1 Samuel 15:1–35 Samuel Rebukes Saul

[Study Aired April 20, 2026]

In today’s study, our attention would be drawn to Saul’s final rejection as king due to his disobedience in sparing Agag and the best of the Amalekite spoil. The study also highlights the fact that partial obedience in the sight of the Lord is regarded as outright disobedience. 

In the final analysis, the takeaway from the study is that our obedience to the Lord’s word must be thorough. However, if we draw back, we will lose the crown. That was what happened to Saul, who was the Lord’s elect, and it serves as a warning to us, who are living in the closing days of the ages.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.    

The Lord Rejects Saul

1Sa 15:1  Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 

This verse shows us that to be able to reign as kings in an age to come, we must be anointed. Being anointed in the Bible signifies being chosen by God for a special task or office, such as kings, prophets, or priests. This is usually symbolized by oil being poured on the head, which represents the spirit of the Lord.

1Sa 16:13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 

As the Lord’s elect, we have been anointed just like Saul. Samuel reminding Saul of his anointing in verse 1, is to show him that the anointing or the spirit of the Lord, is to help us pay attention or walk according to the word of the Lord. 

Eze 36:27  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 
Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

1Sa 15:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 
1Sa 15:3  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 

The Amalekites ambushing the Israelites when they came out of Egypt in verse 2 is to let us know that when we started our walk with the Lord, we were unsuspectingly unaware of our flesh as our enemy. 

In verses 3, the goal of our mandate as royals is marked out for us. That is, to destroy the deeds of our flesh signified by the Amalekites (man, woman, infant and sucking). As we are aware, ox, sheep, camel and ass all represent physical riches. 

Gen 30:43  And the man [Jacob] increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses. 

Therefore, the mandate to kill the ox, sheep, camel and ass of the Philistines in verse 3 implies that we must do away or put to death, the love of physical riches which is part of our fleshy desires, which many, in their quest to get rich have been drowned in destruction and ruin. 

1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 
1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 

1Sa 15:4  And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 
1Sa 15:5  And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. 
1Sa 15:6  And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 

It is important to note that the gathering of Saul’s army was at Telaim, which means ‘lambs.’ In the Bible lambs on the positive note denote the Lord’s elect as shown in the following:

Luk 10:3  Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

Joh 21:15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

These verses imply that Saul and the men gathered with him, represent the Lord’s elect. This is affirmed by their number – two hundred thousand and ten thousand. 

2Ch 17:16  And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour. 
2Ch 17:17  And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand. 

Jdg 4:14  And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

Saul and his army laying wait in the valley and requesting the Kenites to depart from the Amalekites before attacking them in verses 5 and 6 is to let us know that in our dealing with our flesh, we must exercise patience lest we end up treating everything that comes out of our lives as being evil. It takes maturity to distinguish between the good seed that the Lord is sowing in our lives and the works of our flesh. This is emphasized by the Lord when he told the parable of the wheat and the tares where he emphasized that it takes time to be able to identify the wheat from the tares.     

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. 

1Sa 15:7  And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 
1Sa 15:8  And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 
1Sa 15:9  But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 

The victory won by Saul and his army against the Amalekites, who represent our flesh, was achieved from Havilah up to Shur. Havilah means ‘circles’ and Shur means the ‘wilderness of Etham.’ We must remember that it was in the wilderness that the Lord caused the Israelites to go in circles until they all died. The Israelites in the wilderness signifies the church system of this world. Therefore Saul smiting the Amalekites from Havilah until Shur implies that during our time in the churches of this world, we did win some victories over our flesh. However, we were not thorough with dealing with our flesh as we kept Agag, the king of the Amalekites alive and got enticed with the riches or the wealth of this world or mammon signified by the sheep, oxen, the fatlings and the lambs of the Amalekites. 

Luk 16:13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 

Agag here represents the ten horns of the beast or the strength of our flesh. As long as the strength of our flesh has not been dealt with, we haven’t won the war against our flesh. 

1Sa 15:10  Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 
1Sa 15:11  It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. 
1Sa 15:12  And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 

The Lord repenting that He set up Saul does not mean that He regretted His actions, since He does not alter His purpose. Rather, it means that He is changing His method of achieving the same goal. 

Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?  

As we are aware, Saul was the Lord’s elect and therefore, Samuel grieving for Saul all night is to show us that as the Lord’s elect, we do not take lightly when our brothers and sisters miss the mark of the Lord’s higher calling. In other words, we are overwhelmed with grief when our brothers and sisters miss the way.  David mourning for Jonathan’s death give us a glimpse of how we feel when our brothers and sisters fall away.  

2Sa 1:25  How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. 
2Sa 1:26  I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. 

Saul leaving Carmel and moving on to Gilgal implies that when we fall away, we leave Carmel, meaning the ‘orchard of God’ or the ‘church of the Lord’s elect’, and go to Gilgal, which in the negative sense, means ‘rolling’ or ‘wandering about.’  

1Sa 15:13  And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 
1Sa 15:14  And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 
1Sa 15:15  And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 

Saul’s insistence that he had performed the commandment of the Lord is to make us aware that our brothers and sisters who fall away, are not given the place of repentance, just as Esau found no place of repentance, though he sought for it carefully with tears. 

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. 

The bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen in the ears of Samuel is to let us know that our sins are plain before the Lord, and therefore we cannot hide from our sins. In verse 15, Saul was trying to justify his actions by saying that he kept the sheep and the oxen for sacrifice to the Lord. As indicated in the introduction section, our partial obedience is regarded in the sight of the Lord as outright disobedience. 

Pro 16:2  All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. 

Our prayer is therefore to ask the Lord to search our hearts and see if there is any wicked way in us, so that He will lead us in the way everlasting. 

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 
Psa 139:24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 

1Sa 15:16  Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 
1Sa 15:17  And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 
1Sa 15:18  And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 
1Sa 15:19  Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
1Sa 15:20  And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 

What the Lord said about Saul in verse 17 that when he was little in his own sight, He anointed him as king of Israel is the same as saying that in times past, we walked according to the desires of the flesh, however, in God’s mercy, He came and lifted us up to sit with Christ in heavenly places. 

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Our task as the Lord’s elect or future kings of the earth is that in this age, we must overcome the carnal mind of our flesh, just as Saul was tasked by the Lord to destroy the Amalekites. However, many who are called to become kings, like Saul, are not able to wholly destroy the flesh, and therefore, they lose their kingship or crown as we shall see later in this study. 

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 

As indicated in verse 20, Saul was not given repentance as he continued to insist that he had obeyed the Lord, just as many who fall away find no place of repentance in this age.

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

1Sa 15:21  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 
1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 
1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

The people taking the spoil, sheep and oxen in verse 21, to present them as sacrifice to the Lord instead of destroying them implies that many of the Lord’s children are derailed from the goal of becoming overcomers of their flesh, by the love of money or mammon, which they think would help them to worship or offer a better sacrifice to the Lord. A look at the leadership of the church system of this world or Babylon, shows how the love of money has caused them to err from the faith and have therefore pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 

1Ti 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 
1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 
1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 

In verse 22, we are told that obedience is better than sacrifice and that to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. We demonstrate our love to the Lord by our obedience to His word. Therefore, our obedience to the Lord is what governs our relationship with Christ. Without obedience, all our effort in the house of the Lord is vain. 

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

The fat of rams represents the transient nature of the riches of this world or mammon. Therefore, paying attention to what the Lord says cannot be compared with the riches of this world, which many in this world, including our brothers and sisters in Babylon, are coveting. 

Luk 16:13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

In verse 23, we are told that rebellion is as a sin of witchcraft. Rebellion is the same as transgressing or sinning against the Lord, as shown in the following verse:

Jos 22:22  The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,) 

Witchcraft means ‘divination’, which means seeking advice from false prophets. This implies that sinning against the Lord is the same as seeking advice from false prophets. 

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 
2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.  

It is insightful to note that stubbornness in verse 23 is the same as iniquity and idolatry. Iniquity means trusting in our own righteousness. 

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

Idolatry therefore means paying attention to the false idols of our hearts and minds which are the false doctrines in our heavens, instead of the truth of the Lord’s word. This suggests that being stubborn in the biblical sense has to do with rejecting the righteousness of the Lord in pursuit of the false doctrines in our hearts and minds. All of these disqualify us from reigning with Christ in an age to come. There are many who have refused the multitude of counsel from the our elders by trusting the false doctrines in their hearts and minds. As a result, the crown has been taken away from them.

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. 
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 

1Sa 15:24  And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 
1Sa 15:25  Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. 

Finally, Saul admitted to Samuel that he had sinned. However, as stated earlier, he could not find the place of repentance. This is because repentance is a fundamental change of mind, heart, and direction, which involves a sincere turning away from sin toward God. While repentance can involve confession of sin, it is distinguished from mere regret or confession of sin, focusing instead on the actual turning from sin and embracing righteousness. In the case of Saul, his confession of sinning did not mean that he had repented. He did that so that Samuel would honor him before the elders and people of Israel by accompany him to worship the Lord. 

Act 26:19  “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 
Act 26:20  but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. 

1Sa 15:30  Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.

1Sa 15:26  And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 
1Sa 15:27  And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 
1Sa 15:28  And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 

Saul’s refusal to obey fully the commandment of the Lord cost him the rulership. Verses 27 and 28 show us one of the principles that helps us to unlock the mysteries of the kingdom by the things that are made. Samuel interpreted the tearing of the skirt of his mantle when Saul laid hold of it to mean that the kingdom of Israel has been taken away from Saul and given to his neighbor who is better than him. The things that are made include our mundane activities, which in this case refers to the tearing of the skirt of Samuel’s cloak.    

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

1Sa 15:29  And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. 
1Sa 15:30  Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 
1Sa 15:31  So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD. 

Verse 29 affirms our earlier assertion that the Lord repenting for setting up Saul as king (verse 11) does not mean that He had repented from His action. It shows that He is changing His method of achieving the same goal.   

Verse 30 emphasize the point that Saul was not repentant of His action even though He confessed to Samuel of sinning. Saul’s confession was to make Samuel honor him by going with him before the elders and the people. 

Samuel going with Saul in verse 31 is to show us that we are not to dishonor our brothers and sisters, who fall along the way, before the Lord’s people.

1Sa 15:32  Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 
1Sa 15:33  And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 
1Sa 15:34  Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 
1Sa 15:35  And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. 

It is Jesus who was the first to overcome the flesh. Here in verse 32, Samuel represents Jesus, our Lord, who showed us how we are to be ruthless in our dealing with our flesh (king Agag). 

In verse 33, we are shown that it is the flesh which has made the church system of this world not able to bear fruit of producing the Lord’s elect. In this age, it is the church of the Lord’s elect who seems to be barren. However, in the fullness of time, it will become obvious to everyone that it is the church system of this world with many children, who is rather barren.

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. 

It is important to note that Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord at Gilgal. It was in Gilgal that the Israelites who entered the promised land were circumcised, that is, the cutting off of their flesh. 

Jos 5:2  At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 
Jos 5:3  And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

Jos 5:8  And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. 
Jos 5:9  And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. 

Samuel and Saul going their separate ways such that Samuel did not see Saul again till he died is to show us that we cannot have fellowship with our brothers and sisters who fall away. This is because a little leaven, leavens the whole lump.

Gal 5:9  A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 
Gal 5:10  I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.  

May the Lord continue to destroy everything of the flesh within us through His judgment as we see the day approaching. Amen!!

Spiritual Significance of Numbers – The Number Thirteen

Thirteen Signifies Rebellion, Lawlessness and Divine Judgment, but it also Signifies Divine Mercy and Unity

[Study Aired February 15, 2026]

The Biblical significance of the number thirteen, like all numbers, has both a negative and a positive application. It often signifies rebellion, lawlessness, and divine judgment, but it also signifies divine mercy, spiritual unity, and the promise of redemption. 

Rebellion and Defiance:

The number 13 frequently appears in contexts of rebellion. In Genesis 14:4 the thirteenth year marks the rebellion of kings against Chedorlaomer:

Gen 14:1  And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
Gen 14:2  That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
Gen 14:3  All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
Gen 14:4  Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Nimrod rebelled against God. He founded Babel in defiance of God’s command to go out and fill the earth:

Gen 8:15  And God spake unto Noah, saying,
Gen 8:16  Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
Gen 8:17  Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

Gen 9:7  And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

Gen 10:8  And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Gen 10:9  He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Gen 10:10  And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Judas Iscariot was the 13th guest at the Last Supper before he left to betray Christ. This a one example of how the number 13 is associated with betrayal and spiritual apostasy in scripture.

Mat 26:20  Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
Mat 26:21  And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
Mat 26:22  And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
Mat 26:23  And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
Mat 26:24  The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
Mat 26:25  Then Judas [the thirteenth at the last supper], which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

Thirteen is One Plus Twelve

Thirteen combines the number 1, signifying the unity of all things in God, The Father, and 12 signifying foundations, especially the foundations of Christ and His Christ:

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.

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ [our foundation], by whom are all things, and we by him.

The Positive Application of the Number Thirteen

There were thirteen marches around Jericho. There were six days of marching once each day followed by marching seven times on the seventh day (6 days plus 7 times on the seventh day = 13 marches). The fall of Jericho signifies the fall of Babylon, and it involved marching around the city 13 times (6 days + 7 times on the 7th day), resulting in victory through obedience.  

The Lord’s Priests are given 13 cities which served as “cities of refuge for the slayer,” signifying the dwellings of the Lord’s merciful kings and priests:

Jos 21:13  Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,
Jos 21:14  And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,
Jos 21:15  And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,
Jos 21:16  And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.
Jos 21:17  And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,
Jos 21:18  Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.
Jos 21:19  All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

Thirteen bulls are offered in sacrifice on the first day of the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles. These thirteen bulls signify the abundant mercy and power which will be manifested at the beginning of the reign of the Lord’s kings and priests who will rule with Him for a thousand years:

Num 29:12  And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month [the first day of the feast] ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:
Num 29:13  And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:

Joseph was elevated from prison to the throne of Egypt in the thirteenth year of His captivity:

Gen 37:1  And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
Gen 37:2  These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

Gen 37:12  And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
Gen 37:13  And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
Gen 37:14  And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
Gen 37:15  And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
Gen 37:16  And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
Gen 37:17  And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
Gen 37:18  And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
Gen 37:19  And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Gen 37:20  Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
Gen 37:21  And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
Gen 37:22  And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Gen 37:23  And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat of many colours that was on him;
Gen 37:24  And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
Gen 37:25  And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
Gen 37:26  And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Gen 37:27  Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
Gen 37:28  Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Gen 41:39  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
Gen 41:40  Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
Gen 41:41  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:42  And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
Gen 41:43  And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:44  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:45  And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:46  And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

17 plus 13 = 30 years of age. Joseph was delivered from prison in his 13^th year of slavery.

A few years back Sandi and I were in an airport which did not have a gate thirteen. I pointed it out to her. Thirteen is popularly and superstitiously considered to be a number for bad luck. We talk about “Friday the thirteenth” as an ‘unlucky day’, but that superstition has its roots in the fact that thirteen, in its negative connotation, signifies rebellion against God. Anyone who knows God and Christ knows that there is no such thing as ‘luck.’ Anyone who knows Christ has nothing to fear from the number thirteen.

Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

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:

That word ‘all’ takes the concept of luck completely out of the equation.

We saw earlier that the first mention of this number 13 was associated with the rebellion of the cities of Canaan again Chedolaomer and his allies in the thirteenth year of their subjugation. Now let’s look at the second mention of this number:

Gen 17:24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen 17:25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen 17:26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

Ishmael is God’s very first “rejected… broken off… cut off… of your father the devil… seed of Abraham”. Ishmael now signifies:

Joh 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

These are the words which typify God’s “Son of the bondwoman” children of Abraham (Gal 4:30-31)

Joh 8:38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, [even] God.
Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

How can Christ say “I know you are Abraham’s seed… [and] if you were Abraham’s children…” in the same breath to the same people? Here is why He can do that:

Joh 6:62  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
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.

That is always the case with Christ’s words. “All things are become new”:

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Christ has gone from dealing with the things of the flesh to dealing with the things of the spirit. The letters of the words which are used to express the things of the spirit appear in many cases to completely contradict the point being made, and they cannot be followed by those whose eyes have been darkened and given ears that are “dull of hearing”.

Here is the scripture. Here is the very reason Christ spoke to the Jews only in parables “and without a parable spake He not unto them.”

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see [the spirit of The Word]: and your ears, for they hear [the spirit of The Word].
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Mat 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: [Lazarus and the rich man is a parable]

“Seeing they see not… hearing they hear not” sounds completely contradictory to the natural man while it makes perfect sense to the mind of the spirit.

Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

“Is not and yet is…?” How much more blatant a contradiction can be made in the eyes of those who cannot see the hidden things of the spirit behind every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God? This principle extends to Christ who is called both ‘a slain Lamb’ and a ‘lion’ in the same breath:

Rev 5:1  And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. [This book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ]
Rev 5:2  And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Rev 5:3  And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:4  And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Rev 5:7  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Getting back to the number thirteen… it is associated with the strength of the flesh. When offered as a sacrifice for sin, it has great spiritual strength. Thirteen oxen sacrificed on the first day of the feast of Tabernacles signify the strength of those who offer themselves as a living sacrifice in this present age:

Num 29:13 And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, [and] fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:
Num 29:14 And their meat offering [shall be of] flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams,

It is when we think that the things we do are done by our strength that we find ourselves in negative significance of the number thirteen… rebellion against God. Everything the flesh attempts to accomplish on its own ends up as rebellion against God:

Pro 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

There are those who think that God reveals his Truth only to His more mature sons. Nothing could be further from the Truth:

Psa 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Mat 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

Regardless of how long we have known the Lord or how mature we may be, whenever we fail to be as teachable as a young child, we are treading on dangerous ground:

Mat 18:1  At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Mat 18:2  And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 21:15  And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,
Mat 21:16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

It was pointed out to me by a ‘babe in Christ’ that Christ was born in a manger where beasts come to eat. A spiritually mature believer is as humble as a little child.

Mat 18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

‘Thirteen’ in the book of Esther

Est 3:1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.

Est 3:12 Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that [were] over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and [to] every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring.

Est 9:1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)

Here again we see both the negative and the positive application of this number thirteen. The thirteenth day intended for Israel’s destruction was turned into the day of their deliverance.

In summary, while 13 signifies rebellion and judgment, it also signifies God’s mercy, His fidelity to His covenant, and our ultimate victory, reflecting both the positive and the negative nature of the Cloud which came between Israel and the Egyptians at the Red Sea. That Cloud was Christ, and Christ is The Word, His own Word (Exo 14: 19-20).

The Spiritual Significance of the Holy Days – Part 1

The Biblical Overview of the Plan of God

[Study Aired August 24, 2025]

The only thing we know that our heavenly Father did before the world began was that He had a plan in place whereby He would first create a Creator, who would become a spiritual Savior for all mankind, which He is in the process of making in His image. Then He would create a corruptible, dying, clay model of His final product. The clay model was to be completely unfit to inherit the realm of the spirit, and therefore must be replaced with the finished product body which had been proven by passing through the fiery sword which keeps the way of the tree of life. After enduring that fiery judgment, mankind would then be given a resurrected spiritual body which would be fit to inherit the kingdom of God.

This plan would be kept a closely guarded secret until our heavenly Father would send His “only begotten Son” to reveal Him and His plan, first to just a few “blessed and holy” kings and priests who would be given the honor of overcoming the carnal mind of their own flesh in this present time, and then, simply because of His own sovereign will, those “blessed and holy… few” would be given a great and glorious wedding ceremony and be proclaimed before all men to be “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Those blessed few will then be given the glory and honor of ruling with their husband, Christ, over all “the nations of this world” for a symbolic “thousand years”, during which the adversary will be restricted and imprisoned within the carnal minds of all men.

After the thousand years are expired, Satan will be released from his imprisonment and granted the ability to once again deceive all the nations of this world. All the nations will then “compass about the camp of the saints” which action will provide the Lord with the occasion He is seeking to destroy all the  nations in the four quarters of the earth. At that point that same small group, symbolized by the number of 144,000, will be given the honor of becoming the judges of both mankind and angelic spirits. Through the destruction of all flesh and the resurrection of all men who have ever lived, the last enemy, death, will be destroyed and all men of all time will be saved by the ‘fire’ of the lake of fire.

The Lord tells us that He has revealed to us everything His Father has revealed to Him:

Joh 15:15  I don’t call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I’ve called you friends because I’ve made known to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father. (GWV)

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Here is how Young’s translates these verses:

Eph 1:9  having made known to us the secret of His will, according to His good pleasure, that He purposed in Himself,
Eph 1:10  in regard to the dispensation of the fulness of the times, to bring into one the whole in the Christ, both the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth–in him;
Eph 1:11  in whom also we did obtain an inheritance, being foreordained according to the purpose of Him who the all things is working according to the counsel of His will,

As the title of this series of studies suggests, I want to give us all an overall view of what the scriptures reveal God had planned before He created Christ, and what He is, in and through Christ, even now working out in the affairs of mankind.

All we will accomplish in this study today is to show you that God does have a plan, and that plan will produce a creation of which this “earnest” physical creation is but a disposable prototype which is unfit to even exist in the “purchased possession” phase of the kingdom of God.

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.

God is in the process of revealing to us “the mystery [the secret] of His will” which He tells us He has deliberately kept secret from all of mankind until the time of Christ.

1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

The Literal Version (LITV) translates Ephesians 1:9 more accurately because the phrase “Having made known” is in the Greek aorist tense, and should read:

Eph 1:9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, (LITV).

Paul makes clear that this “mystery”, this “secret”, has been hidden until Christ revealed it to us “by the church”:

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

“Made manifest” in verse 26 and “make known” in verse 27 are both in the aorist tense. The former is in the passive voice, and the latter is in the active voice. What “made manifest to his saints” means is that it is God who has hidden his secret from mankind, and that it is also God who is making us to know His secrets, and mankind had nothing to do with what God is doing.

“Hid from ages and from generations” tells us that we are all born blind from our mother’s womb, both our physical mother and our first spiritual mother, Babylon, out of whom we must all be delivered:

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.

The phrase… “To whom God would make known” is in the aorist tense in the active voice, meaning God is the initiator of what is being done; ‘Making known’ to His saints what is the riches of the glory of this mystery, this secret, which he keeps hidden from all but his saints.

Because the Truth is so resented in every generation, it becomes less popular and more obscured, denigrated and despised with each passing generation:

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Simply acknowledging the truth of these verses of scripture, simply acknowledging that God has revealed His secret to us, makes us hated, despised and reviled by all who do not like that revelation.

2Timothy 3:13 aligns and accords with all other verses dealing with the progression of God’s plan in this age. For example the disciples asked Christ this question:

Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? [Greek: aion, age]
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

How “many shall [be] deceiv[ed]”? We are not given a specific number, but Christ does tell us this:

Luk 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

To which He adds this:

Luk 17:29  But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:30  Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Finally, Christ concludes with this very revealing question:

Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

That is how few will have faith “in the day when the Son of Man is revealed!” The salvation of all in Adam is secure, but that goal is not ordained to be realized in this present age. The salvation of all was never intended to be understood in this age. This, again, is what will be realized in this age:

Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

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

Nevertheless there has always been a figurative 7,000 whom God has reserved to Himself (Rom 11:4), and since sending His Son, He has revealed so much more to those to whom He is making Himself known, revealing Himself, His mind and His plan for mankind.

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

Heb 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

Since “now we see not yet all things put under Him”, it is obvious that there is much more work to be done. “You… put all things in subjection under Him” is in the aorist tense, meaning it is only “in Christ’’ that it is in the process of being done, and it will be realized.

Heb 2:6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Heb 2:7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works

The plan is the same plan God has had from the beginning, as we are told in the first part of Hebrews one:

Heb 1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Heb 1:11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Heb 1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Why do we need to know the plan of God? Why did God wait to even begin to reveal His plan to mankind?

In the 11^th and 12^th  chapter of this same book of Hebrews we are told this:

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
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 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Christ was motivated by “the joy that was set before Him”, and because of the promise of sitting with God in His throne, He “endured the cross”, esteeming the shame of the cross to be nothing by comparison to the glory that would come with “the joy that was set before Him.” That is the meaning of “despising the shame.” Like Moses, Christ also “Had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” Christ esteemed the pain and shame of hanging naked on the cross to be unworthy of being compared to the glory that would be revealed in Him and in His Christ:

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

It is an integral part of the plan of God that “Many are called… [to] read, and hear” these words, but very few are given to keep these words faithfully to the end. If you are a child of God, then His spirit will witness that to you. If it does not, then you will be unable to “suffer with Him” for fear of being labeled by men as someone who has “lifted [himself] above the congregation of the Lord.” That is what happened to Israel, and that is what we all do in our own appointed rebellious time. It was “all the congregation” that gathered with Korah against Moses and Aaron:

Num 16:1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Num 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, [‘There is no difference between the Lamb’s wife, and those who are cast into the lake of fire’] and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

As we will see, it is all an integral part of the plan of God, which was in God’s own mind “before the world began” (2Ti 1:9, Tit 1:2). Moses is a type of Christ, and the priesthood of Aaron typifies God’s elect, who are given to enter into the tabernacle and to administer the different functions of the tabernacle. While it is true that Israel represents God’s elect while coming out of Egypt, that is not the case while Israel is wandering in the wilderness. Korah and the 250 “men of renown” who were leaders of “all the congregation”, who rose up against Moses and Aaron, who were God’s ordained leadership, become typical of the rebels whom God will purge from His people as having the spirit of Babylon within God’s own people and who “will not have this man to rule over [them]” (Luk 19:14).

This is what God did at that time, and what He is doing to this day:

Num 16:19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them [Moses and Aaron] 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,
Num 16:21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

The prophet Ezekiel tells us this was all a type of what God does as part of “working all things after the counsel of His own will”, His predestined plan for mankind (Eph 1:11):

Eze 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
Eze 20:36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 20:37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
Eze 20:38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

It is part of God’s preordained plan that we will all at first reject Christ and His Christ, just as Egypt and then “all the congregation of Israel” refused the leadership of Moses and Aaron. We will all, at our own appointed time, consider the trials of the wilderness to be nothing short of suicide:

Num 16:12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
Num 16:13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
Num 16:14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

According to Ezekiel 20:35, of course it is really God who brings us into the wilderness and gives us all our trials. Those who do not want to endure this time of trial, and those who despise the chastening which God places upon us while we are in the wilderness, turn on those whom God has placed among His people as leaders and blame the leaders God has given them for all their trials, complaining that the promises of God are not being realized and blaming God’s faithful leaders for what their own self-righteous, rebellious sins have brought upon them by God’s design.

God’s own apostles are blamed for the abuses of Babylon, and are in effect told “Ye… lift yourselves up above the congregation.” So if we cannot deny the doctrines of Babylon, replace those false doctrines with “the doctrine of Christ”, and if we cannot accept the Lord’s order which He “has placed in the church”, then we will be judged, as Korah and company were, out of our own mouth:

Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

All of this is part of the predestined plan of God, and it is very helpful that we know His mind and understand His plan as early as the Lord grants us in our walk. Christ put it all in these words:

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 14:31 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.

Whether you are a military leader fighting an adversary, the CEO of a company that produces a certain product, or a general contractor who has contracted to build a building, it makes all the difference in the world in the performance of those who are working for you to present to them clearly what the goal of your endeavors is, and if you can give them a clear overview of what is needed to reach that goal.

It was because the apostle Paul had a clear vision of what God was doing that he could make this statement:

Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus [That “blessed and holy… first resurrection”].

A soldier digging a ditch will do so with much more enthusiasm when he knows just how wide, how deep and how long the ditch must be and why it is needed. A soldier who is told to dig a ditch without any instructions or specifications is not inspired to get the job done, because he doesn’t know exactly what the job is. Knowing that there is also a great prize for giving up all things to follow Christ is also a great incentive which God gives to those whom He has given to value the things of the spirit and gives them to “have respect unto the recompense of the reward” (Heb 11:26).

Knowing the width, depth and length of our calling is to “know [Christ] and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings”, all of which help us to become willing to “forsake all [we] have to [become Christ’s] disciple” and to become “conformable unto His death” (Php 3:10).

This is the formula John is given throughout “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This is what is meant when we, as John was, are told to measure the New Jerusalem:

Rev 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod [“a rod of iron”]: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

John, who typifies God’s elect, is told just what is to be ‘measured’, and he is also told what not to measure. We are in “vessels of clay”, and our strength and our efforts are very limited in these weak bodies of flesh and blood, so we really do need to focus on what the Lord tells us to do and not waste our energies on people or things of no profit to the growth and health of the “New man.”

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

Let’s look to Christ as our example of the measure to which we are seeking to attain. Here is how He uses His own time and His own efforts. He tells us to pour out our resources on Him and His body first, before we pour out our resources out upon the poor of this world:

Mat 26:8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
Mat 26:9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor [the poor of this world].
Mat 26:10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
Mat 26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
Mat 26:12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
Mat 26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

The woman, who is commended by Christ, places her resources upon Christ “for [His] burial” of His flesh. That is where our resources should be bestowed. We are perfected only with the burial of our own bodies of flesh.

Then Christ clarifies Himself even further when praying for His disciples by making this point for our edification:

Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Conclusion

There we have it:

Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

God has given Christ to die for “them which you have given me” at this time, and through “them which [the Father] has given [Christ]” He plans to use us as the channel for His mercy to be given to all the rest of “all in Adam”, all men of all time:

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Here’s the plan from the mouth of our Lord Himself:

Luk 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

This promise is reiterated in Hebrews:

Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

“Reverence and Godly fear” are just more than this world is willing to give to a loving heavenly Father. However, that is what Christ rendered to His Father, and that is what we must do also:

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;

If we are granted to “serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear… in the days of [our] flesh”, then we ‘will not fear what man can do to us’, and like Christ was sent of His Father, Christ will send us to save this world:

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him [“through your mercy”, Rom 11:30-31] might be saved.

John 3:17 is not the sum of God’s word on who is the Savior of this world. Christ was told by His Father to tell us this:

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me [“that the world through Him might be saved”], even so send I you.

Next week we will see just a little more clearly how important to the plan of God are “those [the Father] has given to [Christ]” in carrying out His plan to save all of mankind of all time.

[The next section of this study series can be found here.]

Ezekiel 37:1–14 The Valley of Dry Bones

[Study Aired Nov 18, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

Today’s study focuses on the restoration of the people of Israel into a great army in spite of the deplorable situation that they found themselves in as a result of their rebellion against the Lord. As we are aware, the people of Israel represent us, the Lord’s elect. We are the ones who had rebelled against the Lord during our time in the churches of this world or Babylon and were therefore without hope.

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isa 1:7  Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
Isa 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

This is what the Lord says about our rebellion from the New Testament perspective:

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

As we can see, we became spiritually dead and had no hope. In His life here on earth, the Lord physically raised the dead to show us who are given to understand the spiritual significance of His words, that He is in the business of raising us from the dead to become alive in Him. The story of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by the Lord, is to remind us of what the Lord is doing today in the lives of His elect – raising us from the dead. Later, in an age to come, all humanity will also taste of His resurrection power in their lives.

Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Joh 11:15  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
Joh 11:16  Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

Joh 11:38  Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Joh 11:39  Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Joh 11:40  Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Joh 11:41  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 11:43  And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Joh 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

It is insightful to note that the stone which shielded the dead body of Lazarus from being seen by the people, was removed by those following Jesus after Jesus’ command for its removal. The stone in this case represents that which withholds us from seeing our deplorable situation. At the Lord’s command, the stone, or that which withholds us from seeing, is taken away by those following Jesus who represent the church of the firstborn.

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:

Again, it was the people following Jesus who were asked to remove the graveclothes which bound Lazarus ‘hand and foot’, together with the napkin which covered the face. This is all to show us the key role the church plays in disentangling our hands and feet so that the work of our hands and our walk shall be pleasing to the Lord. It is the church that the Lord has empowered to remove the veil (the napkin covering the face of Lazarus) so that we can see and hear the mysteries of the kingdom.

2Co 3:13  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16  Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

This story of Lazarus therefore show us the resurrection power that the Lord is availing to His elect to bring them from death to life. Today’s study shows us what the Lord is doing to make us alive in Him after we have come to see our spiritually deplorable state of dry bones in the valley.

The Dry Bones in the Valley

Eze 37:1  The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 
Eze 37:2  And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 

The hand of the Lord being upon Ezekiel is the same as Ezekiel being carried out in the spirit of the Lord. Ezekiel in this case represents the Lord’s elect. Being carried in the spirit is the same as being in the spirit and in many instances in the Bible, being carried in the spirit is followed by the Lord unveiling a mystery of the kingdom to His elect. For example, when Apostle John was on the island of Patmos, he was carried away by the spirit to understand what Babylon and the New Jerusalem represent.

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

In verses 1 and 2 therefore, Ezekiel being carried in the spirit of the Lord is to show him the valley full of the dry bones of the people of Israel which represent the state of the Lord’s people in Babylon. In the Bible, bones represent our flesh. It also signifies our spiritually dead situation when we were in the world and in Babylon.

Gen 2:23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  

Gen 50:24  At last Joseph said to his brothers, “I‘m about to die. God will definitely take care of you and take you out of this land to the land he swore with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Gen 50:25 Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath. He said, “God will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you.” (GW)

It is instructive to note that the bones that Ezekiel saw were dry. Anything that is dry is devoid of water. What this implies is that when we are lacking the word of the Lord, we become spiritually dead. The dry bones that Ezekiel saw therefore symbolize the spiritually dead state of the Lord’s elect when we were in Babylon. The dry nature of the bones therefore suggest that our spiritually dead state is because we were not receiving the truth of the word of the Lord.

Eze 37:3  Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “Only you know, Almighty LORD.”

This question was also asked by Job in another way and here in the Book of Job, we are provided an answer to the question. As indicated by Job, no man can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. Ezekiel responding to the Lord’s question here in verse 3 that it is only the Lord who knows, is another way of saying that it is only the Lord who can cause dry bones to become alive.

Job 14:4  Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

Job 14:7  For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Job 14:8  Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Job 14:9  Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
Job 14:10  But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
Job 14:11  As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
Job 14:12  So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
Job 14:13  O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
Job 14:14  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Job 14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

As shown here in Job, in our spiritually dead state (the dry bones), all we could do was wait until ‘our change come’ from the Lord.

Eze 37:4  Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 
Eze 37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 

Prophesying to the dry bones to hear the word of the Lord is the same as the Lord coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. As indicated in the Book of Job, it is through ‘the scent of water’ that the tree that was cut down will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant. That is to say that it is what we hear of the word of the Lord that makes us alive in Christ.

Job 14:7  For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Job 14:8  Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Job 14:9  Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

The Lord coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness is to ’cause breath to enter into us, so that we can live’, in verse 5.

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:

This coming of the Lord to us is what the Lord has promised us as follows:

Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Joh 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Joh 14:25  These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with 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 your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Eze 37:6  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

What is described here in verse 6 is the coming of the new man, who is created in righteousness and true holiness within us as our old man is dying through the Lord’s coming with His judgement.

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

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Eze 37:7  So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 
Eze 37:8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 

As stated in verse 7, the result of the prophesies was that there was noise and a shaking causing the bones to come together. This is to show us that it is through the Lord’s judgement (shaking) that the new man is formed within us as our old man commences his dying process.

Hag 2:6  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
Hag 2:7  And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
Hag 2:8  The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
Hag 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

In verse 8, we are told that the sinews and the flesh came up upon the bones before the skin covered them. At this point, the bones did not have the breath of the Lord. That is to say that we did not have the Holy Spirit and our lives were just like the Lord’s disciples before the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Act 19:1  And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
Act 19:2  He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Act 19:3  And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
Act 19:4  Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Act 19:5  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

Verse 8 therefore shows us that becoming alive in Christ is a process. We do not become spiritually mature all at once. We grow into maturity. It is the truth spoken to us in love that ensures that we grow up into Christ in all things. This truth is what every joint supplies within the body of Christ and as we assimilate the truth, we gradually become mature and are not tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

A Great Army is Formed

Eze 37:9  Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 
Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 

The wind in verse 9 represents the Holy Spirit. The four winds therefore signifies the whole of the Spirit of God – the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isa 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

As the Lord stated before His ascension, the Holy spirit is what gives us the power to live our lives here on earth as the children of God. That is what makes us alive in Him.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Just as the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and made them a great army for the Lord, we are also being endued with power from the Holy Spirit to become a great army. This great army is not visible yet to the natural man but in the fullness of time, we shall appear as a great army riding on horses with the Lord.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Eze 37:11  Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 
Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 

Here in verse 11, we are being told that the dry bones signify the whole of the house of Israel. This house of Israel represents the Lord’s elect of every generation. All the Lord’s elect, must go to Babylon or the physical churches of this world before we are given to leave Babylon to become His elect. Our spiritual state in the churches of this world is what is described here in Ezekiel as dry bones without hope. However, in the fulness of time, the Lord delivers us from spiritual death by coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to make us a great army.  This restoration is also prophesied by the prophet Joel as follows:

Joe 2:25  And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Joe 2:26  And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
Joe 2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

Eze 37:13  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 
Eze 37:14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. 

Verses 13 to 14 summarize all that have been said so far in this chapter. The Lord opening our graves means that we were spiritually dead in the churches of this world. However, in His mercy, He came to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to makes us alive in Him. He also poured His spirit within us to empower us and to lead us into the truth of His word. Through the spirit that He has poured on us, we are able to know the Lord. Placing us in our own land in verse 14 means being given to overcome our flesh as we offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for His mercy that He has shown towards us. Amen!!

Ezekiel 16:43-64  The Lord’s Useless and Faithless Bride, Part 3

[Study Aired May 13, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study continues with the Lord showing us our abominations. It focuses on how our sins as the Lord’s elect far outweigh that of our sisters Sodom and Samaria. Before we can go further, we need to understand what Sodom and Samaria represent. Spiritually, Sodom represents Jerusalem which is and is in bondage with her children. Therefore, Sodom is another name for Babylon or the physical churches of this world in which we spent the days of our youth. 

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

Isa 1:1  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.  

Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 

Samaritans were the Lord’s people (the ten tribes of Israel with the exception of Judah and Benjamin) who rejected the rulership of Rehoboam, the son of king Solomon. Spiritually therefore, we can say that Samaria represents the Lord’s people who have rebelled against Him. Samaria is therefore another term for Babylon. 

1Ki 12:16  So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 
1Ki 12:17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
1Ki 12:18  Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 
1Ki 12:19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 

In another perspective, we can also say that Sodom represents the people of the world who have no portion in the Lord, in the sense that they worship themselves as idols. Samaria, on the other hand, signifies other religions apart from Christianity.  

The study ends with the assurance from the Lord that He will remember the promise He made during our days of youth (our lives in Babylon) and will make it a promise which will last forever.

As is the Mother, so is her Daughter

Eze 16:43  Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations. 

As we indicated in the previous study, the days of our youth refer to our time in Babylon when we were naked and polluted by our own blood. Being naked means we were sinful. Being polluted in our own blood means our lives are dominated by our flesh.

Lev 17:11  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Eze 16:22  And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood. 

Here in verse 43, we are told that we shall surely be judged by the Lord as long as we continue to wallow in sin. It is important to note that the judgment of the Lord is the prerogative of His elect in this age. We are the meek that the Lord is guiding to walk in His ways through His judgment.

Psa 25:9  The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 

Eze 16:44  Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. 
Eze 16:45  Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
Eze 16:46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

We were just like our mother, the harlot, before the Lord came to us with the Spirit of His mouth and His brightness. Our mother here is Babylon or the physical churches of this world. In these verses, we are given to know some of the characteristics of our mother, the harlot. Our mother being a Hittite means that she is just like people of the world who are not given to know Christ.  This implies that we were just like people of the world during our stay in Babylon, a strange land where we are carried away captives by the evil one. Our father being an Amorite signifies the devil being our father. This is because Amorite comes from an unused name which means prominence. In this case, it is the devil who is prominent in a negative way. 

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

In verse 45, we are told that our mother loathed her husband. What is being implied here is that Babylon hates her husband Christ. No wonder she plays the harlot with another Jesus. In our time in Babylon, we thought we loved the Lord, but we were not prepared to obey Him. Obedience to the Lord is a sign that we love Him. 

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 

Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

We are also told that our mother not only loathed her husband but also her children. This means that Babylon is not a typical mother who loves her children. In her case, she hates her children. No wonder the food we receive from our mother in Babylon poisons us to become spiritual dead. That is why she is drunk with the blood of the saints. 

Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Rev 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

As indicated in verse 45, our sisters also loathe their husband and children. In other words, they hate both their husband, Christ, and His children. Externally, our sisters refer to all kinds of religion, including Christianity, which hate our Lord Jesus Christ and kill their children as they become worse off, that is, spiritually dead. In verse 46, Samaria and Sodom are mentioned as examples of our sisters who loathed their husband and children. 

Jer 23:13  Say this about the prophets of Samaria: I saw something disgusting. The prophets of Samaria prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. 
Jer 23:14  Say this about the prophets of Jerusalem: I see something horrible. The prophets of Jerusalem commit adultery and live a lie. They support those who do evil so that no one turns back from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me, and those who live in Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.
Jer 23:15  This is what the LORD of Armies says about the prophets: I will give them wormwood to eat and poison to drink. The prophets of Jerusalem have spread godlessness throughout the land. 
Jer 23:16  This is what the LORD of Armies says: Don’t listen to what the prophets are saying to you. They fill you with false hope. They speak about visions that they dreamed up. These visions are not from the LORD. 
Jer 23:17  They keep saying to those who despise me, “The LORD says, ‘Everything will go well for you.'” They tell all who live by their own stubborn ways, “Nothing bad will happen to you.”
Jer 23:18  Who is in the LORD’S inner circle and sees and hears his word? Who pays attention and listens to his word? (GW)

The Sins of Sodom and Samaria

Eze 16:47  Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. 
Eze 16:48  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. 
Eze 16:49  Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Eze 16:50  And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. 

The Lord is showing us in these verses that we have committed more grievous offenses against the Lord than our sister Sodom as He went ahead to narrate the offenses of Sodom. In other words, the Lord is showing to us, His elect, that we have committed more grievous sins than our brothers and sisters in Babylon. However, the Lord showed us His mercy.  The iniquity of our sister Sodom are pride, fullness of bread, abundance of idleness and their negligence to strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. Our pride is the result of our false doctrine of man having his own will to make his own decisions. We put ourselves in the status of the Lord when we think we make our own decisions.

Psa 10:4  The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Psa 59:12  For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.

Oba 1:3  The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

The fullness of bread means that Babylon has all the resources needed, but we use these resources to gain treasures here on earth where thieves break through and steal. In other words, instead of using the resources the Lord has given us to know Him more, we become like the rich fool who filled his barn and told himself that it is time to enjoy!! In other words, we focus on what we can gain here on earth.

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 
Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luk 12:16  And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
Luk 12:17  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
Luk 12:18  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 
Luk 12:19  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 
Luk 12:20  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 
Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Abundance of idleness means we do not work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We have this mantra that whatever will be will be!!

Ecc 10:18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.

As the Lord’s elect, we are admonished not to eat the bread of idleness. 

Pro 31:27  She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Not strengthening the hand of the poor and the needy means that Babylon is not a place that seeks the spiritual development of the Lord’s elect, signified by the poor and needy.

In verse 50, the Lord taking away Sodom is to warn us of the consequences of our actions if we continue to rebel against the Lord. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 
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.

Eze 16:51  Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. 
Eze 16:52  Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. 

As we indicated, Samaria is also a type of the people of God who have rejected their king who is Christ our Lord and therefore Samaria is Babylon. Again, the Lord is telling us that our sins far outweighed that of Samaria. As Paul said, we are indeed the worst sinners that the Lord is saving us by His grace. 

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. 
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 
1Ti 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Eze 16:53  When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: 
Eze 16:54  That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 
Eze 16:55  When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 

These verses show us when our brothers and sisters in Babylon shall be saved. Although both Sodom and Samaria represent Babylon, Sodom and her daughters can specifically signify the people of the world who do not know the Lord. Samaria, on the other hand, represents other religions apart from Christianity who are trying to seek God through other means. What these verses under discussion mean is that the last on the line to be saved is our brothers and sisters in Babylon since they knew the Lord but did not worship Him as Lord but became futile in their thinking and committed more sins than even Sodom and Samaria.

Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 
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.

In verse 54, we are told that we shall suffer disgrace, that is, we shall be judged by the Lord as we remember the terrible things we have done during our time in Babylon.  In all of this, the Lord assures us that He will comfort us. The Lord’s comfort here means making a way in us for the glory of the Lord to be revealed through His judgment. 

Isa 40:1  Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 
Isa 40:2  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. 
Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 
Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

Eze 16:56  For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, 
Eze 16:57  Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about. 
Eze 16:58  Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD. 

In verse 56, we are told that we did not mention our sister Sodom during our time in Babylon which was the day of our pride. The false doctrine of the Lord burning all those who do not submit to Him in this life forever makes it impossible for us to acknowledge that the people of the world, signified here by Sodom, are also children of the Lord and that He has a plan for them. As a result, the physical churches of this world or Babylon are hated or despised by people of the world, represented in verse 57 as daughters of Syria and Philistines. This hatred is the fuel that will result in the destruction of Babylon in the fullness of time as shown by the Lord in the Book of Revelation.

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

As stated in the beginning of chapter 16 of Ezekiel, the Lord’s intent is to show us our abominations. Thus, throughout this chapter, the Lord has painstakingly shown to us our lewdness and abominations.

Eze 16:1  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

In verse 58, the Lord is saying that we must bear our lewdness which refers to our wicked devices and abominations which has to do with something disgusting morally; especially idolatry or having an idol. 

Deu 29:17  And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

Deu 32:16  They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

The Lord is showing us our lewdness and abominations to serve as the occasion He is seeking to judge us. 

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

Just as the Lord was seeking an occasion against the Philistines, because they had dominion over Israel, the Lord is seeking an occasion to come and judge our flesh or the old man (Philistines) who has dominated us during our sojourn in Babylon. 

The Lord’s Everlasting Covenant

Eze 16:59  For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
Eze 16:60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

In verse 59, the Lord is showing us that because of our lewdness and abominations, we have despised His oath by breaking the covenant. As a result, we shall surely face His judgment. 

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. 

Through the Lord’s judgment, we learn righteousness and become obedient children of the Lord.  This judgment, therefore, is not to destroy us. It is the Lord’s merciful act to restore His everlasting covenant with us, His elect.

Heb 6:13  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Heb 6:14  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 
Heb 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 
Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 
Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 
Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 

Eze 16:61  Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. 
Eze 16:62  And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: 
Eze 16:63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth anymore because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD. 

As indicated, it is through the Lord’s judgment of our old man that we learn righteousness. Verse 61 is showing us the benefits of the Lord’s judgment. We shall be ashamed of what we have done against the Lord, and we shall learn to be merciful to our sisters, elders and the younger ones in the fullness of time during their judgment in the lake of fire.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

Through the judgment of the Lord, we shall come to know Him as the Lord of everything. In verse 63, the Lord showing us our abominations and lewdness is also to humble us so that we become recipients of His grace. 

Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 
Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 
Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 
Jas 4:9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. 

May the Lord continue to show us our sins and help us to overcome as we see the day approaching. Amen!!

The Book of Romans,  Part 13 – Shall We Continue in Sin?

[Study Aired September 19, 2023]

Rom 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 
Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

In our last study we answered the question. What is sin?

Sin is rebellion, witchcraft and stubbornness.

1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Sin is looking down on others, pride, engaging in activities or actions that prepare the way for sinful behavior.

Proverbs 21:4 An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

Sin is knowing how to do good and doing the opposite.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

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

Sin is transgressing the law, especially the law of Christ and all unrighteousness.

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

In the verses of today’s study Paul begins by posing a question: “ Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” He emphatically rejects this idea, stating, “God forbid!” As believers we are not to live in sin because we have died to sin through our union with Christ.

Joh 17:1-8 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

Paul reminds us of our baptism into Christ, symbolizing our identification with His death and resurrection. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we are called to walk in newness of life.

Rom 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Understanding that our old sinful nature (the “old man”) is being crucified with Christ, we should no longer serve sin. Those who have died with Christ are freed from the power of sin and are expected to live with Him.

Rom 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Paul emphasizes that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again, and death no longer has dominion over Him. In His death, He conquered sin once and for all, and in His resurrection, He lives for God.

1Co 15:12-22 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

We are called to consider ourselves dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, sin should not reign in our mortal bodies, leading us to obey its sinful desires.

1Co 15:50-58 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 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. 

Rather than yielding our members to unrighteousness, we are to present ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness, knowing that sin’s dominion over us is broken because we are under grace, not under the law.

Eph 2:1-10 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

Sin should no longer have dominion over us because we are united with Christ in His death and resurrection. We are called to live in the newness of life, empowered by God’s grace, and devoted to righteousness.

John expands this message in 1 John 3:

1Jn 3:1-10 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

This is the struggle between the new man and the old man. It will continue until the end when God is all in all.

1Co 15:24-28 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Let’s read our verses in Romans 6 again with all the above in mind.

Rom 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 
Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

In this study, we explored the profound message of Romans 5:19-21 and Romans 6:1-14, delving into the nature of sin, grace, and our identity in Christ.

Romans 5:19-21 reminds us of the pivotal role of the two Adams: the disobedience of the first Adam brought sin and death into the world, while the obedience of the second Adam, Jesus Christ, brought righteousness and eternal life. We learned that the law entered to make sin more evident, but where sin abounded, God’s grace (chastening) overflowed. Grace reigns through righteousness, leading to eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Our previous study clarified that sin takes various forms, including rebellion, pride, disobedience, and transgressing God’s law. In contrast, righteousness is the result of living in accordance with God’s principles and commands.

Romans 6:1-14 builds upon these concepts. Paul asks whether believers should continue in sin to receive more grace, to which he emphatically responds with “God forbid.” He highlights that we have died to sin through our union with Christ and should not let it dominate our lives.

Paul uses the symbolism of baptism to illustrate our identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we are called to walk in newness of life.

The struggle between the “old man” (our former sinful nature) and the “new man” (our regenerated self in Christ) is discussed. We are encouraged to reckon ourselves dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ.

Sin’s dominion over us is broken, and we are called to present ourselves as instruments of righteousness rather than unrighteousness. The passage emphasizes that we are not under the law but under grace, which means that sin should no longer have dominion over us.

Ultimately, this study highlights the transformative power of Christ’s obedience, grace, and the believer’s identification with His death and resurrection. It calls uss to live in the newness of life, empowered by God’s grace, and devoted to righteousness, all while recognizing the ongoing struggle between the old and new nature within us.

Numbers 16:27-50 Korah’s Rebellion, Part 2

[Study Aired August 21, 2023]

Num 16:27  So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. 
Num 16:28  And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
Num 16:29  If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. 
Num 16:30  But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. 
Num 16:31  And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 
Num 16:32  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 
Num 16:33  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. 
Num 16:34  And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. 
Num 16:35  And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. 
Num 16:36  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 16:37  Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. 
Num 16:38  The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
Num 16:39  And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
Num 16:40  To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
Num 16:41  But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. 
Num 16:42  And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 
Num 16:43  And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. 
Num 16:44  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 16:45  Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. 
Num 16:46  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. 
Num 16:47  And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
Num 16:48  And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. 
Num 16:49  Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
Num 16:50  And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

Introduction

The first part of chapter 16, which we went through in our studies last week, dealt with the rebellion of Korah. The second part of this study focuses on the result of the rebellion. As indicated in the previous study, rebellion comes up now and then in the body of Christ with the aim to let those who are called and chosen to be manifested. 

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Throughout the history of the church there have been rebellions against the Lord’s anointed men by people who think they are also the Lord’s anointed and therefore have the legitimate right of leadership. We have all rebelled against the Lord during our walk with Him, but He has been merciful to us.

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

As this age is approaching the end, there will be more contention or rebellion as spoken of by Paul, John and Jude as follows:  

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 
2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 
2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 
2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 
2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

People being disobedient to their parents spiritually means that they will rebel against those who have brought them up in the Lord, just as we see Korah and his men rebel against Moses and Aaron who led the people of Israel out of Egypt to serve the Lord. It is worth knowing that it is Babylon that has the form of godliness but denies the power of the Lord to transform people to become obedient children of the Lord. As stated in 2 Timothy 3:5, ‘from such turn away’ means that we must leave Babylon. In the next verse, it is Babylon (silly women) who are laden with sin and have been taken captive by their leaders.

A man called Diotrephes severely resisted the work of the Lord being carried out by Apostle John. This is Apostle John’s words regarding this rebellion:

3Jn 1:9  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 
3Jn 1:10  Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. 
3Jn 1:11  Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

Here, we are shown a key reason for rebellion. People rebel when they want preeminence among the Lord’s people. As a result, they are not prepared to humble themselves and accept their errors or mistakes. It is because they do not want to appear as weak before the Lord’s people, since they think submitting to leadership is weakness. On the contrary, admitting our faults or mistakes before the Lord’s people is strength.

Jer 3:12  Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger forever. 
Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. 

This is what Jude also has to say about this rebellious syndrome by the Lord’s people against leadership:

Jud 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jud 1:8  Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

In the last study, we ended when Moses told the people of Israel to separate themselves from those who rebelled against him, otherwise they, too, would be swept away by the consequence of their actions. Inasmuch as we love our brothers and sisters who rebel against leadership, we have to separate ourselves from them, otherwise this canker will sweep us all away, thus destroying the whole body. 

Num 16:24  “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
Num 16:25  Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
Num 16:26  And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” (ESV)

Individually, we are to treat our brothers and sisters who rebel against authority as mere people of the world and not continue to have fellowship with them, otherwise we shall be swept away also.  

Tit 3:10  A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject (have nothing more to do with him); 
Tit 3:11  Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself. 

This brings us to our study today as we look at the consequence of rebelling against the Lord’s anointed. 

Num 16:27  So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. 
Num 16:28  And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.

The people of Israel separated from Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their families as instructed by the Lord. This does not mean that the people of Israel or Moses do not love these men. However, it is better to obey the Lord than to sacrifice our love for rebellious ones, thinking that we know better. This is what is happening in the world. For example, I do not think that anybody who is in Christ hate gays because we all know that we have contributed one way or another to the death of Christ which is more grievous offence than being gay. However, this does not mean that we should fellowship with them as some churches of this world do. Our stance makes the world hate us.

1Co 5:1  It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
1Co 5:2  And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

Verse 28 shows us the reason the Lord brings all these rebellions against leadership in the house of God. It shows us who are chosen and holy. Verse 28 of Numbers 16 is therefore another way of saying the following:

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Num 16:29  If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. 
Num 16:30  But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. 
Num 16:31  And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 
Num 16:32  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
Num 16:33  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

The common death that all humanity faces is when we release our last breath as we give up the ghost. That is not the end of those who rebelled against the Lord’s authority since everybody will die. What happens to those who rebel is that the earth opens her mouth to swallow them. The question is, what does it mean for the earth to open its mouth to swallow them? In the Bible, the earth signifies the Lord’s people who are not ready to hear the truth of the word of the Lord. In other words, the earth represents Babylon.

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

In the Book of Revelation chapter 12, after the woman has given birth to the man-child and he is taken up to heaven, the woman is pursued by the Devil to destroy her. The Devil spews out water like a river (flood) to overtake her to sweep her away with the torrent. However, the earth helps the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon has spewed out of his mouth.  These verses show us what it means for the earth to open its mouth to swallow our rebellious brothers and sisters.

Rev 12:13  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 
Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 
Rev 12:15  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

We all know that the water that comes out of the mouth of the Devil is false doctrines, as he is the father of lies and nothing that comes out of his mouth is truth. It is these false doctrines spewed by the devil through his messengers that are taken in by Babylon (the earth). Since Babylon is taking in the flood from the devil, it means that the devil has deceived it, and therefore there is no need to destroy her as the Devil turns his effort to the Lord’s elect (Rev. 12:17).

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

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

So, the earth opening its mouth to swallow Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their families means that they are deceived by the devil’s lies and therefore become spiritually dead even though they still think they are spiritually alive. That is another way of saying that they are cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Rev 3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 

Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 24:51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Here again, there is the need to understand the meaning of gnashing of teeth to understand what it means to be cast into outer darkness. There are two examples in the Bible which show us what it means to gnash our teeth. In both cases, it was when they saw the righteous blossoming (his horn being exalted with honor) that they gnash their teeth.

Psa 112:9  He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
Psa 112:10  The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

Luk 13:28  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

This means that to be thrown into outer darkness and gnashing our teeth is being in a position to see the horn of the righteous being exalted, but because of the spiritual darkness in which we find ourselves, there is no way we can find repentance. In their frustration, they gnash their teeth.

Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 
Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Num 16:34  And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
Num 16:35  And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

As indicated earlier, if we do not separate ourselves from our brothers and sisters who rebel against leadership, we will find ourselves being swallowed by the earth. We therefore need to flee from those who rebel.

Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

The two hundred and fifty men who filled their censers with fire and incense at the command of Moses, to ascertain who really is chosen and holy ended up being burnt by fire. This fire from the Lord is the same as fire resulting from the word of the Lord.  As Jesus explained, the fire from the Lord signifies the tribulation or persecution that arises as a result of the word of the Lord. To the elect, this fire, which is our fiery trials, results in righteousness. To those who rebel against the Lord’s elect, the tribulation and persecution which come on them ends up making them offended, and therefore they become spiritually dead.

Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

This was what happened to the people of Israel when they left Egypt and were being pursued by the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. The pillar of cloud, which is Christ or His words, came between the Egyptians and the camp of the Israelites. To the Egyptians, it was a cloud and darkness. That is being in outer darkness. To the other, the word of the Lord becomes a light shining in darkness until the day dawns!! 

Exo 14:19  And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Exo 14:20  And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Num 16:36  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:37  Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
Num 16:38  The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
Num 16:39  And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
Num 16:40  To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.

Eleazer was told to collect the bronze censers brought by those who have been burned to death and to hammer them out to overlay the altar. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except the descendants of Aaron should come and burn incense before the Lord. Failure to do so will result in suffering the same fate as Korah and his followers. These verses show us that those who rebelled against leadership have in a way contributed to helping us offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord before they went “rogue”.  Through their teachings, we were able to lay a good foundation to grow in Christ. This shows that we are not to take for granted our salvation. As David said concerning Ahitophel when he joined Absalom against David, they both took counsel together in the house of God. This means that those who rebelled were part of what every joint supplies before they fell.

Psa 55:13  But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
Psa 55:14  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

This is the warning the Lord is giving to us as His elect:

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 
Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

Num 16:41  But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. 
Num 16:42  And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
Num 16:43  And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. 
Num 16:44  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 16:45  Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.

If we continue to drink milk, as we were doing in Babylon, it becomes difficult to discern good from evil. However, as we grow past the milk of the word of the Lord and begin to eat strong meat, we are able to discern good from evil.

Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 
Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

The people of Israel, who represent Babylon, were not able to distinguish between the elect, signified by Moses and Aaron, and the false messengers represented by Korah and his company. To them, Moses and Aaron have killed the men of God. In other words, they are calling evil good and good evil.

Isa 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

When we cannot test the spirit to know who is of the Lord, we run the risk of losing all that we have gained in Christ, because there are many false messengers of Christ parading as the Lord’s elect.

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

The whole story of the man of God from Judah, who came to Bethel to confront Jeroboam and the people of Israel about their way of worshiping the Lord and was deceived by an old prophet in that city and therefore lost his life, is to remind us to be cautious and always test the spirit to see if it is of the Lord. The man of God from Judah losing his life is to let us know how we can easily lose the treasures we have received and therefore miss the mark of His higher calling.

1Ki 13:1  And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings.

1Ki 13:3  And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’”
1Ki 13:4  And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.
1Ki 13:5  The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
1Ki 13:6  And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before.
1Ki 13:7  And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 
1Ki 13:8  And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place,
1Ki 13:9  for so was it commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’”
1Ki 13:10  So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.
1Ki 13:11  Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 

1Ki 13:14  And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.”
1Ki 13:15  Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”
1Ki 13:16  And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 
1Ki 13:17  for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’”
1Ki 13:18  And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him.
1Ki 13:19  So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank.

1Ki 13:24  And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body.

Our mandate as the Lord’s elect is the same as the man of Judah. We are not to eat anything from Babylon, and we are not to return the same way we came to Babylon. We came to Babylon from the world, and we are not to go back to the world.

Num 16:44  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:45  Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
Num 16:46  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
Num 16:47  And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
Num 16:48  And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. 
Num 16:49  Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
Num 16:50  And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

As the Lord’s elect, we must show mercy in our dealings with everyone. In spite of the people of Israel accusing Moses and Aaron of killing their men of God, they were concerned about their welfare and intervened to stop the plague. The 14,700 people who died represents the whole of, or the complete number (significance of 4 and 7) of, our brothers and sisters in Babylon who are of one mind (significance of 1) against the Lord’s elect. This means that our brothers and sisters in Babylon are all spiritually dead, but they think they are spiritually alive in Christ. In the fullness of time, the elect will show mercy to all humanity to save all our brothers and sisters in Babylon.  

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

May the Lord’s name be praised. Amen!!

Numbers 16:1-26  Korah’s Rebellion, Part 1

[Study Aired August 14, 2023]

Num 16:1  Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
Num 16:2  And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 
Num 16:3  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? 
Num 16:4  And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: 
Num 16:5  And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. 
Num 16:6  This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; 
Num 16:7  And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. 
Num 16:8  And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: 
Num 16:9  Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? 
Num 16:10  And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? 
Num 16:11  For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him? 
Num 16:12  And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: 
Num 16:13  Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? 
Num 16:14  Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. 
Num 16:15  And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. 
Num 16:16  And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow: 
Num 16:17  And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer. 
Num 16:18  And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
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, 
Num 16:21  Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 
Num 16:22  And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? 
Num 16:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 16:24  Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 
Num 16:25  And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. 
Num 16:26  And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.

Introduction

This session of chapter 16 deals with rebellion that sometimes arises within the body of Christ. It also shows how we are hated by our brothers and sisters in Babylon who regard us as raising ourselves above the congregation of the Lord when we speak the truth of the word of the Lord regarding their spiritual state.  These controversies are necessary, as it shows us who are truly the children of the Lord who are chosen and holy.

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Throughout the history of the church, the word of the Lord shows us that there have been several controversies that arise among the children of God. Right from the beginning, Cain hated his brother Abel because the Lord did not accept Cain’s offering and therefore rose up against Abel and killed him. Later on, there was contention between Lot’s herdsmen and those of Abraham, which resulted in the separation between Lot and Abraham. Lot and his herdsmen represent Babylon, who is being protected by the Lord until the time designated by the Lord for it to be destroyed. 

Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. 

Rev 12:13  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 
Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

Abraham signifies the church of the firstborn. Lot seemingly chose the fertile land, and it is no wonder that the churches of this world are financially rich. On the other hand, Abraham had to walk by faith in the land of Canaan and went through a lot of suffering. At the end of the day, we saw that it was Abraham who was chosen, and Lot was the one rejected. 

Gen 13:7  And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 
Gen 13:8  And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
Gen 13:9  Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.  
Gen 13:10  And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
Gen 13:11  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 
Gen 13:12  Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Num 16:1  Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
Num 16:2  And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 
Num 16:3  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? 

These verses show us how Babylon, and sometimes our own brothers and sisters, rise up against the Lord’s elect in every generation. Here Korah, Dathan and Abiram, together with the two hundred and fifty princes, represent our own brothers and sisters who rise up against leadership and our brethren in Babylon. The church in Babylon has always considered itself as the true bride of Christ and therefore holy. The fact that there are signs and wonders among them makes them think they have the Lord’s presence with them. Any statement by the elect, contrary to the belief that they are God’s special people makes them feel that we, His elect, are lifting ourselves above the congregation of the Lord. This was what happened to Moses who represents the Lord’s elect.

It also happened to Jesus our Lord during His time here on earth as the Pharisees and the Sadducees (Babylon) taught that Jesus was lifting Himself above them as they accused Him of making Himself equal to God as He exposed their hypocrisy. Thinking that Jesus was making Himself equal to God is the same as thinking that Jesus was lifting Himself above the congregation of Israel, just like how Korah and his company accused Moses.

Joh 5:15  The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 
Joh 5:16  And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 
Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 
Joh 5:18  This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 

As He is, so are we in this world. When we tell our brothers and sisters in Babylon the truth of the word of the Lord that living in Babylon is the way to death, they think we are lifting ourselves above the congregation of God.

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

1Jn 4:17  By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

Num 16:4  And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: 

It is very disheartening when we realize that our brothers and sisters, instead of appreciating us since they also read the same word of the Lord, are up against us. This was what happened to Moses. Falling down on his face shows us the exasperation he went through, and that is the same thing we all go through when our brothers and sisters turn against us.

Gal 4:13  Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. 
Gal 4:14  And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. 
Gal 4:15  Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. 
Gal 4:16  Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? 

Num 16:5  And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even tomorrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. 

This age is regarded as one long night. Tomorrow in this verse refers to the coming of Christ with His elect when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. That is when the whole world will see who really are chosen and holy as we come with Christ. 

Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 

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

If we are blessed to see those who are chosen and holy in this age, then it means that Christ has come to us, and therefore we are also part of His elect. 

Luk 13:35  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

In this age, unless the Lord opens your eyes to see and ears to hear, it is impossible to see who is chosen and holy for the Lord. As the Lord said in the parable of the wheat, both the tares and the wheat are growing together, and in the fullness of time the whole world will be able to clearly know the difference between the wheat and the tares. 

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. 

Num 16:6  This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; 
Num 16:7  And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. 

As a test of whom the Lord chooses as holy, His servant, Moses, requested Korah and his company to present censers before the Lord with fire and incense in them. A censer is a pan for live coals or simply a firepan. Censers are part of the instruments or vessels that were used in the house of God.

1Ki 7:50  And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple.

As Paul told us, we are all vessels of either gold, silver or wood that are used in the house of the Lord. 

2Ti 2:20  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 
2Ti 2:21  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. 

Censers or vessels that are made of gold and silver are vessels of honor, and they represent those who have purged themselves of the influence of the flesh and are therefore used in the house of God for special a purpose. This purging is not by our own actions. If we are called and chosen to be holy, then the Lord will cause us to be purged through our fiery trials. This means that Moses requesting Korah and his company to present censers filled with fire and incense is a test of who is a vessel of gold or wood of the earth. Filling our censers or vessels with fire and incense means going through fiery trials which produce a sweet aroma (incense) to the Lord. If we are called and chosen, then as gold or silver, we shall survive our fiery trials to become holy. On the other hand, if we are not called and chosen, that is, if we are made of wood and earth, then we shall not survive the fire from the Lord. As we shall see in the next study, the two hundred and fifty renowned men who rebelled through the instigation of Korah were burnt by fire.

Num 16:35  And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

Num 16:8  And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: 
Num 16:9  Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? 
Num 16:10  And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? 
Num 16:11  For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him? 

Being a Levite, Korah was separated by the Lord to work in His tabernacle, but he was not content with what the Lord had given to him. He wanted the priesthood also. Korah here represents our brothers and sisters in Babylon who have been separated by the Lord from the world to do the leg work of leading us to Christ under the law of Moses. However, they want to lay claim to the priesthood, which is given to the called and chosen or the elect. Korah also signifies our brothers and sisters within our midst who also rebel against leadership from time to time. When we started our walk with Christ, we were also claiming the priesthood just as Korah and our brothers and sisters in Babylon and therefore rebelled against the Lord’s elect. However, the Lord had mercy on us.

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. 

This whole controversy about Korah’s rebellion is about who has the legitimate claim to the priesthood, and it is being played out in every generation. During David’s reign over the people of Israel, his son Absalom, who killed his brother Amnon and was pardoned by David to come back to him in Jerusalem, also wanted David’s kingship. He was not content with being close to his father David again in Jerusalem. He wanted the kingship. The word of the Lord shows us that the Lord’s elect are the royal priesthood. 

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:  

A royal priesthood means that we are both priests and kings and the two cannot be separated. Thus, Absalom desiring the kingship of David is the same as desiring the priesthood just like Korah and our brothers and sisters in Babylon. Part of the suffering we go through is the result of our brothers and sisters rising up against us because of the priesthood. In our fellowship, we have experienced this over and over.

2Sa 14:23  So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 
2Sa 14:24  And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face.
2Sa 14:25  But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 

2Sa 14:33  So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom. 

2Sa 15:1  And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 
2Sa 15:2  And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. 
2Sa 15:3  And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. 
2Sa 15:4  Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! 
2Sa 15:5  And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. 
2Sa 15:6  And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

Absalom signifies Babylon who desires to have the priesthood. As 2 Samuel 14:25 says, Absalom was very beautiful to behold. The world represented by the people of Israel have been enchanted by the beauty of Babylon for a long time. Outwardly, looking from the perspective of a carnal man, it seems Babylon is without blemish, but inwardly, it is rotten!!

Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mat 23:28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

As the Age draws closer to an end, the people of the world will see the hypocrisy of Babylon and will destroy her as we see Absalom put to death later as a result of his rebellion. This hypocrisy of Babylon is already being seen as many people do not want to hear anything about churches. As we shall see later, Korah’s rebellion was stopped by the Lord. What we need to understand is the fact that all these rebellions are of the Lord. The Lord uses such rebellion to humble us and to show us who are truly the sons of the Lord who will inherit their father’s possessions.

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:

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Num 16:12  And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: 
Num 16:13  Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
Num 16:14  Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

The hatred and the rebellious attitude sometimes exhibited by our own brothers and sister and also from Babylon is clearly shown here by the actions of Dathan and Abiram in refusing to come and meet Moses. Many blame the Lord’s elect for being the cause of all their woes. This belief will culminate at the end of the thousand-year reign when the whole world will surround the camp of the Lord’s elect thinking that, by eliminating the elect, the world will have peace. This is what the Lord says about the hatred for the Lord’s elect. 

Psa 2:1  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 
Psa 2:2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 
Psa 2:4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 
Psa 2:5  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 
Psa 2:6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 
Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 
Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

The fiery trials we go through as a result of being hated by the world will win for us the right to rule over the heathen world as our inheritance (Psa 2:8-9).

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Num 16:15  And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

Moses was angry regarding the behavior of Dathan and Abiram for refusing to come to him when he summoned them. Such blatant rebellion against the work of the Lord’s elect surely has repercussions and must be rebuked. That is why Moses asked the Lord not to accept the offering of the rebellious Korah and his company. The same thing happened to Paul when Alexander the coppersmith did much evil to Paul by withstanding his words. Paul asked the Lord to reward him according to his works. 

2Ti 4:14  Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: 
2Ti 4:15  Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.

What Moses and Paul said regarding those who try to withstand the words of the Lord does not mean they were disobedient to the Lord’s teachings that we should not resist evil and that if someone shall smite us on the right cheek, we should turn to him the other cheek. One has to do with resistance to the Lord’s work, while the other relates to evil done against us.   

Mat 5:38  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 
Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 
Mat 5:40  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 
Mat 5:41  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Num 16:16  And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow: 
Num 16:17  And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer. 
Num 16:18  And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
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.

As indicated earlier, what distinguishes the Lord’s elect from the rest of humanity is the fact that our censers, which carry live coals with incense, produce a sweet aroma to the Lord. This is different from censers by our brothers and sisters which result in their spiritual death. As indicated earlier, we represent the censors. What shows that we are chosen and holy is the fact that we are going through judgment or suffering in this life which is producing righteousness as we have fire in our censers. All those who are not going through judgment in this life are not chosen and holy. The fire in their censers rather causes them to die spiritually as we shall see later in this chapter.

Num 16:35  And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

Num 16:20  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 
Num 16:21  Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
Num 16:22  And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? 
Num 16:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 16:24  Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 
Num 16:25  And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
Num 16:26  And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.

As indicated earlier, such controversies result in separation, which is all part of the counsel of the Lord as we see the Lord asked Moses to separate himself from among the congregation in verse 21. Moses later told the congregation to separate from the perpetrators of the rebellion in verse 26. In our fellowship, we have seen several people separating themselves from us, and over time we become aware who is on the Lord’s side.  It is really a painful and heart-breaking experience when our brothers and sisters whom we have come to love dearly rebel against us and therefore leave us. This was what David said about the bitter experience he went through when Ahithophel decided to leave him and join Absalom in the rebellion against him:

Psa 55:4  My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. 
Psa 55:5  Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. 
Psa 55:6  And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. 

Psa 55:12  For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 
Psa 55:13  But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 
Psa 55:14  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. 
Psa 55:15  Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. 
Psa 55:16  As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.

As David said when his own friend rebelled against him, all we have to do is call upon the name of the Lord and He will surely come and deliver us. Amen!!

Numbers 11:1-35  The Quails from the Lord in Response to Israel’s Quest for Flesh

[Study Aired July 10, 2023]

Num 11:1  And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. 
Num 11:2  And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. 
Num 11:3  And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. 
Num 11:4  And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 
Num 11:5  We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 
Num 11:6  But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. 
Num 11:7  And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. 
Num 11:8  And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. 
Num 11:9  And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. 
Num 11:10  Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.
Num 11:11  And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
Num 11:12  Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? 
Num 11:13  Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. 
Num 11:14  I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. 
Num 11:15  And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. 
Num 11:16  And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. 
Num 11:17  And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. 
Num 11:18  And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. 
Num 11:19  Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
Num 11:20  But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
Num 11:21  And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
Num 11:22  Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? 
Num 11:23  And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD’S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. 
Num 11:24  And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. 
Num 11:25  And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. 
Num 11:26  But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. 
Num 11:27  And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. 
Num 11:28  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. 
Num 11:29  And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!
Num 11:30  And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. 
Num 11:31  And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. 
Num 11:32  And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
Num 11:33  And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. 
Num 11:34  And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. 
Num 11:35  And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth. 

Introduction

As we journey through the Book of Numbers, we come to realize that the Book is about the building of the Lord’s army. Apart from not getting entangled in the affairs of this world, as the Lord’s army, we must be prepared to live under harsh circumstances during this time of war which we are raging with the flesh or the beast within us.

2Ti 2:3  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2Ti 2:4  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 
2Ti 2:5  And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

The need to endure hardship calls for discipline on our part. Any sign of insubordination on the part of a soldier must be swiftly dealt with to forestall indiscipline within the army ranks. Chapter 11 deals with indiscipline on the part of the people of Israel, as they were not content with the Lord’s provision in the wilderness. These acts of indiscipline on the part of the Israelites were swiftly dealt with by the Lord. The chapter also focuses on the burden on Moses of leading the people of Israel in the wilderness and the commissioning of the seventy elders of the people of Israel to assist him with his work.

Num 11:1  And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. 
Num 11:2  And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. 
Num 11:3  And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. 

As we can see from these verses, the Lord did not show mercy to those who complained. As His elect, we have also complained several times as we walk with Him, yet we are not consumed. The reason for this is because of our election. That is to say that the Lord wants to show His mercy to the whole world through us, His elect. We are therefore the Lord’s gift of mercy to the whole world. For example, David, a symbol of the elect, committed more grievous offenses against the Lord than these complainants, but the Lord spared him. However, this was not the case with Saul when he spared king Agag and the fattened animals, which he used as sacrifice to the Lord when the Lord specifically told him not to let anything that breathed live.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

1Sa 15:18  And the LORD sent thee (Saul) on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 
1Sa 15:19  Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 
1Sa 15:20  And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 
1Sa 15:21  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 
1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 
1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 
1Sa 15:24  And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 
1Sa 15:25  Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

This is not to say that because we are spared by the Lord, we can do as we please. Here is the Lord’s warning to us:

Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 
Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Verses 1-3 also show us how the world will be ruled with a rod of iron during the thousand-year reign by Christ and His elect. 

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.

Verse 2 says that the people cried unto Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was quenched. This is another way of saying that through the mercy of the elect, represented here by Moses, the Lord will show mercy to the whole of humanity symbolized by the people of Israel.

Num 11:4  And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 
Num 11:5  We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 
Num 11:6  But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. 

The mixed multitude signifies Babylon, of which we were part when we started our journey with Christ. As the verses here depict, our lives were characterized by our cravings for things of the flesh, since we were walking in the flesh at that time. The fish, cucumber, melons, leeks, onions and garlic in verse 5 refer to man’s wisdom, tradition and commandments, making the word of God of no effect in our lives. The effect of clinging to man’s tradition is the drying away of our souls as shown in verse 6. We were not ready for the heavenly manna even though it is right there before our eyes, as the Israelites indicated in verse 6.

Mar 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 
Mar 7:8  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 
Mar 7:9  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 

Mar 7:13  Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

During our time in Babylon, we were vulnerable as we clung to those who could give us flesh to eat. The current church system of this world is in the same state. In other words, many are looking for something tangible that identifies with the flesh, such as prosperity, no suffering, enjoyment, etc. No wonder we heaped upon ourselves men of God which are of the flesh to tell us what we want to hear.

2Ti 4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 
2Ti 4:4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 
2Ti 4:5  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 

The time mentioned here by Paul has long been with us as we see the effects of desiring the flesh instead of the heavenly manna, which is the truth of the word of the Lord.

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 
2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 
2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 
2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 
2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 
2Ti 3:8  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 
2Ti 3:9  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. 

Num 11:7  And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. 
Num 11:8  And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. 
Num 11:9  And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. 

These verses show us the positive aspect of the manna the Lord gave with which the people of Israel were fed up. The manna in these verses signifies the truth of the word of the Lord. The manna appeared as a coriander seed. Since a seed germinates, it has life. Thus, appearing as coriander seed means the word of the Lord is living and active.

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (ESV)

The manna has the color of bdellium. According to Strong, bdellium has a color between yellow and orange (amber) with yellow being the base color. Yellow or gold is the truth of the word of the Lord. Bdellium probably comes from the root word “badal (H914)” which means to divide or separate. In order to appreciate the truth of the word of the Lord, it must be rightly divided.

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

In verse 8, the manna had to be gathered, ground and baked. This means that in order to understand the word of truth, it must be broken down, and that means comparing scripture with scripture. Through the process of our fiery trials, because of the fire of the word of the Lord (being baked), we come to enjoy the eating of the heavenly manna.

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

Oil signifies the spirit. This means that the taste of manna being like the taste of fresh oil in verse 8 means that it is the spiritual interpretation of the word of the Lord that gives life.

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

The dew falling upon the camp in the night, resulting in the falling of manna, means that as the Lord’s elect, we are required to take in or gather as much of this heavenly manna as needed when the morning breaks, which means Christ rising within us. We are not to leave it for the next day means that we are to understand the full counsel of the Lord during our stay here on earth. We are not to leave it for the next age.

Exo 16:19  And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 
Exo 16:20  But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.

We can see that we have to go through a lot in order to enjoy the heavenly manna. Being of the flesh, or carnal, the Israelites, or our brothers and sisters in Babylon, do not appreciate spiritual things or this heavenly manna. It takes too much to understand the truth of the word of the Lord. What we wanted when we were in Babylon was flesh, just like the Israelites.

Num 11:10  Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. 
Num 11:11  And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? 
Num 11:12  Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? 
Num 11:13  Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. 

Moses also represents Christ. These verses are therefore to help us appreciate what the Lord went through as He carried the sins of the whole world. Unlike Moses, the Lord did not open His mouth or complain. 

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 
Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 
Isa 53:8  By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 

As we can see in verse 12, Moses was complaining bitterly, and we can see that He was not given eyes to see and ears to hear that the Lord Jesus is the mother who gave birth to all humanity, and therefore He is the one carrying us in His bosom, as a father bearing the sucking child with the motive of bringing all humanity to possess the land, that is, salvation for all humanity.

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

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

Num 11:14  I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
Num 11:15  And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. 
Num 11:16  And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. 
Num 11:17  And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.

As He is, so are we. As Christ bore this burden of bringing all humanity into salvation, we His elect must also bear this burden. We are the seventy elders of the people of Israel whom the Lord has chosen to share in the work of bringing all humanity into the promised land to possess the land. In verse 17, God Himself has come down to talk to Jesus and affirmed to us that Jesus is Lord!! He has also taken the spirit which is on Jesus and put it on us, His elect, so we can share in the burden of our Lord Jesus Christ!! The seventy (70=7×10) elders signify the complete number of the elect of every generation. The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was the beginning of the Lord putting His spirit on the elect of every generation (seventy elders).

1Co 3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. 

Mat 3:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

In verse 15, Moses said that if he had found favor in the sight of the Lord, then he should not see wretchedness. It is another way of saying that the holy one (Jesus) will not see corruption as he has found favor with God. The voice from heaven affirmed that Jesus has found favor with God and therefore did not see corruption when he died. He was raised from the dead!! In a similar pattern, as we find favor with the Lord, we shall be raised to glory like Christ.

Psa 16:10  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 
Psa 16:11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Num 11:18  And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. 
Num 11:19  Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; 
Num 11:20  But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

As we indicated, the people of Israel represented the mixed multitude which is Babylon. To our brothers and sisters in Babylon, the Lord has given flesh for a whole month because they have despised manna and craved flesh. Giving them flesh means the Lord has replaced the truth of the word of the Lord with man’s wisdom, tradition and commandments. Since the manna on a positive note represents the truth of the word of the Lord, what the Israelites or Babylon have done is that our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the word of the Lord, has been despised in the churches of this world and have instead accepted another Jesus. In view of this, the flesh the Lord is giving them is causing them to die spiritually (verse 20). These verses are therefore another way of saying that if we do not accept the truth of the word of the Lord (manna), He will cause us to be strongly deluded.

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

Num 11:21  And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. 
Num 11:22  Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? 
Num 11:23  And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD’S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. 

In spite of the miracles the Lord had wrought before Moses and the people of Israel, Moses doubted the possibility of the people of Israel eating meat in the wilderness. We have all doubted whether the Lord will indeed miraculously come to our aid concerning the challenges we face. However, the Lord has been merciful to us.  Our walk is by faith and not by sight. Through faith many men and women of old have had the Lord miraculously intervene on their behalf. 

Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 
Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 
Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 

Let us go back to the basics of learning to walk by faith and not by sight. We grow our faith by hearing the word of the Lord. 

Rom 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Num 11:24  And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. 
Num 11:25  And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. 
Num 11:26  But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. 
Num 11:27  And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. 
Num 11:28  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. 
Num 11:29  And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!

These verses are a foretaste of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples on the day of Pentecost. 

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 
Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

As shown in verse 25, when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, we prophesy. That means we speak to each other to edify, exhort and comfort. That is what happens when we gather daily to know more about the mind of Christ. 

1Co 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

It is instructive to note that the seventy people were gathered round the tabernacle when the Holy Spirit came on them. This means they had left the camp, which is Babylon. However, there were two others (Eldad and Medad) who were part of the seventy who did not come to the tabernacle but remained in the camp but also received the Holy Spirit. What this means is that there are others still in Babylon (the camp) who will leave and become witnesses of Christ (the significance of the number two) and therefore receive the Holy Spirit. Their names confirm the fact that they are part of the elect. Eldad means God has loved, and Medad means love. It is the Lord’s elect who are the object of His love in this dispensation. 

Jer 31:3  The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. 

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. 

What Moses told Joshua, who was concerned about the two men (Eldad and Medad) prophesying in the camp, is another way of saying what the Lord told the disciples when they stopped someone casting out devils in Jesus’ name.  

Mar 9:38  And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 
Mar 9:39  But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 
Mar 9:40  For he that is not against us is on our part.

Num 11:30  And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. 
Num 11:31  And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. 
Num 11:32  And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
Num 11:33  And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. 
Num 11:34  And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. 
Num 11:35  And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth. 

What is significant about the quails was the fact that they came from the sea. As we know, the sea represents the flesh of mankind. What happened to the Israelites with the coming of quails is what is prophesied in the Book of Revelation about the release of the four angels bound in the great river Euphrates. 

Rev 9:13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 
Rev 9:14  Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 
Rev 9:15  And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
Rev 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
Rev 9:17  And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 
Rev 9:18  By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 
Rev 9:19  For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

The release of the quails and that of the four angels all has the same effect – it kills those to whom they are sent. That was what happened to us in Babylon and is happening to every generation in Babylon. We became spiritually dead when we imbibed the meat of the quails, or the 200 million false doctrines propagated by the whole Babylonian messengers (the four bound angels). This experience of evil is also described by Peter as follows:

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity (quails or 200 million false doctrines), they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

We can see that we have come a long way to experience the freedom we have in Christ. Let us not throw away what we have received or belittle our gathering, which is where every joint supplies what we need. Let’s continue to press on to the mark of His higher calling as we continue to meet daily. This, we will do as the Lord enables us!! May His name be praised!!

[Study Aired October 27, 2022]

2Ki 8:16  And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.
2Ki 8:17  Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
2Ki 8:18  And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 
2Ki 8:19  Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children. 
2Ki 8:20  In his days [“Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah”] Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. 
2Ki 8:21  So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents. 
2Ki 8:22  Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 
2Ki 8:23  And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 
2Ki 8:24  And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. 
2Ki 8:25  In the twelfth year of Joram [“speaking of the other Joram now of Israel”] the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. 
2Ki 8:26  Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel. 
2Ki 8:27  And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab. [1Co 15:33] 
2Ki 8:28  And he [“Ahaziah”] went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 
2Ki 8:29  And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

In last week’s study we read of how Hazael killed king Benhadad by suffocating him with a thick wet cloth so he could become king of Syria in Ramothgilead, and in this section of Kings we will start to see the effect his leadership is having on the warring nations around him and his own kingdom. We will also be reading about two kings with the same name, Jehoram or Joram for short, the first one who was the son of King Jehoshaphat who ruled in the southern kingdom of Judah and the other King Jehoram who is the son of King Ahab who ruled in the northern kingdom of Israel. These Jehorams were brothers-in-law to each other. 

Jehoshaphat was a godly king of Judah (2Ch 17:3-4), and yet his son Jehoram did not follow in his footsteps. Jehoram married Athaliah, who was the daughter of King Ahab king of Israel and the sister of Ahab’s son King Joram, making them brothers-in-law. Jehoram followed the way of the kings of Israel that were corrupt, a symbolic action meaning he followed his flesh. In this case we see the negative example of ‘the Israel of God’ as he did not follow after his father Jehoshaphat the king of Judah who represents Christ our head.

2Ch 17:3  And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; 
2Ch 17:4  But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.

King Jehoram was a wicked king, and yet despite that wickedness God kept his covenant with David and did not destroy Judah as we read in 2 Kings 8:19. This idea of God preserving Judah because of King David is woven in and out of the stories we read in the books of kings and elsewhere in God’s word, all for our sakes (1Pe 1:12). It is a type and shadow reminder for God’s elect that the work God has started in the Israel of God is going to be completed through Jesus Christ who is typified by King David (Gal 6:16, Php 1:6).

2Ki 8:19  Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children [Mat 5:14]. 

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.

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

Jehoram’s heart was not like his father’s, “Jehoshaphat”, who was a circumspect king, whose influence of good leadership did not affect Jehoram who led his kingdom into idolatry. It resulted in both Edom and Libnah revolting against Judah, nations God used as His sword against Judah (2Ch 21:8-11).

2Ch 21:8  In his days [Jehoram] the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king.
2Ch 21:9  Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots. 
2Ch 21:10  So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah  unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers. 
2Ch 21:11  Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.

This is where Elijah comes on the scene demonstrating to God’s elect that when we are led into sin, God makes a way for us to be set free from that sin through Christ, who is typified by Elijah. Jehoram’s actions of leading the nation of Judah into idolatry was the catalyst to bring an attack on Jehoram’s house that would include him getting an incurable bowel disease (2Ch 21:12-15).

2Ch 21:12  And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 
2Ch 21:13  But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself: 
2Ch 21:14  Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods:
2Ch 21:15  And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.

God’s judgment brought the Philistines and Arabs who attacked Judah, invading and carrying off all the goods found in the king’s palace. His sons and sons’ wives were taken captive as well, and King Jehoram was left with no one except “Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons” (2Ch 21:17). Finally this disease in Jehoram’s bowels caused him to die at the age of forty, and he was not an honored king in life or in death, as he typifies the man of sin who must be destroyed by Christ’s coming into our lives (2Ch 21:17-20).

2Ch 21:17  And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
2Ch 21:18  And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. 
2Ch 21:19  And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.
2Ch 21:20  Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.

The other Jehoram, the son of Ahab, took the throne of Israel five years before his brother-in-law’s reign in Judah, and he was just as corrupt. Wicked king Ahab had turned the people to idolatry and the worship of Baal, his wife’s Jezebel’s god of choice, and all these evil communications to which Jehoram was exposed no doubt played a part in corrupting him (1Co 15:33). All these events tie into and weave in and out of the scriptures we will look at today that will hopefully serve as some groundwork for future studies in this second book of kings. As a result of the rebellion of Moab, Joram king of Israel sought out help from Jehoshaphat the king of Judah and the king of Edom so they could attack Moab together (2Ki 3:7-8).

2Ki 3:7  And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. 
2Ki 3:8  And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.

Another intervening moment occurs with Elijah’s successor Elisha, who saved the armies from a lack of water, and as mentioned earlier these actions were again another type and shadow of how God will provide all our needs through Christ. These deliverances are type and shadow events for Christ’s body’s sake assuring us that His body will be provided what we need in our daily spiritual battles that have us dying daily to self. In this instance, Elisha did not want to help, but God’s mercy prevailed, as it will for His people (2Ki 3:14-18).

2Ki 3:14  And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. 
2Ki 3:15  But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.
2Ki 3:16  And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches. 
2Ki 3:17  For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.
2Ki 3:18  And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand (Joh 8:36, Rom 8:37, 2Co 4:17, Rom 8:18).

Another important lesson with Joram the king of Israel is that no amount of miracles is going to change his wicked heart, just as no amount of works on the earth or physical miracles are going to change someone whose heart is not converted by the Lord. In fact, it is those miracles that create the strong delusion in our lives to not see that we ‘are the man’ who needs to change from within and that the outward miracles are only a type and shadow of the greater miracle of spiritual healing we need in order to see and hear the voice of the true shepherd (Mat 13:16, Mat 24:24, Rev 13:13), which in type and shadow both Jehorams were not able to experience.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

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

Rev 13:13  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 

In chapter nine of 2 Kings, king Joram of Israel is injured in battle against king Hazael in Syria (2Ki 9:15) and returned to Jezreel in Israel to be healed. After this event, God charged “Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi^H5250” to destroy the entire house of Ahab. Judah and Israel are intrinsically linked as a type of the head and the body of Christ, so when Israel is being cleansed of idolatry and the house of Ahab is being destroyed in Israel, Judah will also be blessed by ridding the land of this idolatry within Israel (2Ki 9:1-11). These actions of God were another demonstration of how “Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children.“

2Ki 9:1  And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead: 
2Ki 9:2  And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi^H5250, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber; 
2Ki 9:3  Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not. 
2Ki 9:4  So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramothgilead. 
2Ki 9:5  And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain. 
2Ki 9:6  And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. 
2Ki 9:7  And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. 
2Ki 9:8  For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel: 
2Ki 9:9  And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah: 
2Ki 9:10  And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled. 
2Ki 9:11  Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication. [When we are blessed to have eyes to see and ears to hear as typified by this anointing of Jehu then our communication can begin to cease from being evil (1Co 15:33)].

Nimshi H5250 = “rescued” (BDB); Probably from H4871; extricated (Strong’s)

H4871 =  A primitive root; to pull out (literally or figuratively): – draw (out).

Psa 18:16  He sent from above, he took me, he drew^H4871 me out of many waters.
Psa 18:17  He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
Psa 18:18  They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

2Ki 8:16  Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah. Jehoram began to rule in the fifth year that Joram son of Ahab was king of Israel. (ERV)
2Ki 8:17  Thirty and two years old was he [Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat] when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 
2Ki 8:18  And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 
2Ki 8:19  Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children.

The name Joram’s^H3141 root meaning is “Jehovah-raised“, and Jehoram was raised by the Lord from wicked king Ahab to accomplish God’s purpose (Psa 127:3, Pro 16:4), which purpose is understood for God’s elect to be unfolding for our sakes who are given to believe and know that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28).

Psa 127:3  Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

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

H3141 yôrâm yo-rawm’ A form of H3088; Joram, the name of three Israelites and one Syrian: – Joram.  Total KJV occurrences: 20

H3088yehôrâm yeh-ho-rawm’  From H3068 and H7311; Jehovah-raised; Jehoram, the name of a Syrian and of three Israelites: – Jehoram, Joram. Compare H3141.  Total KJV occurrences: 29

Wicked men are God’s sword (Psa 17:13), and within us this means that our own iniquities will chasten us and be that sword (Jer 2:19), as these wicked kings and their sons typify what is in us until it is burned out of us through judgment.

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

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.

With these concepts in mind, it becomes clear why “Jehoram (son of Jehoshaphat in Judah) began to rule in the fifth year that Joram son of Ahab was king of Israel” (ERV), the fifth year showing that a typical process of grace through faith is going to begin to unfold and be revealed in this story of different rulers and their sons. Just to witness to that fact, we are told that the age of Jehoram is thirty two (3+2=5), and he reigned eight years in Judah to signify the new man that is produced out of the grace and faith relationship to which we are called: “Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.“

This stage of Jehoram’s life however represents our time in Babylon when God’s chastening is not resulting in any spiritual increase within us, which only comes from God (1Co 3:6), and so we read of Jehoram king of Judah’s walk, his communication or way of life, with these words at this time: “And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.”

The daughter of Ahab, who is Jehoram’s (king of Judah) wife, is a type of Babylon as women represent churches in the bible, and “he did evil in the sight of the LORD” in this relationship with her as a type of the churches of this world out of which God’s elect are called (Rev 18:4).

The hope-filled promise (Tit 1:2) is in the next verse which reads, “Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children.” (Mat 5:14)

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 

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

God’s children are the light of the world, but we don’t start off that way and our former conversation (Eph 2:2) is judged by God so that we can ‘come out of her my people’ and no longer receive of her plagues (Rev 15:8). It takes God’s plagues upon the kingdom of our old man in order to no longer have to receive the plagues or cup of God’s wrath or judgment God promises every man will have to drink at their appointed time (Jer 49:12, 2Co 6:17, Rev 18:4).

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 

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.

Jer 49:12  For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

2Ki 8:20  In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.
2Ki 8:21  So Joram went over to Zair^H6811, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents. 
2Ki 8:22  Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah^H3841 revolted at the same time. 

We know that Edom represents our flesh that does not change and cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 15:50), and this is why our flesh revolts “from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves“, which is another way of saying how we naturally reject God and need flesh to be in control (1Sa 8:7). It’s only a wood, hay and stubble venture (1Co 3:12) for king Joram of Judah at this point as he “went over to Zair^H6811 where the day of small things is not to be despised (Zec 4:10), and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.” 

1Sa 8:7  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 

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

I underlined the words “all the chariots with him” to remind us that the flesh does not go down easily and requires powerful horse-drawn chariots to accomplish the task at hand. The people who were able to flee this attack “fled into their tents” which symbolizes our taking solace in our own temporal fleshly abodes instead of trusting in the heavenly abode that can be found in Christ (Pro 3:5-7, Eph 2:6).

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

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

H6811  tsâ‛ı̂yr tsaw-eer’  The same as H6810; Tsair, a place in Idumaea: – Zair.

Total KJV occurrences: 1

H6810  ts  ̂‛ı̂yr    tsâ‛ôr tsaw-eer’, tsaw-ore’  From H6819; little; (in number) few; (in age) young, (in value) ignoble: – least, little (one), small (one), + young (-er, -est).

Total KJV occurrences: 22

The sentence “Then Libnah^H3841 revolted at the same time” is a witness to the corroding effect sin has, as a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Gal 5:9).

Gal 5:9  A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 

H3841 Libnah  libnâh  lib-naw’  The same as H3839; Libnah, a place in the Desert and one in Palestine: – Libnah.  Total KJV occurrences: 18 (Joe 1:7)

H3839 From H3835; some sort of whitish tree, perhaps the storax: – poplar. (Hos 4:13)

H3835 A primitive root; to be (or become) white; also (as denominative from H3843) to make bricks: – make brick, be (made, make) white (-r). (Lev_13:3)

Lev 13:3  And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white^{H3836 = from H3835 “white}“, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean. 

2Ki 8:23  And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 
2Ki 8:24  And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. 

When we read “the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?“, it is an all-inclusive statement that reminds us that every book was written by God, and this particular book is “of the chronicles of the kings of Judah” which is important for God’s elect to notice as it tells us these books are instructive for us to look at in order to grow in the mind of Christ (2Pe 3:18, 1Co 10:11). 

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

2Ki 8:25  In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.

Now Joram (the son of Ahab) who is first mentioned as being in his fifth year of reign (2Ki 8:16) is now in his twelfth year, and this foundational point is contrasted with Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah who is about to begin his reign in Judah. These numbers tell us that there is a progression the body of Christ goes through in order to establish a proper foundation in the Lord by grace through faith [5] that leads to a Godly foundation in time [12]. Now the focus is turned to Ahaziah (in Judah) who began to reign in the twelfth year of Joram (in Israel).

2Ki 8:26 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah^H6271, the daughter of Omri^H6018 king of Israel.
2Ki 8:27  And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.
2Ki 8:28  And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

Ahaziah’s reign began when he was twenty-two years old to signify that this reign was a negative witness of when we are serving another Jesus. His mother’s name “Athaliah^H6271” and her father’s name “Omri^H6018 king of Israel” also bring out this point. Ahaziah typifies a place of spiritual constraint, which is what we have when we are in Babylon and serving her.

H6271 Athaliah‛ăthalyâh    ‛ăthalyâhû ath-al-yaw’, ath-al-yaw’-hoo  From the same as H6270 and H3050; Jah has constrained; Athaljah, the name of an Israelitess and two Israelites: – Athaliah.   Total KJV occurrences: 17

H6018 Omri ‛omrı̂y om-ree’  From H6014; heaping; Omri, an Israelite: – Omri.  Total KJV occurrences: 18

H6014‛âmar aw-mar’  A primitive root; properly apparently to heap; figuratively to chastise (as if piling blows); specifically (as denominative from H6016) to gather grain: – bind sheaves, make merchandise of. Total KJV occurrences: 3

God is the one who gives Satan his marching orders to constrain us by the devil’s spirit until he begins to be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming into our lives (2Th 2:6-8). While we are in that bondage, God has in mind for the elect how this gathering of tares within us (“Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them“) is going to begin (1Pe 4:17) so the increase of wheat He is giving us (1Co 3:6) can be gathered into His barn, “but gather the wheat into my barn” (Mat 13:27-30). 

2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 
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: 

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 

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.

Ahaziah reigned only one year in Jerusalem, and “he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.” As a result of this battle and wounding of his uncle Joram, “Ahaziah the son of Jehoram” went down to see “Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel” which demonstrates that Ahaziah was yet in alliance with this wicked king (Mat 10:39).

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

2Ki 8:29  And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel^H3157, because he was sick.

God is the one who is going to sow all the details in our lives (Eph 1:11), the battles, the spiritual growth, the much tribulation, the eventual death of the carnal old man within. It is all that which affects the inner workings of His workmanship which we are (Eph 2:10), and through the whole process we are promised He will never leave or forsake us, from start to finish, as the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). 

H3157 Jezreel yizre‛ê’l yiz-reh-ale’  From H2232 and H410; God will sow; Jizreel, the name of two places in Palestine and of two Israelites: – Jezreel.  Total KJV occurrences: 36

Ahaziah, the son of “Jehoram king of Judah“, who “went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick” shows the alliance that Ahaziah had with the wicked king of Israel, but this also was done for “Judah for David his servant’s sake”, preserving these lines and all their stories to bring us comfort that God’s remnant will be preserved, regardless of what wicked men (within and without) do along the way (Rom 11:5).

Rom 11:5  Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Next week we will be shown how and why flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom, and we’ll continue to see in these stories that it is through Christ [the Lion of the tribe of Judah] and his Christ [the Israel of God] that we receive the strength and the faith to endure and overcome so we can continue to believe these words of hope which apply to His little remnant flock, “Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake” (2Co 1:3-5, Php 4:13).

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