28).

The Book of Joshua

Jos 1:1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 
Jos 1:2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
Jos 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 
Jos 1:4 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. 
Jos 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Jos 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
Jos 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 
Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Jos 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Jos 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 
Jos 1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
Jos 1:12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,
Jos 1:13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. 
Jos 1:14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them; 
Jos 1:15 Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD’S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising. 
Jos 1:16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. 
Jos 1:17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. 
Jos 1:18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.

Beginning in verse two with the referral to the death of Moses, the Jordan River running from the midst of the Promised Land, ran 200 miles to the Dead Sea. The origin for the name Jordan means (H3381) ‘to go down; to lay prostrate’. Unwittingly to the Israelites, their prostration didn’t end with their forefathers dying in the wilderness; they were about to continue with their exhaustion of weak and decaying flesh as part of the process pointing to their brother’s future rest in Christ. The river Jordan symbolically continued to drain the filth of Israel to be allegorically purified in the salt of the Dead Sea, where their forefathers of Sodom, Gomorrah and the other cities of the rich plain were similarly purified.

Jos 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 
Jos 1:4 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.

Verses 3 and 4 outline the “coast”, or the borders of the Promised Land, with the “great sea toward the going down of the sun” referring to the Mediterranean Sea. (It is easy to look up a map of the Promised Land).

Amazingly, the rich resources and beauty of Lebanon, regarded as a “wilderness”, suggest that it was largely protected from the surrounding nations for Israel’s sole use, featuring cedars in the future temple. 

Verse 5 epitomises and foreshadows the routing of the evil inhabiting the land, and for the Elect of God today, they have the very same Lord who spiritually cleanses their land within.

Jos 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Jos 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
Jos 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Jos 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Our Lord’s faithfulness stands. He is in absolute command of our salvation and continues to not fail or forsake us. Without Christ, we, too, have the same precise experience of not being able to stand before our enemies within. Nonetheless, the comparative history, for our sakes, resulted in the Israelites flip-flopping their faithfulness to God as they did in Moses’ time, regardless of the Lord’s guarantee of physical salvation through minimal faith.

Heb 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 
Heb 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

Jumping to:

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. 
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you: I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jos 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 
Jos 1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.

Christ, in his three and half year ministry, prepared his disciples “victuals”, meaning (H6720) ‘provision of food; meat’.He has increasingly provided spiritual food that increased their faith, especially in these latter days before His return. As we see the fig tree put forth new shoots, we know that the end is near for our preparation to cross our Jordan with the spiritual Christ within to possess Him, our Promised Land inheritance through faith. (Eph 1:3-14)

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Gal 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 
Gal 4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
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. 
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 
Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

The entire torturous process the Israelites experienced, and are still experiencing unto this very day, is for His body’s sake, for His little flock, the Church. He has given us rest in Him through His spirit of truth and our espousal to Him. Our rest is Christ, the master Potter doing His work within us, just as He gave the Israelites a type of physical rest if they utterly depended upon Him to go before and fight and thoroughly rout the evil inhabitants within their physically prized possession.

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; 
1Co 3:23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. 

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.

Jos 1:12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 
Jos 1:13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. 
Jos 1:14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them; 
Jos 1:15 Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD’S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.

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

The Body of Christ is growing into the beautiful young woman espoused to her Lord. She has spent a relatively short time devouring her Lord’s strong meat. She readily sees the spiritual truths received daily that intensely arouse her love for him and delights in finding nuggets of overlooked truth in the frequently reviewed studies. She is ever vigilant to not let her lamp oil run low as she awaits the ultimate “sunrising” shining at full strength.

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jer 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 
Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 
Jer 29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Jos 1:17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. 
Jos 1:18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage. 

Just as our Lord God was with Moses and Joshua, He is infinitely more in spirit with His chosen “little flock” today and gives us immense courage to go forth and possess Him, our promised land within.

Yet, Lord willing, we remember to not be puffed up by His revelations and rebel against His word that would assuredly land us in the resurrection to damnation and go through a more torturous process to attain eternal life. 

Luk 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 
Luk 21:35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 
Luk 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Exo 33:1-23  The Command to Leave Sinai

[Study Aired January 16, 2023]

Exo 33:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:
Exo 33:2  And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: 
Exo 33:3  Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
Exo 33:4  And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.
Exo 33:5  For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.
Exo 33:6  And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb. 
Exo 33:7  And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. 
Exo 33:8  And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
Exo 33:9  And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.
Exo 33:10  And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.
Exo 33:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Exo 33:12  And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
Exo 33:13  Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 
Exo 33:14  And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. 
Exo 33:15  And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
Exo 33:16  For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
Exo 33:17  And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
Exo 33:18  And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
Exo 33:19  And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Exo 33:20  And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
Exo 33:21  And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
Exo 33:22  And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
Exo 33:23  And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

This chapter deals with the Lord commanding the Israelites to leave Mount Sinai and to go to the promised land to possess it. It also focuses on the tent of the congregation that Moses set up outside the camp for the Israelites to communicate with the Lord and Moses’ encounter with the Lord when he requested the Lord to show him His glory.

In Deuteronomy, when Moses was recounting the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness, he gave additional information regarding why the Lord wanted the Israelites to leave Horeb to possess the land – that is, they had spent too much time in Horeb.

Deu 1:6  The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: 
Deu 1:7  Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.
Deu 1:8  Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

We spend too much time in Babylon thinking we are serving the Lord but in reality, we are worshiping another Jesus. If we are the elect, then we shall leave Horeb and continue our journey to possess our bodies which in this case is the promised land or the land of Canaan where we battle the old man within, which is represented by all those living in Canaan (Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hittites, Hivites and Jebusites).

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.

Exo 33:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:
Exo 33:2  And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: 
Exo 33:3  Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

Our God is a God who fulfills promises. As we are aware, the Lord made a promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that He would give them the land of Canaan. In reminding Moses of His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He was reassuring Moses that he is dealing with a God who is able to raise him (the elect) up from their spiritually dead state to give them a kingdom. 

Luk 20:37  Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 
Luk 20:38  For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

As stated here in verse 1, the deliverance by the Lord at the hands of the Egyptians is to bring them to possess a good land. The land here is our bodies, and the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites are all different aspects of the beast or the old man within us which are being dealt with at various phases of our lives. Thus, our salvation is a process which lasts a lifetime. It is not something we attain at the beginning of our walk, as our brothers and sisters in Babylon made us believe during our sojourn there. It is rather at the end of the road that salvation becomes ours.

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

1Co 9:24  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 
1Co 9:25  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 
1Co 9:26  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 
1Co 9:27  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

In verse 3, we are told that the land they are going to inherit after leaving Egypt is a land flowing with milk and honey. Let’s try to understand what milk and honey stands for. Milk in the scriptures represents the basics of the Lord’s word as shown below:

Isa 28:9  Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

1Pe 2:2  As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Honey can also mean the milk of the word of Christ. It only helps us to distinguish between good and evil.

Isa 7:15  Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

Honey, on the other hand, essentially deals with how we hear the word of the Lord. When the word of the Lord comes to us, it tastes so sweet. However, after we start to apply it to our lives, that is when it becomes bitter.

Eze 3:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 

So, the Lord delivering the Israelites from Egypt and taking them to the land flowing with milk and honey is to let us know that when we come out of the world, we are to start with the milk of the word of the Lord, which tastes like honey when we hear it. 

The second part of verse 3 talks about the Lord not going with the Israelites as a result of their stiff-necked nature. Being stiff-necked means we are still under the control of our old man or the beast. Since the old man or the beast is occupying the throne of our hearts, it is impossible for the Lord to be in us to lead us through the wilderness of life. If we are called and chosen, then the Lord will go with us. However, it means that the Lord will consume the old man along the way as stated in verse 3.

2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 

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

Exo 33:4  And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. 
Exo 33:5  For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. 
Exo 33:6  And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb. 

The evil tidings in verse 4 refers to the fact that the Israelites were stiff-necked people and as a result, the Lord will not go with them in their journey to the promised land. It is through the word of the Lord that we come to see our real nature as a beast. It is when the law of Moses has done its work in our lives as schoolmaster that we come to see that indeed we are stiff-necked people.  Since we are called and chosen, the Lord will come into our midst to consume us as shown in verse 5. This means the Lord will come to us to judge us so that we learn righteousness.

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:

In our stiff-necked state, we do not put on any ornament as shown in verses 4 and 6. To be stripped of ornaments means to be denied being clothed with the Lord’s righteousness as shown in the following verse:

Isa 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

It is therefore through the Lord coming to us to consume us that we put on the robe of righteousness or ornaments.

Exo 33:7  And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

This verse is to let us know that we can only seek the Lord intimately when we go outside the camp. The camp here stands for Babylon. Going outside the camp therefore means leaving Babylon as the Lord has commanded us to do.

Heb 13:11  For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 
Heb 13:12  Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 
Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Exo 33:8  And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
Exo 33:9  And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.
Exo 33:10  And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.

These verses foreshadow the fact that our brothers and sisters in Babylon or the synagogue of Satan will come to bow down and worship Christ through us in the fullness of time.

Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him (Jesus Christ), and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 
Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Moses’ dedication to his fellowship with the Lord was evident to the people of Israel as they see him enter the tabernacle regularly to fellowship with the Lord who is symbolized by the cloudy pillar which descends and stands at the door of the tabernacle.  

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

To worship before our feet does not mean that Babylon will come to worship us. What it means is that they will come to worship the Lord through our guidance (at our feet). Moses’ encounter with the Lord made it obvious to the people of Israel that the Lord indeed loves him. Our dedication to Christ will show the world that the Lord indeed loves us!! This is clearly portrayed by Jacob’s love for Joseph, who is a symbol of Christ and His elect. Jacob here represents God. We have indeed been favored to know Christ in this age!!

Gen 37:3  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4  And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Exo 33:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Here in verse 11, we are told that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. Later on, when Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses, the Lord told them that it was only Moses with whom He speaks face to face. 

Num 12:4  And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
Num 12:5  And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. 
Num 12:6  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
Num 12:7  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 
Num 12:8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

The Lord speaking to Moses face to face is another way of saying that we, His elect, represented here by Moses, have been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven.

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.

In the second part of verse 11, we are told that Moses went back to the camp while Joshua remained in the tabernacle. To understand this statement, we need to know that Moses, in the negative context, represents the law of Moses, which is what governs our lives in Babylon, the camp. Thus, Moses going back to the camp is to let us know that the law must finish its work in Babylon before faith comes. Joshua, on the other hand, symbolizes the elect who departed not from the tabernacle. We know that it is in this tabernacle that the Lord speaks to Moses face to face. Joshua remaining in the tabernacle is therefore another way of saying that the Lord’s words should not depart from our mouth as the Lord’s elect and that we should meditate on it day and night in order to make our way prosperous.

Jos 1:8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Exo 33:12  And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 
Exo 33:13  Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 
Exo 33:14  And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
Exo 33:15  And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 
Exo 33:16  For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
Exo 33:17  And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

Moses wanted to know who the Lord was sending with him to lead the people of Israel. In verse 14, the Lord told Moses that His presence shall go with him and give him rest. These verses point to the coming of the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord will send to lead the Lord’s elect in this wilderness of life into all truth.

Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;
Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 

As we can see from these verses, it is when we find grace in the Lord’s sight that He comes to us to show us His ways. The grace we find in Christ is for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. From the Biblical perspective, grace is defined as Christ coming to us. 

Joh 1:16  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Joh 1:17  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

The Babylonian system from which we came equates physical blessings with grace. What we need to know is that blessings are for our existence, but grace is for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. We do need the Lord’s blessing for our existence, otherwise, there is no way we can fulfill the Lord’s purpose. However, merely to exist is vanity of vanities. All the cars, houses, money, degrees, and jobs are vanities if our existence is not for the fulfillment of the Lord’s purpose. In the Old Testament, we mainly have blessings, but in the New Testament, the physical blessings are immediately replaced by spiritual blessings. The physical blessings are all included in the spiritual blessings for the fulfillment of the Lord’s purpose.

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

As stated, grace is Christ coming to us. We know that Christ coming to us means coming with His judgment to purify us for the purpose of fulfilling His purpose. 

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:

As His elect, we have found grace in the Lord’s sight just as Moses found grace in His sight!! Alleluia!!

Exo 33:18  And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

We need to know what the glory of the Lord signifies in order to understand what Moses was asking for. The following verses show us what the glory of the Lord means:

Num 14:10  But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
Num 14:11  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

Num 16:19  And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
Num 16:20  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

We can see from these verses that anytime the glory of the Lord appears, we see the Lord speaking. The glory of the Lord is Christ Himself who is also the word. In Deuteronomy 5:24, additional information is given to qualify the glory of the Lord, and that is fire. Seeing His glory therefore means hearing the Lord’s voice out of the midst of the fire. This conclusion is affirmed in Exodus 24:16-17, where the sight of the glory of the Lord was likened to a devouring fire on the top of the Mount. So, in this age, those who are privileged to see the glory of the Lord are those who are hearing His words in the midst of the furnace of their affliction. I will therefore take this opportunity to tell our brothers and sisters scattered all over the world who are going through fiery trials that they should rejoice because it is through suffering that they will see the glory of the Lord!! When we are going through suffering, it is hard to rejoice, but afterwards it will yield the benefit of coming to know Christ or seeing the glory of the Lord!! 

Exo 33:19  And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 
Exo 33:20  And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

In answering Moses’ request to see the glory of the Lord, the Lord told him that He will cause all His goodness to pass in front of him. The question is what does it mean for His goodness to pass in front of Moses?  To answer this question, we need to know what the goodness of the Lord is. The goodness of the Lord is His work of salvation for the elect first, and then the whole of the human race later. In Romans 2:4 We are told that the goodness of God leads to repentance and repentance is the way of salvation.

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Psa 31:19  Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! 

This work of salvation, which shows His goodness, is about how He brings us to our safe haven in Christ.

Psa 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

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

The Lord telling Moses that His goodness will pass before him, therefore, means that this work of salvation is not for him and that he was ministering to the Lord’s elect.

1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

The Lord’s goodness also entails His prerogative to show mercy to some and to harden the hearts of others. This is to let us know that we do not play any role in His work of salvation. 

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

The Lord also told Moses that he cannot see His face because no man sees Him and lives. To see the Lord’s face means to know Him. There is no way for Moses to know the Lord since Jesus had not come to atone for the sins of mankind at Moses’ time. Those of us who are knowing Him or seeing His face now are the ones who are dying daily to the flesh or the old man since we cannot see the Lord and live in the comfort of our old man!!

Exo 33:21  And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
Exo 33:22  And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
Exo 33:23  And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

In order to understand these verses, we have to see who Moses represents here. As stated, Moses is a symbol of the law. Babylon is governed by the law of Moses. So, what the Lord told Moses here in these verses pertains to our walk in Babylon. In verse 21, the Lord told Moses that there is a place by Him where he shall stand on a rock. This rock is Christ. In other words, the churches of this world stand on the foundation built by Christ. However, what they build on this foundation is wood, hay and stubble.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

In verse 22, the Lord hid Moses in a cleft of the rock and covered it with His hand such that Moses will not see the goodness of the Lord. This is to let us know that it is the Lord who has blinded the churches of this world (represented here by Moses) such that they cannot see the Lord’s way of salvation. Verse 23 shows us that all that the churches can see is the back parts of the Lord which symbolize the law of Moses. That is why the churches are dominated by the law of Moses which serves as a schoolmaster until faith comes.

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
Rom 11:9  And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 
Rom 11:10  Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

May the Lord grant us the grace to know more of His goodness in this land of the living!! Amen!!

[Posted February 5, 2022]

Hi Mike,

Hope you are well, quick question for you. In 1 Kings 17 we read that the prophet Elijah had his food brought to him by ravens. However, according to Leviticus 11 we are told the raven is an abomination unto us. So why did God choose to use an abominable bird to bring food to one of his prophets, and not just any prophet but the mighty prophet Elijah?

Thanks for the help, peace and blessings to you.

C____

Hi C____,

Thank you for your very thought-provoking question. It is true that the raven was declared to be unclean to Israel in Leviticus 11:

Lev 11:13  And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
Lev 11:14  And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
Lev 11:15  Every raven after his kind;

The fact is, that while Israel was told not to eat a raven, nothing is said that would preclude being fed by a raven.

Christ said that the fowl which consumed the seed before it could put down a root is “the wicked one”. That might make one think that therefore no wicked person can possibly be used by the Lord to tell the Truth. However, the Lord wants  us to know that is not the case.

Food in scripture symbolizes doctrines:

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

The devil’s table is furnished with the devil’s food – his lies and his false doctrines – of which we cannot partake, but the Lord can use the devil to speak His truth just as He used the wicked prophet Balaam to bless Israel when Balak, the king of Moab, had hired that wicked prophet to curse Israel.

Num 22:37  And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?
Num 22:38  And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.

Num 24:10  And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.

That is how the Lord Himself used “the wicked one”, Balaam, a wicked prophet to bless Israel just as He used a raven to feed Elijah.

Other examples of the Lord using a spiritual ‘raven’ to speak His Truth are the stories of the witch of Endor telling King Saul he would die the next day:

1Sa 28:19  Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

The Lord also used a lying prophet to speak truth to a prophet who had listened to that lying prophet instead of being obedient to the voice of the Lord:

1Ki 13:11  Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
1Ki 13:12  And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
1Ki 13:13  And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
1Ki 13:14  And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
1Ki 13:15  Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
1Ki 13:16  And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
1Ki 13:17  For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
1Ki 13:18  He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
1Ki 13:19  So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
1Ki 13:20  And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
1Ki 13:21  And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
1Ki 13:22  But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
1Ki 13:23  And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
1Ki 13:24  And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
1Ki 13:25  And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
1Ki 13:26  And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.

In this story the Lord used a lying prophet to deliver a true prophecy to another prophet who had become weary in well doing and disobeyed the commandment of the Lord.

Therefore we must conclude that the only way to be sure of the value of the spiritual food we consume, is not by judging the messenger, but rather by judging the message, whether that message accords with the Lord’s commandments.

In fact, the Lord has even told us in advance that He would try us in this way to see if we would remain faithful to Him and His words, rather than listen to men who tell us to disobey the Lord.

Here is that prophecy:

Deu 13:1  If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:2  And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
Deu 13:3  Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deu 13:4  Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

The Lord wants us to be capable of discerning good spiritual food regardless of who the messenger is.

Peter himself was fed by an unclean Gentile when the Lord sent messengers from the house of the Roman Centurion to have Peter come and speak to him and his house. It was through what Christ called a spiritual ‘dog’ that Peter learned that Gentles were no longer to be counted as unclean:

Mar 7:26  The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
Mar 7:27  But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

Act 10:28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

The Lord is, to this very day, using the works of evil men to feed His people. Thayer has been used mightily of the Lord through his Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Yet Thayer himself was an atheist. Being an atheist he was not beholden to any church doctrines, and many of the Greek words he defined were therefore untainted with the false doctrines that have replaced the Truth in the divided churches and man-made denominations of this world.

Christ and His body are not divided:

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11  For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

God has used the atheist, Thayer, to educate many of His people, just as He used that raven to feed Elijah.

That raven was used in the same way the “widow of Serepta” was used to feed Elijah. She, too, was an unclean Gentile woman, and Christ was almost thrown off a cliff for just pointing that fact out to the folks in his hometown of Nazareth in His first recorded sermon:

Luk 4:25  But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luk 4:26  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Luk 4:27  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
Luk 4:28  And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Luk 4:29  And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
Luk 4:30  But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

In a sense, Elijah being fed by an unclean bird, a raven, foreshadows the gospel going to the ‘unclean’ Gentiles who are used by the Lord to feed His elect.

From Brown’s Driver Briggs Bible Dictionary:

– Original: כּלב
– Transliteration: Kaleb
– Phonetic: kaw-labe’
– Definition: Caleb = dog

It is prophetic that the only two people of the generation that left Egypt from twenty years and up who were granted to enter into the promised land were two men – the name of one being Josuha, which means ‘Savior’, and the name of the other was Caleb, which means ‘dog’. A Savior and a dog were the only people who were given to come out of Egypt and enter into the promised land.

I hope this sheds some light on why the Lord used a raven to feed Elijah. If the Lord can use a poisonous serpent as a type of Christ, He can also use a raven as a type of those who feed and give life to His people:

Num 21:8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

YbiC, Mike

[Study Aired October 4, 2021]

Rth 1:1  Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 
Rth 1:2  And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. 
Rth 1:3  And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. 
Rth 1:4  And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. 
Rth 1:5  And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. 
Rth 1:6  Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread. 
Rth 1:7  Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. 
Rth 1:8  And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. 
Rth 1:9  The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 
Rth 1:10  And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 
Rth 1:11  And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 
Rth 1:12  Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; 
Rth 1:13  Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me. 
Rth 1:14  And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. 
Rth 1:15  And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. 
Rth 1:16  And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 
Rth 1:17  Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. 
Rth 1:18  When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. 
Rth 1:19  So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? 
Rth 1:20  And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 
Rth 1:21  I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 
Rth 1:22  So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest. 

The book of Ruth is named for its central character, a Moabite woman who married an Israelite living in Moab. After the death of her husband, Ruth moved to Judah with her mother-in-law, Naomi, instead of remaining with her own people. Ruth then became the wife of Boaz, a wealthy kinsman of her former husband, and bore Obed, who, according to the final verses of the book, was the grandfather of David.

As we have always stressed, it is the spirit that makes us alive in Christ, the flesh or the letter of the word is unprofitable. Thus, our study of the Book of Ruth will be based on what our Lord is telling us in the spirit about this Book.

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. 

Rth 1:1  Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 
Rth 1:2  And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. 

The period that this story of Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi took place was during the days when Israel did not have a king and was therefore ruled by various judges. A key characteristic of this period is that because there was no king, everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Jdg 21:25  In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

This verse is to let us know that when Christ has not ascended the throne of our hearts, we are subjected to the dictates of the old man, or the flesh, and therefore do whatever we want, thinking we are serving God. That was what happened to the Israelites during the time of the Judges and in the case of Naomi and her husband, Elimelech. We all, in a certain period of our lives, followed the dictates of our flesh when Christ was not king in our hearts.

As we are aware, one of the Lord’s four sore judgments is famine.

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

Although there was a physical famine in the land of Bethlehem of Judea, what we are talking about here is famine of the absence of the word of God.

Amo 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Amo 8:12  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

Bethlehem means ‘house of bread’ and therefore represents the house of God where there is bread, which is the word of God. The famine in Bethlehem shows that here Bethlehem signifies the apostate churches of this world or Babylon where there is lack of the word of God. So, we as His elect are starved of the true word of God through famine in Babylon (Bethlehem), and as a result, we move to Moab just as Naomi moved to Moab with her husband and two sons.

The Moabites believed in God but did not give Him the honor He deserves. They believed in physical reward for service rendered to God. This is clearly demonstrated by the Moabites coming to Balaam with gifts for him to curse the people of God.

Num 22:7  And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
Num 22:8  And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.

Thus, Moab represents the apostate churches of this world or Babylon who love rewards and are in spiritual adultery by worshipping another Jesus.

Jud 1:11  Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

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;
2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 
2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

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

As shown in Amos 8:12, famine is a tool God uses to make us wander to and fro trying to seek God but not finding Him. In order to understand the significance of moving to Moab, let’s look at the role the land of Moab plays in the life of God’s elect.

It was in the plain of Moab that the Israelites had their last encampment. In other words, Moab represents our last point in our walk in Babylon before we leave Babylon to fight the enemies of the promised land to inhabit our possession, which is our body.

Num 22:1  And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.

It is as we stand in Moab and Mount Nebo, which is in Moab and is opposite Jericho, that we see the promised land. In other words, being in Moab means God is preparing us for our exit from Babylon as our Lord starts to open our eyes to see, but we are not given to go there yet because we are still carnal and ruled by the flesh.

Deu 34:1  And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,
Deu 34:2  And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,
Deu 34:3  And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
Deu 34:4  And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

It is in Moab that we come to know what the law of sin and death stands for as we see it complete its work in our lives in the sense that we come to see who we really are. This is signified by Moses proclaiming the law in the land of Moab and finally dying there. Moses means drawing out, so the law draws out of us our beastly nature. As we come to know this, we become dead to the law of sin and death, which is symbolized by the death of Moses in Moab, and we are now ready to start our walk of faith in Christ.

Rom 3:20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Deu 1:5  On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

Deu 34:5  So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
Deu 34:6  And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

Rth 1:3  And Elimelech, Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.

The name Elimelech means ‘my God is king’ and that of Naomi means ‘my joy’.

Jer 49:25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!

So here Naomi signifies the bride of Christ, which is the city of praise, and Elimelech represents our Lord who died so He would pave the way for the Comforter to come and guide Naomi and Ruth or the church of the first born to the truth.

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

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Rth 1:4  And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.

The two wives here represent the two Jerusalems. One (Orpah) is in bondage with her children, and the other is the New Jerusalem which is the mother of us all. Orpah is a symbol of the existing churches of this world, and Ruth stands for the elect.

Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
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.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

The number ten stands for the completeness of the flesh, and so ‘dwelling in Moab for ten years’ suggests that the patience of our flesh is exhausted in Babylon and must be ready for judgement.

Rth 1:5  And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

The death of Mahlon and Chilion are all part of the judgment that the bride of Christ, represented here by Naomi and Ruth, face as the death of our Lord precipitates the coming of the Comforter who comes to reprove us of judgment.

Joh 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9  Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10  Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

As we will learn later, Orpah represents the Babylonian system and therefore is not judged but faces suffering which is common to man in this life.

Joh 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Rth 1:6  Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.
Rth 1:7  Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.

As was indicated earlier, the Bethlehem that Naomi left during the famine represented Babylon, but the Bethlehem to which Naomi was returning with her daughter-in-law had been visited by the Lord with bread, which is the word of God. So the Bethlehem that Naomi was returning to is the Heavenly Jerusalem or the church of the first born.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

The leaving of the land of Moab to go to Bethlehem, the house of bread, is therefore the same as leaving Babylon to join the church of the first born.

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.

Rth 1:8  And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. 
Rth 1:9  The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 
Rth 1:10  And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 

Naomi’s persuasion for the daughters-in-law to return to the land of Moab is the same as what our Lord said concerning counting the cost to become His disciples.

Luk 14:25  And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
Luk 14:26  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:28  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Luk 14:29  Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 
Luk 14:30  Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Luk 14:31  Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
Luk 14:33  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

This journey to the New Jerusalem demands our all. In this admonition by the Lord, a great multitude was following Him, but our Lord was not impressed by the crowd as He knows that in this life He is saving only a few. This admonition to count the cost before following Him is not to suggest that we play a part in our salvation. All that is being said here is that those who are destined to be part of the New Jerusalem are able to lose everything to follow Him, and all of this is the work of God. All we must do is to believe in Jesus that what He starts, He is able to finish!!

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

Rth 1:11  And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
Rth 1:12  Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; 
Rth 1:13  Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me. 

This part of the passage of scripture is to let us know that Naomi had come to a point where she realized she could do nothing in furthering the cause of herself and her daughters-in-law. It is when we come to this point in our walk with Christ that we learn to rest in Christ as He then takes over.

Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

The statement “the hand of the Lord is gone against me” is to let us know that Naomi, who represents the elect, was under judgment from the Lord. The end result of this hand of the Lord against us or Naomi is to make us learn righteousness, which is another way of saying that the old man is dying, and the new man is rising within us.

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?

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

Rth 1:14  And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

As we can see, Orpah finally departed to stay in Moab. She started the journey, but returned to her vomit as the cost of discipleship was too much for her, thinking it is through her own strength that she can obtain salvation. As we indicated earlier, Orpah signifies the existing apostate churches of this world or Babylon. They are called but are not chosen to leave Moab to go back to Bethlehem, the house of bread, where the Lord is visiting His people. We are called and chosen, like Ruth, to leave the camp of Babylon or Moab to go to the house of God.

Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
Heb 13:14  For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

The return of Orpah to Moab is because she was carried about by divers and strange doctrines, and therefore did not have the right to eat in the New Jerusalem or the house of bread.

Heb 13:9  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

Rth 1:15  And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. 
Rth 1:16  And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 
Rth 1:17  Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

These statements by Ruth reflect what Peter told our Lord Jesus when He asked whether the disciples would also want to leave Him.

Joh 6:67  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
Joh 6:69  And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

As God’s elect, we have nowhere to go as we are aware that it is in the church where we hear our Lord speak, as He has the words of eternal life. What Ruth said is the same as losing her whole life for the sake of coming to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi.

Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Rth 1:18  When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

One of the key qualities that is required of overcomers is that they are steadfast. That is a key characteristic we see in Ruth, who represents the elect. To be steadfast means that one is resolute or unwavering. A steadfast person knows what he believes and cannot be tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of false teaching.

1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

To remain steadfast and unmovable we have to know the Word of God. That means we must be diligent to present ourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Rth 1:19  So the two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

Our entering into the New Jerusalem from Babylon does not mean that we are righteous or matured children of God. No. Actually, we had come to know who we were as the law of sin and death had accomplished its work in us by letting us know that we cannot help ourselves to do any good thing and that when we look in the mirror, what we see is us as the greatest sinner!! That was the situation Naomi and Ruth found themselves in as they entered Bethlehem, which in this case is a symbol of the heavenly Jerusalem which is the mother of us all. The gathering of the saints is shown us in the following scripture:

1Sa 22:2  And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

In this verse, David represents our Lord Jesus Christ who operated outside the camp of religion of His days. There are three categories of people representing the elect who went to David:

Those in distress – The dictionary defines being in distress as extreme anxiety, suffering, pain or affliction. Weren’t we all in some form of suffering when we left Babylon and entered the heavenly Jerusalem? Even now, we are still going through all kinds of suffering so that we will learn righteousness.

Those in debt – They are those who recognized that they were sinful. Being sinful means we are indebted to God.

Those who were discontented – They are those who recognized they were sinners but are frustrated that they cannot do anything to change their situation.

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. (ESV)
Rom 7:15  For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (ESV)
Rom 7:16  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. (ESV)

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

That was the situation in which we all found ourselves as we left Babylon (Moab) and came to the house of bread (Bethlehem), just like Naomi and Ruth. The next two verses throw more light on the spiritual immaturity of Naomi as she entered Bethlehem:

Rth 1:20  And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
Rth 1:21  I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 

Here we see Naomi not content with God’s judgment. We all in our time had disannulled God’s judgment just like Naomi. What Naomi and we all have said when we went through suffering was that we do not deserve this judgment from God. At that time of our exit from Babylon, we did not know about God’s judgment and what it accomplishes and therefore disannulled our Lord’s judgment.

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?

Rth 1:22  So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

The significant point here in this verse is that when Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem from Moab, it was the beginning of barley harvest. Barley is a cereal grain that is used in bread and other dishes. Two grain crops are prominent in the Scriptures – barley and wheat. In Bible times, barley was much more widely cultivated than it is now and was the main food of the poor. It was always valued less than wheat (2Ki 7:1, Rev 6:6). Although barley was sometimes used as fodder in Bible days (1Ki 4:28), its main use was as a staple food. It was ground and baked into round cakes (Jdg 7:13).

In Leviticus 23:10, the Israelites were instructed to bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain to mature.

Lev 23:10  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
Lev 23:11  And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

In 1 Corinthian 15:23, Paul applies this to Christ.

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

Christ being the firstfruits means that we, the elect, represent the harvest. It is in the heavenly Jerusalem, or the church of the first born, that we mature to be harvested by the Lord. So, coming to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest means that we really start or begin our maturity journey in the church of the first born.

Our time in the church, or the New Jerusalem, is the period of the harvest when all the tares in us are dealt with by the Lord as He sends us His angels or messengers through their fiery words to gather out of His kingdom within us all things that offend and our iniquities. These are cast into a furnace of fire to be burnt. The furnace of fire represents the judgment we go through by the Lord to make us ready to be harvested at His own time.

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Our Lord’s interpretation of this parable is as follows:

Mat 13:36  Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Our time in Babylon is the period where the enemy comes to sow tares (wrong doctrines through the children of the wicked one) among the wheat (the truth) in our lives as we grow. At that time outwardly, everybody, including ourselves, thinks we are good Christians, and so there is no difference between the called and the called and chosen. However, inwardly, we are the children of the devil. It is therefore only during the period of the harvest, that is our time in Bethlehem or the church of the first born, that we come to clearly see the tares and the wheat through the angels sent by our Lord. That is when all the tares in us are destroyed by our fiery trials, and we are ready to be harvested as mature sons of God.

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Awesome Hands – part 137

Ye murmured in your tents”

July 1, 2018

Today’s study finds us starting the book of Deuteronomy. As it has been with all of the awesome hands series, we will be look at each time the word hand or hands is mentioned within the book.

For this study, our first mention of the word hand comes as we read how the Israelites are told to search out the land and to go in and possess the land.

Deu 1:20  And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us.
Deu 1:21  Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
Deu 1:22  And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.
Deu 1:23  And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:
Deu 1:24  And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.
Deu 1:25  And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.

It is easy to read this story and immediately imagine that the Israelite spies were spying on a land, saw the land was “good” and then reporting back to Moses what was found. This did happen this way, but there is a lot more than meets the eye on what we are being told spiritually.

Christians today are promised a land, but we too REFUSE to possess it. We certainly know in this body of believers, that the Lord is workings ALL THINGS, but why is it that we too murmur against the Lord when He tells us to possess the land that He has set before us?

For myself, I see myself on the page when He tells me to “fear not, NEITHER BE DISCOURAGED”.

I find it interesting that the Lord sends His spies to the valley of Eshcol, or the valley of “cluster” (H812).

H812
'eshkôl
BDB Definition:
Eshcol = “cluster”
1) an area of Hebron, the valley of Eshcol
2) an Amorite, the brother of Mamre, dwelling in Hebron
Part of Speech: noun proper locative, masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: the same as H811

This Hebrew word is the same as H810 according to the BDB.

H811
'eshkôl
BDB Definition:
1) cluster
1a) of grapes
1b) of flowers (metaphor of lover)
Part of Speech: noun masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: probably prolonged from H810
Same Word by TWOT Number: 178

When you follow the word path all the way to it’s conclusion, we see that the BDB says that H811 is “probably prolonged from H810”.

H810

'eshek
eh'-shek
From an unused root (probably meaning to bunch together); a testicle (as a lump): - stone.
Total KJV occurrences: 1

H810
'eshek
Total KJV Occurrences: 1
stones, 1
Lev_21:20

When we look at the only time this root of “Eshcol” is used, we find a very interesting set of verses.

I did a study awhile back, http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/awesome-hands-part-120-brokenhanded/, which covered these verses due to having the word “brokenhanded” contained in them, but the concept of “broken stones” is just as applicable.

Lev 21:16  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 21:17  Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
Lev 21:18  For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
Lev 21:19  Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
Lev 21:20  Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
Lev 21:21  No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.
Lev 21:22  He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
Lev 21:23  Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

In the above mentioned study I write, “At first glance, the verses we are going to cover today do appear to be very cold-hearted of the Lord. After all, who needs mercy more than those who have afflictions of which they themselves have NOT caused to happen to themselves?”

What an “earth shattering” concept! I then write about these verses, “Simply put, and expressed by the Lord, no one with a blemish is permitted to approach the altar of the Lord! Anyone with a blemish is not even allowed to go in unto the vail because they have a blemish.

I wonder who, among all human beings, do not have a blemish? Of course, there are some folks out there that may be great physical specimens from among humanity but even they have physical blemishes.

However, I think anyone in the body of Christ will be quick to realize that this has much more to do with spiritual blemishes than those who have natural oddities or “blemishes”.

In truth, the only ones that can have the Lord truly bring forth life in them are those who KNOW who they are.”

Getting back to the verses for today, why would it be significant that the Lord causes Moses to tell the spies to search out the land, and they land they search out is the “valley of Eshcol”?

Notice what the spies bring back as “proof” of the land.

Deu 1:25  And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.

As I alluded to in my previous study on the root of this word Eskcol, the “land” and the “fruit” of the land, has much more to do with spiritual types than it does with the physical land they were in search of.

The Lord promised a land flowing with milk and honey to the Israelites, and this is a land which has many good fruits. However, the land itself is very deceiving because the land is occupied and POSSESSED!

Deu 1:26  Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God:
Deu 1:27  And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
Deu 1:28  Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.
Deu 1:29  Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
Deu 1:30  The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
Deu 1:31  And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.
Deu 1:32  Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,
Deu 1:33  Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.
Deu 1:34  And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,
Deu 1:35  Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,

There is such a wealth of spiritual riches contained within these verses if only we could take ahold of it and hold onto it for spiritual life!

Listen to the spirit within the Israelites and hear it echo within your own hearts and minds. “You murmured in your tents and said Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.”

How unbelieving can we be? Well, this isn’t just the Israelites, but this is you and I at our appointed time.

The rebellion against the commandment of the Lord is that thy DID NOT BELIEVE the Lord their God!

The Lord has guided us and directed us all the days of our lives, yet we rebel. He has searched out a place in His kingdom for us to pitch our tents, IN FIRE BY NIGHT, to show us the WAY WE SHOULD GO, but we rebel.

Why do we do such a thing? Well, it is because we are carnal, and we are of mankind. We are corrupted, but that is NOT the end of the story.

It is while we were in this corrupted state, while in BONDAGE, that the Lord came into Egypt to FREE US, and all He asks of us is to REMEMBER this. He didn’t free us to then LEAVE US TO DEATH! He freed us to lead us to LIFE, to lead us the way to the promised land of LIFE in His kingdom.

Notice, the spies take fruit OUT of the land and say the land is “good land”. What if, we can apply what we have learned from Jesus Christ in the New Testament and discover that it is what we take INTO the land that matters and not what we take OUT of it.

Spiritually speaking, the rebellion of the Israelites and their judgment for rebellion is shown to us in the type and shadow of being denied entry.

However, their FRUIT or SEED was NOT denied!

Deu 1:36  Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.
Deu 1:37  Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.
Deu 1:38  But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
Deu 1:39  Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

See, it is not what ENTERS a man that defiles him, but it is what is already there from WITHIN that defiles him.

When talking about the land, we are talking about US.

Mar 7:14  And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
Mar 7:15  There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
Mar 7:16  If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

The “fruit” that is already in us, before the Lord goes before us to show us the WAY to the promised land, and to lay it out before us to take ahold of, is CORRUPT fruit of the flesh and carnal mind.

It is “of man”.

However, the fruit that we want to produce comes only by way of the Lord GIVING it to us.

You might be saying to yourself that the Lord GAVE the promised land to the Israelites, but the truth is that the Lord gives the land to the FAITHFUL. He gives it to those who BELIEVE. Those that believe are GIVEN their BELIEF.

Deu 1:32  Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,

Deu 1:36  Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that HE HATH TRODDEN UPON, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.

The land that is given to us is the land that is PLACED under our feet with OUR BELIEF that the Lord will DELVIER the LAND to us.

So, again what land are we talking about? It is a land full of giants and “evil” fruit because “by their fruits you shall know them.

Listen to how Timothy describes this.

2Ti 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
2Ti 1:6  Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up THE GIFT OF GOD, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
2Ti 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2Ti 1:8  Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, NOT ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
2Ti 1:10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

It is for the purpose and grace of God that He has freed us form Egypt and He wants us to remember that it is HIS WORKS that have laid out the way before us of which we are to go into the promised land and possess it.

HAVE FAITH.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Remember that land Caleb had trodden upon? How does one “trod” any land without WALKING on it?

It is through FAITH that we do anything, and it is a gift of God.

Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The fruit unto holiness we have now is that which has been gifted to us.

How then does this manifest itself in our lives practically?

Well, how does the Lord think about things? After all, His ways and thoughts are above our ways and thoughts.

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Again, I ask how do we LIVE BY FAITH and how does that manifest itself in our lives practically?

We live AS IF a THING is ALREADY accomplished!

Isa 55:10  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, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

The Lord has PROMISED us OUR LAND, the LAND He has MOLDED for YOUR TAKING!

He has prepared it for the day of your arrival to it, but your arrival to it is with the FRUIT OF HIM IN YOU!

Rom 4:12  And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

Rom 4:16  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Rom 4:18  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Rom 4:19  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

Whenever we have any thing we are dealing with in our lives, we should walk by Faith. Walking by Faith is an ACTION. It is an act of doing that which we BELIEVE is TRUE.

We do those things were are not as though they were!

What do I mean by that? I could give many examples, but I will give an easy one.

When the housing bubble happened in the USA in 2008, my wife and I came into hard times like a lot of people did. We eventually were brought to the point that we could not keep our first home.

We had only been there a few years, but the set of events we found ourselves in with me being laid off, and us spending all of our savings on the purchase of our home, had us struggling to the state of losing everything.

Well, we continued to believe that the Lord had us there for a reason, and He would deliver us a way out. How this practically worked is multifaceted, but one way in which this played out practically is how we continued to build our credit back up.

It wasn’t back to where it needed to be, but we LIVED as if it were. We continued to work hard, paid our bills on time, saved money, and day by day, month by month and year by year we did what was required to get us back to where we wanted to be.

Eventually, we were able to purchase our current home and reap the benefits of those day by days and week by weeks.

We lived in FAITH that the Lord would provide for us as He saw fit.

We also knew and believed that the Lord works all things after the counsel of His own will, and it just happens that the Lord blessed us in this way. We lived our lives as if we had already arrived at our goals, so that when they did happen, we were already COMFORTABLE with it being a reality.

No matter what issues we have, we as children of God must LIVE as if the Lord has already done the thing He has promised will happen.

In the context of the study today, we must realize that the Lord promises us the promised land, but that is only half the battle so to speak. We must be willing, by Faith, to go in to possess it.

Whatever demons or giants we face, we must kick out the possessors and go in and possess the land ourselves! Live as if you have ALREADY conquered those things that need conquering in your life.

That does mean we do not need to actually CONQUER the giants, but BELIEVE they are conquered before the war has ever begun.

Count the cost and know the Lord has given you the funds to achieve victory.

If all else fails, and you find you are still lacking faith, PRAY for MORE and we will pray with you!

Cleanse that “dumb spirit” as if it were already removed!

Mar 9:17  And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
Mar 9:18  And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
Mar 9:19  He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
Mar 9:20  And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
Mar 9:21  And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
Mar 9:22  And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
Mar 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Notice, the boy was NEVER destroyed, but was PRESERVED so that the Lord could one day, on this day, come and DELIVER HIM.

Mar 9:28  And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Mar 9:29  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Pray, fast and LIVE as if the Lord has already delivered you from the land which you are to possess.

Soon, you will find that the land has been delivered into your hand and is trodden under your feet.

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Awesome Hands – Part 134

"Give him a charge in their sight"

May 20, 2018

We are continuing our study in the Awesome Hands series by looking at a few new scenarios that the Israelites are contending with as they their way to the promised land.

With both of these situations, we can learn how we should approach the Lord with questions we have on how to deal with every day things which happen to us.

The first situation is found in Number 27.

Num 27:1  Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
Num 27:2  And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
Num 27:3  Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.
Num 27:4  Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.

As we just read, these daughters are in a situation which doesn’t have a clear answer or a current path to take for helping them solve their problem according to the law.

They specifically mention that their father was not one of the ones that stood with Korah, and we know this is true because all of those were swallowed up by the earth, but they felt is necessary to point out that he died in his own sin. This is just saying that his sins were not passed on to them as was the case in some of the law of Moses.

Exo 34:6  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Exo 34:7  Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

With this scenario, Moses also knew he needed to find the course of action to take, so he petitions the Lord on behalf of these daughters.

Num 27:5  And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.
Num 27:6  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 27:7  The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.

Not only was their cause just to bring to the Lord, the Lord uses this occasion to create a new statute of judgment for the people to follow concerning inheritance.

Num 27:8  And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.
Num 27:9  And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren.
Num 27:10  And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren.
Num 27:11  And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.

When looking at this scenario, we should consider that there was no precedence for what to do in this situation. However, there was an order to things in how the daughters knew they could go to Moses to present their case to have a conclusion reached for them.

This is no different than with Christians today, especially when we know the Lord is working all things after the counsel of His own will and that He gives us guidance via the Word of God.

The example to remember with these daughters is multi-faceted. They believed that the Lord would provide them an inheritance because He said the children of Israel would inherit the promised land.

We are not told that they secretly murmured or became discontent with their situation but instead brought it to Moses.

They also did not let the death of their father, which of necessity had their male line of inheritance right die with him, stop them from inheriting the land promised to their family with all the rest of Israel.

This is the same concept of selling all we have in order to purchase the land which holds the pearl of great price. The reason why these two concepts merge is that they were willing to do what it took to receive their promise.

Mat 13:45  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Mat 13:46  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

The Lord promises us all that He never puts too much temptation on us that we can’t handle and that there is always a way out, but how much do we actually believe this by showing this belief in our ACTIONS?

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

There are many temptations which we face daily which can easily have us questioning why the Lord would do a certain thing to us, or others, without considering that He works it all for our good.

These daughters could have followed different courses of action, but they chose to follow the course of action that led to God being the Head of their decision.

Immediately after dealing with this situation, we see in scripture that Moses is confronted with his own sins.

When you analyze the proximity in scripture of what just happened with these daughters, and their reliance on believing that the Lord truly is faithful, we can easily see that Moses is now being given direct guidance on He Himself coming to the Lord for what to do about a future situation with who will SUCCEED Moses.

Immediately after dealing with these daughters, we see these verses:

Num 27:12  And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel.
Num 27:13  And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered.
Num 27:14  For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.

See, these verses seem so out of place next to each other, but they are perfectly unified in this chapter. The group of daughters could have easily rebelled in their hearts and minds that the Lord has not given them an inheritance due to it dying with their father.

Yet they respected the ways in which the Lord did things, and they presented their father's right to inheritance to the Lord.

Now, Moses is being presented with the land that the Israelites will inherit but that he himself will not be allowed to enter. In a lot of ways, this is a test for Moses, and it is certainly an example for us to learn from.

After this reminder to Moses that he will not inherit the promised land, and while also being shown the land itself when he goes up on the mount, Moses replies to the Lord with this:

Num 27:15  And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying,
Num 27:16  Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,
Num 27:17  Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.

Moses knows that when he is gone, the Israelites will need someone to guide them. He also is smart enough to realize that they will need to be specifically told who this is. Otherwise, they would have no one to shepherd them.

They also wouldn’t have anyone they could take their frustrations out on, like they tend to do with Moses all the time, but I digress.

Num 27:18  And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
Num 27:19  And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.
Num 27:20  And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
Num 27:21  And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.

The Lord has just established the succession of leadership from Moses to Joshua, even though the finality has not yet happened and will not happen until we see it in Deuteronomy.

Deu 34:1  And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,
Deu 34:2  And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,
Deu 34:3  And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
Deu 34:4  And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
Deu 34:5  So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
Deu 34:6  And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.
Deu 34:7  And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
Deu 34:8  And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
Deu 34:9  And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Joshua is, from this time on, Moses' minister/servant. We know that this is his status from the start of the book of Joshua.

I mention these things to show that we should always be planning ahead in our lives, even though we do not fully know what the Lord will be doing with us in the future.

The things we do know, which are happening in the present, are the things we can consider and act upon now. In conjunction with that, we can also be planning for various situations that happen in our future.

This is akin to counting the cost in our actions no matter what situations we face and the decisions we make while facing them.

There is no telling what Israel would have done if the Lord had not causes these daughters to come to Moses with their situation of inheritance to then lead Moses to consider who would inherit his role with the people of God. However, we know that we are given these examples so that we know that the Lord would have us to PLAN things OUT ahead of time as much as possible.

Even though these situations are narrow in the scope of this topic of preparation, these concepts that we can see in these stories extend to everything we do in our daily lives.

Of course, we know the Lord is working all things after His own counsel, but that was true in these stories as well. What we can see though, is that these daughters followed the steps needed in order to petition the Lord.

Then Moses, too, petitions the Lord for what he should do.

This should scream out to us that we are to ALWAYS, IN ALL THINGS, petition the Lord for guidance and direction.

It really can’t be said any better than Christ Himself said it:

Luk 14:28 (ESV)  For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
Luk 14:29  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
Luk 14:30  saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
Luk 14:31  Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32  And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Luk 14:33  So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

“Renouncing all that we have,” in the context of our topic today, includes renouncing our own carnal-minded thoughts and reasoning with whatever we are dealing.

We should also petition the Lord in guide us in all things, and take actions that we know have good examples of success scripturally speaking.

In other words, we should not depart from the things we have learned, even as spiritual children, because it is those things which will guide us faithfully.

Pro 22:3  (ESV) The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.
Pro 22:4  The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.
Pro 22:5  Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.
Pro 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.