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Jer 1:10 Part 3 – I Have Set Thee Over The Nations

The Curses of Leviticus 26:14-46

[Study Aired December 6, 2020]

In our last study we saw that there are always many more verses of scripture which deal with our judgment in this age than the verses detailing our blessings for being obedient to the Lord’s words.

We saw that Jeremiah being set over the nations typifies what the Lord is doing within each of us. We learned that we must be set over the nations within us before we will be given to “rule on the earth… with a rod of iron” (Rev 1:1-3, 15:7-8, 2:26-67).

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

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

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

All the verbs in the first two verses of Revelation 1, the verbs… He ‘gave’ this revelation, to ‘shew’ him things that must ‘come to pass’, ‘sent’, signified, ‘bare record’ and ‘he saw’…are all in the aorist tense signifying that those verbs are in the process of being fulfilled within us. All the verbs in the next verse, verse 3, are in the present tense. ‘Read’, ‘hear’ and ‘keep the things written’ are all in the present tense because “the time is at hand” for judgment to presently, right this very moment “begin… at the house of God”:

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The ‘suffering’ of the seven last plagues and the ‘judgment beginning at the house of God’ are one and the same thing. Both are the work of God judging the nations within us – all our weaknesses and all our faults, all of our appetites and all of our passions. Only after the Lord has judged us within and has burned out all that will burn up, will we be qualified to judge the outward world with a rod of iron at “the redemption of the purchased possession… the blessed and holy… first resurrection.”

‘Reading… hearing… and keeping the words of this prophecy’ means that we must begin fulfilling the seal, trumpets and seven last plagues before we can begin entering the temple of God as mentioned in:

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

All the verbs I have emboldened in these two verses are in the aorist tense, which tells us they are in the process of being fulfilled within each of us. If the seven plagues had to be fulfilled before any of us could begin to enter into Christ, then the judgment which is now upon the house of God could never even begin, and none of us would be here today because:

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Is the phrase “to die” in the future tense? If, as it appears, it is in the future tense, then “we are of all men most miserable” and judgment can never “begin at the house of God”, because the seven last plagues are that ‘judgment’ which produces the death of our old man. If our death must be completed before our judgment can begin, then we are all doomed. However, if the phrase “once to die” is in the aorist tense, then it is speaking of a process which is presently taking place in ‘the temple’ and ‘the body’ of Christ in every generation since Christ. If Hebrews 9:27 is speaking of the process of dying to our old man as we are entering into the temple of God, then it is possible for all of us to presently be entering into the temple through the judgment which is now upon the house of God. If “once to die” is better translated as “once to be dying” and to begin entering into the temple of God, even as the seven plagues of the seven angels are being poured out upon us, then we are not doomed, and instead we are “through death”, through the daily dying of our old man (1Co 15:31), being delivered from death unto life.

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

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

Let’s see what the tense of the phrase “once to die” is here in Hebrews 9:27:

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointedG606 [G5736] unto men once to dieG599 [G5629], but after this the judgment:

There are two verbal phrases in this verse, both of which I have emboldened. The first phrase… “it is appointed” is in the present tense, but the second phrase, “to die”, is not in the future tense as it appears in our English. It is in the aorist tense, telling us that this ‘dying’ is a matter of “dying daily” (1Co 15:31), being crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20) daily and daily presenting our bodies as “a living sacrifice unto God” (Rom 12:1) and daily “fill[ing] up in [our] bodies what is behind of the afflictions of Christ for His body’s sake which is the church” (Col 1:14).

I was pleasantly shocked to discover the meaning of the two words translated “but after” in the phrase “but after this the judgment”.

Here is Strong’s definition of this Greek word:

Here is the breakdown of how the 2841 appearances of this Greek word ‘de’ is translated in the King James Version which I am combining with the information from Brown-Driver-Briggs, Thayer and Strong’s:

This is not a complete list of how this Greek word ‘de’ is translated into the King James English, but it is very clear that the English word most often used to translate this Greek word is the word ‘and’, which connects and continues the thought of dying with judgment.

Further proof of the fact that “once to die” should reflect the aorist tense which the holy spirit gave it is the next Greek word which is translated into the English word ‘after’. Here is what Strong’s reveals about this Greek word:

With this knowledge we can safely say that the holy spirit is telling us that “It is appointed unto man once to be dying accompanied by judgment… which is now beginning to be administered daily at the house of God”:

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

The plagues being poured out upon the kingdom of our old man are “the goodness of God which brings [us] to repentance” (Rom 2:4). It is these plagues which bring us “to our wits’ end” before we can be resurrected with Christ in newness of life:

Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro [Qal stem], and stagger [Qal stem] 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!

It is the Lord’s wrath, His judgments upon our old man, which drags us to repentance:

Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment [of “the seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God (Rev 15:1)] of God?
Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness [wrath… judgment] of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath [“The seven last plagues [which] fill up the wrath of God” [Rev 15:1] and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up [aorist tense] the wrath of God.

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

Our old man would much rather be told that there will be “a place of safety” or “a rapture” out of the fiery judgments of God upon His house in this present time, but all the false doctrines of Babylon will not change the fact that the wrath of God is being fulfilled upon His house through His pouring out upon us His seven last plagues within our lives. Babylon within us must fall “daily” to “fill up the wrath of God” as the gospel of the scriptures require:

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

The falling of Babylon is a major part of the judgment of God which is listed as the seventh of the seven last plagues which are being fulfilled within the lives of all who are being given the opportunity to begin being judged in this present age (Rom 8:18 and 1Pe 4:17).

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out [aorist tense] his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were [aorist tense] voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was [aorist tense] a great earthquake, such as was [aorist tense] not since men were [aorist tense] upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided [aorist tense] into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell [aorist tense]: and great Babylon came in remembrance [aorist tense] before God, to give [aorist tense] unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell [present tense] upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed [aorist tense] God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was [present tense] exceeding great.

“There fell upon men a great hail” is present tense. “The plague thereof was exceeding great” is also present tense. Both are present tense because “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17).

A personal example of how I experienced verse 21 is that when I was first told the truth of “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”… back in 1972. That doctrine was itself a crushing “weight of a talent”, a 70-pound ball of hail upon me and the Babylonian, World Wide Church of God false doctrine of eternal death which was within me at that time. My immediate blasphemous reaction was… “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! Anyone who knows anything about scripture knows that ‘the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever.’” Such pitiful ignorance! Such blasphemous self-righteousness! Every time we repeat and teach others our monstrous false doctrines, whether it is eternal torment or eternal death, we are blaspheming our own Creator and making Him into a monster who either torments or destroys the vast majority of His own creatures. Also, every time we tell others that we have never blasphemed God, when the Truth is that we must all come out of blasphemous Babylon, we are again blaspheming God by essentially telling others they need not fulfill the seven plagues of the seven angels in their lives in spite of what the Lord Himself tells us:

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Those who know what ‘hail’ signifies know that it wipes away all our false doctrines:

Isa 28:17  Judgment [the seven plagues] also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters [the truth of God’s Word] shall overflow the hiding place.

Christ is that ‘temple’ and we are ‘Christ’ if we are in Him and He is in us:

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

All our false, lying doctrines have made us all blasphemers of Christ before we come to appreciate His goodness which judges us and drives us to “[our] wits’ end”. We are all first the servants of Babylon who hate the Christ of scripture before we are spiritually struck down and given our instructions of what we are to do in His service:

Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

The first 14 verses of Deuteronomy 28 and the first 13 verses of Leviticus 26 enumerate for us the “great and precious promises” that are ours in Christ if we are given to obey and abide in His words. The last 54 verses of Deuteronomy 28, and the last 33 verses of Leviticus 26 tell us of what will inevitably befall us when judgment “begins at the house of God” and we begin to experience the “seven seals… seven trumpets, and the seven plagues of the seven angels [being] fulfilled” in our lives.

Because Leviticus 26 is shorter, and because Leviticus 26 uses the phrase “seven times”, I will read those last 33 verses to set the stage for the pouring out of the seven plagues upon us, which is what is being signified by all the punishments upon His rebellious house which are recorded in this prophecy of Jeremiah.

This is what Israel was told in advance of their apostasy. This is what we are told before we lose our first love, hold the doctrine of Balaam, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, commit fornication, eat things offered to idols, are spiritually dead, think we are rich and increased in spiritual knowledge, while in reality we are spiritually wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

The seals, trumpets and plagues are the “gold tried in the fire” of the next verses:

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

This warning in Revelation is just the New Testament warning of these verses of Leviticus 26:

Lev 26:14  But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Lev 26:15  And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Lev 26:16  I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17  And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Lev 26:18  And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
Lev 26:19  And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
Lev 26:20  And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
Lev 26:21  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
Lev 26:22  I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
Lev 26:23  And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:24  Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:25  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
Lev 26:26  And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
Lev 26:27  And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:28  Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:29  And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
Lev 26:30  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
Lev 26:31  And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
Lev 26:32  And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
Lev 26:33  And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
Lev 26:34  Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
Lev 26:35  As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
Lev 26:36  And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
Lev 26:37  And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
Lev 26:38  And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
Lev 26:39  And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
Lev 26:40  If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
Lev 26:41  And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Lev 26:42  Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Lev 26:43  The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
Lev 26:44  And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
Lev 26:45  But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.
Lev 26:46  These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Revelation 16 is the New Testament account of the pouring out upon our lives of the seven bowls of the wrath of God which must be fulfilled within our lives if we are to enter into the temple of God in the kingdom of God in heaven.

Along with the last verse of chapter 15, here is what we must all endure which will bring each of us “to [our] wits’ end” before we are brought to our “desired haven… the kingdom of God within [which comes with]… the earnest of the spirit… [which is] “the holy spirit of promise” of… the redemption of the purchased possession”, the first resurrection at the beginning of a thousand-year reign with Christ over the outward, natural “kingdoms of this world [Greek: ‘kosmos’ the outward world] (Rev 2:26-27, 11:15, 20:1-6).

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Rev 16:1  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Rev 16:2  And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
Rev 16:3  And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
Rev 16:4  And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Rev 16:5  And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Rev 16:6  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Rev 16:7  And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
Rev 16:8  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Rev 16:12  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Please note that none of these seven plagues are qualified as having to be administered in the order in which they are enumerated. All we are told is they must be fulfilled. The same is true of the Old Testament details of these plagues. All we are told is that when we inevitably fail to be obedient to His words, “All these curses [plagues] shall come upon thee and overtake thee.”

Deu 28:15  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Deu 28:16  Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. [the first plague… “the earth”]
Deu 28:17  Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Deu 28:18  Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Deu 28:19  Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out [The second plague upon “the sea”].
Deu 28:20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
Deu 28:21  The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

We must come to see and confess that we have lost our first love and that we are stricken with all the curses of the seven churches, including the self-righteousness of Laodicea:

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten [with the seven plagues]: be zealous therefore, and repent.

We are admonished here in Revelation 3 to “be zealous therefore and repent” of “say[ing], I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; [when the truth is that we] knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”:

What makes us think we are spiritually rich is all the false doctrines which have become part of us. They have become our spiritual children and the spiritual fruit of our union with a whore.

Burning all of this out of our lives is the spiritual meaning of:

Deu 28:41  Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

The ‘captivity’ of our “sons and daughters” is to be carried off into Babylonian captivity. Like ancient Israel, our heart is in Babylon while we are yet with our first love. Our spiritual ‘children’ are our doctrines which must go into Babylonian captivity, and it is there in Babylon where we must begin to “come out of her” before we can begin to enter into the temple of God in heaven.

This is what the Lord told Israel before their captivity:

Isa 57:3  But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. [Rev 18:4]
Isa 57:4  Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

This is what Isaiah tells us of our captors and of the false doctrines which hold us captive:

Isa 10:5  O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation [seven plagues, Rev 15:8].
Isa 10:6  I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Isa 10:7  Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

The Assyrians were to Israel what our churches of Babylon, with all our false doctrines, are to us. They enslave us, they devour us, they use us and abuse us, and “we love to have it so”.

Jer 5:31  The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

Hos 11:6  And the sword shall abide on his cities [Ephraim, Israel, us], and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

We see the word ‘because’ a lot in scripture, and many times it appears to be telling us that the Lord sends us into Assyrian and Babylonian captivity and puts us through the experiences of Job “because [we] refuse to return [to Him]…because of our own counsels”. Indeed, that is exactly what we just read but we must always remember that the sum of the Lord’s words reveals that “the Lord [is] seeking an occasion against [our uncircumcised flesh]”. That is what happened to Samson, and it is written for our admonition (1Co 10:11).

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

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

‘At our own time’ our own uncircumcised flesh is given dominion over us who are to become the very body of Christ, and we “leave our first love” (Rev 2:4). Like Samson, the Lord works even our rebellious, carnal nature “after the counsel of His own will.”

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

Rev 2:4. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

For that reason, we can all say with the apostle Paul, who was the former Christ-hating Saul of Tarsus:

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

“I am… chief of sinners” is how each of us should feel toward ourselves because no one knows us as well as we know ourselves. Like Paul, you and I are in no position to look down on others as sinners because we, too, have sinned and committed many transgressions against the words of our Lord. Nevertheless, there is a reason we have been forgiven our sins and have been granted dominion over sin in our lives. It is the same as the reason Paul was forgiven his sins, as Paul explains in the very next verse:

1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me [us] first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Paul confirms that this reasoning applies to all of us and not just himself in the very next verse of Ephesians:

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

1st Timothy 1:14 tells us that ‘grace works with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus’.

1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

We are told that ‘grace chastens us to forsake ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and [to] live godly lives in this present age’:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811: ‘paideuo’, chastens] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world [G165: ‘aion’, age];

Of course love “is… obedience to His commandments”:

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

So “the grace of God that brings salvation” is not lascivious, greasy grace. It is rather ‘chastening grace’ which “chastens us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age.”

The scriptures tell us:

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

We must never give in to an attitude of complacency and reason that if God is sovereign, then we need not be diligent, vigilant or sober. That is the complacent, “luke-warm” spirit of the church of Laodicea. Such a mindset is as far from the instructions of scripture as can possibly be. Here is how Christ tells us to be:

Luk 16:8  And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

The Lord did not commend the unjust steward for being “unjust”. He even tells us in this very same parable that is not His point:

Luk 16:11  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Luk 16:12  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?

What the Lord was commending was the unjust steward’s zealous, vigilant and diligent efforts to provide for his future needs.

Luk 16:8  And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
Luk 16:9  And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

This is just the Lord’s way of telling those who are obedient to His words what He told us in:

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

So, yes, we are to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Php 2:12). However, when and if we are granted to do so, we must be very careful and acknowledge the Truth of what we are told in the very next verse:

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

All things are done “after the counsel of His own will… to do… His good pleasure”. If the Lord desires anything then that is what He does:

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

Therefore it is because of this “chastening” characteristic of the Lord’s grace that we see so many more verses which concern our chastening than there are those verses which concern our spiritual blessings for being obedient to the Lord in this present age.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth [pours out His wrath upon] every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to [begin to] enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were [are being] fulfilled.

That is the Lord’s choice for how He is going about “working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).

We have now laid the foundation to continue our studies in this chastening prophecy of Jeremiah. This prophecy, like every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God, has a personal application first and foremost to each of us. All the rebellions and chastening we will read of in this prophecy happened to ancient Israel and Judah as types of us.

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

These are the verses for our next study… our continued instructions concerning how the Lord is working with and is “chastening us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts… for our sakes” (Tit 2:11-12, 2Co 4:15):

Jer 1:11  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
Jer 1:12  Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
Jer 1:13  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
Jer 1:14  Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
Jer 1:15  For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
Jer 1:16  And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
Jer 1:17  Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.
Jer 1:18  For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
Jer 1:19  And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.

]]> Studies in Psalms – Psa 141:4-10 “O GOD the Lord: in Thee is my Trust; Leave not my Soul Destitute” – Part 2 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/studies-in-psalms-psa-1414-10-o-god-the-lord-in-thee-is-my-trust-leave-not-my-soul-destitute-part-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=studies-in-psalms-psa-1414-10-o-god-the-lord-in-thee-is-my-trust-leave-not-my-soul-destitute-part-2 Sat, 11 Jan 2020 00:41:15 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=20068 Psalm 141:4-10  “O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute” – Part 2
[Study Aired January 9, 2020]

Psa 141:4  Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
Psa 141:5  Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. 
Psa 141:6  When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. 
Psa 141:7  Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. 
Psa 141:8  But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute. 
Psa 141:9  Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity. 
Psa 141:10  Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.

Last week we discussed how this particular Psalm 141 explains how it is through our crying out to God that we will be kept “from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity“, which represent the deceitful and desperately wicked heart within and without that can easily be defiled or deceived (Jer 17:9). It is through that crying out, or strong tears mentioned in Hebrews 5:7 that God is working in the lives of His children who are called and chosen to go through this day of visitation or judgment (Psa 8:4, Luk 19:44) which will bless us to no longer go through this life with a presumptuous spirit that leans unto our own understanding (Pro 3:5). We will learn obedience through the things we suffer, the conclusion of the matter being that we will “Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Heb 5:8, 1Pe 4:12, Ecc 12:13).

Christ learned and we also learn “in the days of [our] his flesh [Col 1:24], when he [we – 1Jn 4:17] had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save [us – Eph 1:12] him from death, and was [were – 2Ti 2:22] heard in that [we – Heb 5:7] he feared” (1Pe 4:1-2).

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; [Ecc 12:13]

When we don’t identify with Christ’s words in Mark 10:18 or with Paul, who saw himself as the chief of sinners who did not consider himself to have apprehended (1Ti 1:15, Php 3:11-13), then that is one of the wicked ways God can cause our hearts to incline and will burn out of us in this age (1Co 5:5) or He will reserve us unto judgment in the lake of fire (2Pe 2:9). If God is mindful of us in this age (Psa 8:4), He will destroy that sin of presumptuousness by overcoming those giants in our land little by little so they can be the bread for us (Num 14:9) which will strengthen our hearts and give us the ability to overcome in this life and go and sin no more (Joh 8:11). That is the battle cry we are hearing in this opening verse of our study: “Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.“

The joyous conclusion of the matter for God’s elect is what God has started in us as a work of faith is His predestined and promised workmanship that will reveal His might and power within us. That power can give us the ability to overcome the wicked one in this age as we drink the cup the Lord has given us for that express purpose (Mar 10:39, 1Jn 3:8, 1Jn 2:16, Col 1:27). Keeping us from the great sin of presumptuous is keeping us from thinking we have contributed in any way to our current standing in Christ, and so we are given these most assuring and sobering admonitions in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 and Romans 11:18-20 and 25 to encourage us to not boast in our flesh which cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Rom 11:18  Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19  Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

God’s elect must cry out as His elect bride with such a tenacious, diligent and contrite and broken heart that says such things as these expressions of truth found in Psalm 141:

  • give ear unto my voice
  • Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense
  • Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips
  • Incline not my heart to any evil thing
  • Let the righteous smite me

It should be apparent to God’s children why this pleading is used throughout this Psalm and the word of God that reveals how we must wrestle through this life, not against flesh and blood but against the powers and principalities that are ever at the door of our heart (Gen 4:7) and will be overcome through Christ who alone can make us more than conquerors through him (Joh 8:37).

The elect are blessed to encourage each other in this day of the Lord as we confidently look to Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith (2Co 4:18, Php 1:6). We can be helpers of each other’s joy, gaining that confidence and stedfast spirit that we must have in order to not lean unto our own understanding so that we are no longer found with our own righteousness but with the righteousness of Christ within us (Php 3:9).

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Our focus on this week’s second part of our study with Psalm 141 is on how God’s elect are blessed to keep our eyes on Christ as a result of the trials we go through, or the grace that is sufficient for us in this life (2Co 12:9).

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

Psa 141:4  Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.

The point that needs to be made here is that God is greater than our hearts, and He knows that if not for the patience and faith of the saints that is given to those who are His workmanship in this life (Eph 2:10), we would just naturally “practise wicked works with men that work iniquity” and “eat of their dainties“.

We naturally lean unto our own understanding and must be brought to cry out to God: “Incline not my heart to any evil thing“, and God has made us this way so we will cry out in the “day of evil” that He has made for each of us in our appointed time (Isa 63:17, Pro 16:4, Amo 3:6).

When we no longer savour the things of this world, “their dainties” or delicacies or pleasures of sin for a season (Heb 11:25-26), we will be learning how it is through Christ who is the Vine that we cannot do anything, including sinning or being found with His righteousness, which is a gift from God. It is through Christ we will cease from sinning as we overcome our hearts which can easily condemn us (1Jn 3:20). We will overcome because He is greater than our hearts, and therefore we are told to do this so we can be assured through this lifetime of overcoming that we are more than conquerors through Christ who tells us we should not cast away our confidence which has great recompense of reward (1Jn 3:18-21, Php 1:6, Tit 3:8, Heb 10:35).

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. [Heb 10:35]

1Jn 3:18  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
1Jn 3:19  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
1Jn 3:20  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
1Jn 3:21  Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

Heb 10:35  Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

Outwardly it’s true as well that we must not “Incline not my [our] heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties” (Luk 12:45-46), which is speaking of separating ourselves from those who are committing spiritual fornication like the example with the Corinthian fornicator (1Co 5:1-5, 2Co 6:14-17).

Luk 12:45  But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; [leaning unto our own understanding (Pro 3:5-6)]
Luk 12:46  The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

What we are not to do is become self-righteous and salute only our own (Mat 5:47) and not eat with “publicans and sinners”, separating ourselves for wrong reasons. This right balance is summarized in these verses:

Mar 2:16  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
Mar 2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Gal 2:12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

1Co 5:11  But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
1Co 5:12  For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1Co 5:13  But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. [Psa 141:4]

Psa 141:5  Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. 

This verse helps us contemplate the privilege that we have to be judged of God through the church in this age, so that we can learn of His righteousness today (Isa 26:9, Jer 22:29, Joh 17:17).

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.

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

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

It is God whom David wanted to dole out his correction and the not “the hand of man” as was expressed in these verses below that essentially are saying the same thing as verse 5 in our study.

1Ch 21:13  And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of manH120.

2Sa 24:14  And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of manH120.

Let ‘Christ in you’ come to me when I’m wrong (Mat 18:5, Mat 18:15-17) that will be “a kindness” if Christ will “reprove me” through the body of Christ, it will be “an excellent oil” when I heed the admonition to buy gold tried in the fire and ointment and salve for my head and it “shall not break my head” (or “let not my head refuse it” as the LITV translates it) because God’s mercy will rule through the judgment and make a way for me to bear that correction.

(Rev 3:18, Jas 2:13, 1Co 10:13 when we are comfortable in the fire, we can buy gold God will purify within the church that will give us spiritual vision as we follow Christ in each other: “Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off” Isa 33:13-17, Heb 11:10).

Isa 33:13  Hear [Jer 22:29], ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
Isa 33:16  He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks [Mat 16:18, 1Pe 2:5]: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. [Joh 21:17]
Isa 33:17  Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

When God has corrected me through the means He has ordained, it will bring forth good fruit and a respondent heart of mercy which says “for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities“. Everything we suffer and endure as we mature in the correction of which every son whom He is receiving partakes (Heb 12:6) is so we can mature and go on to have that joy and blessing of bringing healing to the rest of the world in time, being sent with His word that has already worked its purpose in our own lives of sanctifying us and preparing our hearts to be servants of the Lord who will wipe away all the tears of humanity (Joh 20:21, Psa 107:20, Rev 21:4).

Psa 141:6  When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. 
Psa 141:7  Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. 

These next two verses are still referring back to “the righteous” who “smite me” of verse 5,  and the expression “When their judges are overthrown in stony places” is talking about when we no longer lean to our own understanding, the stony places being a symbol of where our initial leaning to our own understanding that seems right to us ends (Pro 14:12, Mat 13:5). Once we receive God’s word, it is sweet in our mouth but bitter in our belly (Eze 3:3, Rev 10:9), and it is that blueness of the wound that heals our hearts and minds (Pro 20:30) so His words that are now within us can be used to heal others: “they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.“

1Ti 4:16  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Eph 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

When their judges are overthrown within us, “Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth” as our old man dies because of God’s word that “cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth“, so our life is no longer found within us but the life of Christ (Mat 10:39, Col 1:27) is found by being buried with him in baptism (Rom 6:4), where there is no longer any dead men’s bones in that tomb but rather a resurrected Christ within us who can now walk over all those old bones “scattered at the grave’s mouth” (Mal 4:3).

Mal 4:3  And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Psa 141:8  But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute. 

When God mercifully judges us in this age, we can see and know right now that this verse in Job 19:25 applies to us today in earnest, and one day we will see Him face to face (1Co 13:12-13).

Job 19:25  For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Co 13:13  And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

The rest of the verses in this section of Job go on to describe what happens to those whose “eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord” and how the resulting “trust” will be formed as a result of obedience to God’s commandments and fear of “the sword” that is the word of God being spoken of in below.

Job 19:29 Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.

It is with that intreatable spirit (Jas 3:17-18, Gal 5:22-23), that fear “of the sword”, that God will “leave not my soul destitute” as a result of not letting that sword depart from our house (Col 1:24, 2Sa 12:10).

Jas 3:17  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

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.

Psa 141:9  Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity. 
Psa 141:10  Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.

These last two verses describe for us how the Lord will “leave not my [our] soul destitute“. The soul of His elect is brought to not be left desolate by being given to see that these verses are speaking of our old man within us who needs to be judged (1Pe 4:17, Psa 141:9-10).

“The workers of iniquity“, the “wicked [who] fall into their own nets” in this day of evil, is something that God has created for me to judge me (Isa 63:17, Pro 16:4) as my own iniquities chasten me (Jer 2:19), and I am set free through that judgment the son of God brings into my heavens “whilst that I withal escape” (Joh 8:36).

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

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

God’s elect are blessed to cry out today “Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity“, and those snares and gins represent the deceitfulness of sin which will harden our hearts unless the Lord gives us a diligent spirit that brings us to cry out throughout this life, “O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.“

So, we cry out, “Lord let me not despise your correction or forget its good purpose for which it was intended as you soften our hearts through that correction and help us exhort one another daily (Heb 3:13) to come together more and more (Heb 10:25) as we see the day approaching (Heb 12:5-6).”

Heb 3:13. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

]]> Awesome Hands – Part 123: “Blessings and Punishments as seen in Leviticus 26” https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/awesome-hands-part-123-blessings-and-punishments-as-seen-in-leviticus-26/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=awesome-hands-part-123-blessings-and-punishments-as-seen-in-leviticus-26 Mon, 23 Oct 2017 06:37:01 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=14833

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Awesome Hands – part 123

Blessings and Punishments as seen in Leviticus 26

October 20, 2017

Many times we think about blessings as positive things that happen to us and punishments as things that happen to us due to the Lord’s relationship with us going sour.

However, for Christians today, the way the Lord deals with us is much more for our growth in the new man than it is simply just to punish us for our sins.

Ultimately, the wages of sin is death, so we will certainly partake of those “wages”, but we also can participate in the love that the Father shows us in the forgiveness we have been given through and by Jesus Christ.

At the end of the day, we are being shaped into the new man so that we, too, can show forgiveness and mercy to those whose lives we affect and by whom we are affected. Our verses today should help us understand where the Lord is coming from as it pertains to these various sides of the coin of disobedience versus obedience and ultimately how we are to treat others in our lives.

Punishment for disobedience

It is often said by mainstream Christianity that the Lord loves us, therefore he doesn’t cause us to fear Him. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the fear of the Lord, and fear of disobeying Him, that causes us to realize the blessings of obedience to Him and the punishments for disobeying Him.

Another way to say it is He either gives us life or He gives us death. We are going to cover chapter 26 of Leviticus in this study since our “hand” verse for today are found in verses 25 and 46. The whole chapter will serve as a good foundation for this topic. First, let’s start with the punishment.

Lev 26:14  But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Lev 26:15  And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Lev 26:16  I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17  And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Lev 26:18  And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
Lev 26:19  And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
Lev 26:20  And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.

Things just got intense! In a very real sense, the Lord rewarded or punished His people in an outward way that everyone could see. So, these verses we just read, and will be reading, tell us that if you listen to or ignored the Lord, there were very serious results that happened.

For mostly everyone reading or listening to this study, we know that the power and might of the Lord is not something of which you want to be on the losing end. What we just read culminates in pride, one of the three things that is “all that is in the world” (1Jn 2:16).

What we are being told very bluntly in these verses is that the Lord will turn off the rains of the heavens and will cause the earth to no longer bear any fruit. “I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass,” should be something to which we all relate.

We shouldn’t think that we are any different than the Pharaoh was when the Lord sent Moses to free the Israelites. When the Lord is working on us, we tend to not enjoy the situation.

When I am disciplining my children, there have been times that they believe the discipline is not just or is unfair, so what do they do? What do we all do when we feel the Lord has “wronged” us somehow, when we have this mindset?

We double down on our position. We dig our heels in and stay the course of our mindset. Then, we lose against the “bigger” and “stronger” force and authority!

Lev 26:21  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
Lev 26:22  I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
Lev 26:23  And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:24  Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
Lev 26:25  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
Lev 26:26  And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

When you look at all the symbolism in this chapter, it yells out to us just how much the Lord abhors the old man in us, but that He endures the old man so that the new man can come to life. This process happens throughout our whole lifetime, but as we see it happening, we start to get closer and closer to the Lord as more of the old man dies.

“Will punish you yet seven times for your sins,” tells us this is judgment happening for these sins. Ten women baking bread in one oven tells us that the flesh is completely going to be consumed by the Lord, and specifically the old man is doomed by what is produced by him. You’ll never get your fill and be content as it pertains to sinning and the old man.

Lev 26:27  And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:28  Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

Now, we’ve really done it! The Lord has poured out His punishments, yet we still do not hearken unto Him. We yet again “walk contrary” to what we know we should be doing, and the Lord is now going to pour His fury out on us. His complete fury is going to come on our entire household! Not only that, but we will turn on our OWN FLESH!

Lev 26:29  And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
Lev 26:30  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
Lev 26:31  And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
Lev 26:32  And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
Lev 26:33  And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

Now we are going to see a shift of sorts. The Lord is going to cause us to leave the land onto which He has sent desolation, and we will become scattered, but even a scattered people still have their God! This process will allow the “land” (of which land you are) to find REST.

Lev 26:34  Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
Lev 26:35  As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
Lev 26:36  And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
Lev 26:37  And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
Lev 26:38  And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
Lev 26:39  And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

If we haven’t gotten the clue yet, the Lord means business. He’s not playing around. If you noticed, He has been very patient with us to a point, but when enough is enough, He will pour His fury out on us so that we, our households, our neighbors and our nation are all driven out and away from the blessings the Lord has given us. Yet, this is still hope if we understand what this all means for us.

What we need at this point is repentance. Think about the first words of Jesus’ ministry after being baptized by the Holy Spirit.

Mar 1:14  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

What we need, all we need to do, to recognize the kingdom of God is at hand, is to REPENT. In the context of our study today, we need to repent of the iniquities and sins we’ve committed against the Lord.

What we are guilty of is allowing the pride of our life to dominate our relationship with the Lord. Of course, we know that the Lord has caused it all to happen. So we also must admit that He is FULLY in control and has caused us to act out against Him SO THAT we can then be reconciled to Him.

Lev 26:40  If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
Lev 26:41  And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Lev 26:42  Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Lev 26:43  The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
Lev 26:44  And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
Lev 26:45  But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.
Lev 26:46  These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

The Lord will not utterly cast us away if we do these three things:

1) Confess our iniquity and sins.
2) Humble ourselves.
3) Accept the punishment of our iniquity/sins

See, the Lord just wants us to acknowledge what He is doing in our lives. If we ignore that He is working the good and bad, He will just give us more of the bad until we wise up. There will come a time, if we continue down the destructive path of building up the old man, that the Lord will do everything it takes to bring us to our knees before Him.

Blessings for obedience

For the sake of this study, I reversed the order of how this chapter operates. No, I do not think I can do or say it better than that Lord can; However, I wanted to leave this study on a positive note for all the blessings the Lord will pour out on the new man in us as we follow His statutes, judgments and laws.

Lev 26:1  Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

It seems straight forward. Don’t worship idols. Now, you must take an inventory of what you do with your time and actions and determine what things are idols in your life. Then, eliminate them from your life. Simple, if you desire to please the Lord and follow His laws, and the Lord does give us the desires of our hearts when we are speaking about the new man and the “heart” of God.

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

Psa 37:3  Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Psa 37:4  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Continuing, we must keep the sabbaths and keep them holy.

Lev 26:2  Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
Lev 26:3  If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Lev 26:4  Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Lev 26:5  And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

The fruit of our work and of our land will be manifest. The Lord will bless these things because we are willing to keep His commandments.

Lev 26:6  And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
Lev 26:7  And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
Lev 26:8  And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
Lev 26:9  For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
Lev 26:10  And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.
Lev 26:11  And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
Lev 26:12  And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
Lev 26:13  I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

The Lord will bless us in many ways when we keep His commandments.

  1. We shall have peace in our land.
  2. We won’t be afraid of anyone
  3. Evil beasts will be gone from our land
  4. Our enemies will flee from us
  5. The Lord will have respect “unto us”
  6. We will be well nourished since our new fruits of the land will replace what we already have in store
  7. The Lord’s tabernacle will be set among us.
  8. The Lord will walk among us and be our God and we His people

Notice these eight blessings of the Lord! Everything we need is right here. Now, apply these inwardly, and you really get a picture of what the Lord promises His spiritual Jews of the HEART.

After all, that is where the circumcism happens so that we confess with our mouth our iniquities. This is where our humbleness finds its abode, and this is where we accept whatever it is the Lord has planned for us.

When we look at the 'one through eight' list above, we are the land, we will not be afraid of anyone or their doctrine, the Lord will cause our land to be cleansed of “beasts”, our enemies are anyone that are the enemies of the cross of Christ will flee from the doctrine of Christ that is in us because we are as He is in this world, and the Lord will have respect toward us because we are the bride of Christ whom He adorns.

We will be spiritually nourished by the Lord and the very land that He gives us. This land is our mind, and we will not be tormented but rather nourished by His mind. He will make us His TEMPLE, and He will walk among us there.

These are the things which we are promised now, both on the disobedience and the obedience side of things. It sounds very dreadful for the old man, but it is wonderful news for the new man in us.

This chapter should bring hope to us all because we are ahead of the curve so to speak. The disobedience towards the Lord comes from us all, and we gain the reward of that disobedience. However, because we know the laws and commandments of the Lord, we also are positioned to take full advantage of the blessings the Lord can pour out on us.

So, let us confess our sins, humble our hearts and accept whatever it is the Lord has planned for us because we KNOW He will work it all out for good for us and everyone around us. We might as well take advantage of the extra blessings as the old man is killed off.

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