Exo 14:1-31  For the Egyptians whom you have seen Today, you Shall see them Again no more For Ever

[Study Aired June 20, 2022]

Exo 14:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 14:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. 
Exo 14:3  For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 
Exo 14:4  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so. 
Exo 14:5  And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? 
Exo 14:6  And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: 
Exo 14:7  And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. 
Exo 14:8  And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. 
Exo 14:9  But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. 
Exo 14:10  And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. 
Exo 14:11  And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 
Exo 14:12  Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. 
Exo 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 
Exo 14:14  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 
Exo 14:15  And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: 
Exo 14:16  But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 
Exo 14:17  And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 
Exo 14:18  And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 
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. 
Exo 14:21  And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 
Exo 14:22  And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 
Exo 14:23  And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 
Exo 14:24  And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 
Exo 14:25  And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 
Exo 14:26  And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 
Exo 14:27  And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 
Exo 14:28  And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. 
Exo 14:29  But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 
Exo 14:30  Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. 
Exo 14:31  And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses. 

This chapter deals with the relentless pursuit of the people of Israel by Pharaoh and his Egyptian army and their final demise in the Red Sea. This chapter is about the crossing of the Red Sea, which is the Lord’s way of demonstrating to us how to war against the flesh.  That is, this fight against the flesh is the Lord’s work, and we have no part to play in it. All we have to do is to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. This means we believe that what the Lord has started in us regarding the subduing of the old man or the beast within, symbolized by Pharaoh and His army, He is able to bring to completion!!

Deu 3:22  Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you.

Deu 20:4  For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. 

2Ch 20:17  Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. 

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: 

Exo 14:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 14:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. 

Pihahiroth is the site of the final Israelites’ encampment in Egypt before crossing the Red Sea. Pihahiroth means ‘place where sedge grows’. Sedge is a type of grass, growing typically in wet ground. We know that grass represents the flesh as shown in the following:

1Pe 1:24  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

The Israelites’ final encampment in Egypt, being Pihahiroth, therefore symbolizes the fact that before our exit from Babylon (Egypt), we must come to the realization that Babylon is the breeding ground for the flesh. It is in Babylon that our flesh grows (Pihahiroth) and occupies completely the throne of our hearts, claiming himself to be God. As a result, we become worse off in Babylon.

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.

Exo 14:3  For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 

The Lord entices our old man (Pharaoh) as he occupies the throne of our hearts to think that we (Israelites) are entangled in this world. In this sense, the old man continues to think that he has dominion over us. This is all part of the Lord’s way of creating an opportunity to come and deal with our old man as with Pharaoh, as we shall see later in the story.

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.

Exo 14:4  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so. 
Exo 14:5  And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? 
Exo 14:6  And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: 
Exo 14:7  And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. 
Exo 14:8  And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

Verses 4 to 8 are written to caution us that it is not an easy road to overcome the old man or the flesh due to the hardening of Pharaoh’s (the old man) heart. However, at the end of the day, it all works for our good as the resistance of our old man provides the occasion for the Lord to perform His signs and wonders (the plagues) to work a great salvation for us!!

Exo 11:9  And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. 

Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 
Heb 2:4  God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, or our old man, by the Lord is for our benefit.

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

So, the Lord hardening Pharaoh’s heart, or causing the old man within us to resist Him, is for us to appreciate the mercies of the Lord and to learn to show mercy as a result. This is not obvious when we are frustrated by our old man within us as we resist the Lord. However, in the final analysis, we shall come to know His mercies. One of the qualities that the Lord is inculcating within us is being merciful. This is because it is through the mercies we have received that we can show mercy to the masses of humanity which will result in the ultimate salvation of the whole world. Therefore, inasmuch as we need the Lord’s mercy, we must also show mercy to others in our daily lives.

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.

Another lesson we can learn from the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is that we come to see that this battle against the flesh is not our fight. It is the work of the Lord to deliver us from the old man or the flesh. By ourselves, we can do nothing. As we can see, the resistance put up by Pharaoh is incomprehensible. That is why the beast within or the old man is compared to a mountain. A mountain can only be removed, not by might nor by power, but by the spirit of the Lord!! It is the word of Christ that destroys this mountain or the old man.

Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 4:7  Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

Exo 14:9  But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. 
Exo 14:10  And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. 
Exo 14:11  And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 
Exo 14:12  Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

The resistance of the old man, or the beast within us to submit to the rulership of our Lord Jesus, makes it clear to us that no one comes to the Lord willingly. We have to be dragged by the Lord to bring us to Himself. This is obvious from what the Israelites said to Moses when they saw Pharaoh and his chariots and horses drawing near to them. In verse 11 and 12, the Israelites made it clear to Moses that they had preferred being under bondage in Egypt than to pursue the Lord’s agenda in the wilderness.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The word “draw” used in John 6:44 above, is the Greek word “Helko” (G1670) which means to drag. None of us came to the Lord willingly. We all are being dragged by the Lord daily to Himself. This is affirmed by the following Bible verse:

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

If sinning is not done willingly as Romans 8:20 suggests, then serving the Lord cannot also be done willingly or in our strength. We don’t choose to serve the Lord; He chooses us to serve Him in this life. If we are able to understand this, then we are ready to be delivered from the flesh as we shall see shortly with the Lord making a way in the Red Sea for the Israelites. In the final analysis, all creatures (all humanity) will be dragged to the Lord at the appropriate time appointed by God.

Exo 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 
Exo 14:14  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 

Verses 13 and 14 make us aware that we do not contribute anything to our salvation. The Lord does everything for us. During our time in Babylon, we were taught that we play a key role in our salvation. When we come out of Babylon, we bring along this mindset of playing a key role in our salvation. A lot of people who believed in Jesus asked Him one day what they should do to do the works of God. The Lord responded that all they had to do was to believe in Him, not work.

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

Even this belief in Christ is not of our own self. The Lord gives us the faith of the Son of God to believe in Him. Our victory in overcoming the flesh is standing still and believing that the Lord will fight our battles for us. What He starts, He is able to bring to completion!!

Pro 20:3  It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

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: 

If we think that we are responsible for our salvation and that we are required to work for it, then the reward we are to receive is not a gift but something God owes us!! However, we know that the Lord owes no man!!

Rom 4:3  For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 
Rom 4:4  Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 
Rom 4:5  And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, (ESV)

Exo 14:15  And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: 

This verse is another way of saying that we must forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. Whatever success we have achieved or whatever failures we have gone through should not become a constraint to us from moving forward or looking ahead.

Php 3:13  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 
Php 3:14  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 
Php 3:15  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (ESV)

Exo 14:16  But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 

The rod here is Christ, and when Christ is lifted up in our lives, the flesh (sea) is overcome (divided). The lifting up of Christ in our lives is the work of the Lord together with the dividing of the sea by the stretching forth of the hand of the Lord signified by that of Moses.

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:

When we are able to learn that the dividing of the sea is the work of the Lord, then the Lord has accomplished the lesson we need to learn from the Israelites’ experience of crossing the Red Sea, that is, He has trained our hands to war!!

Psa 18:34  He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

Exo 14:17  And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 
Exo 14:18  And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

Here we are given another reason why the Lord makes the old man or the beast within us so stubborn. Through all our struggles with the flesh, we come to honor Him as Lord of everything, both good and evil.

Rev 4:11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

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. 

The angel of God here is Christ, and He is the word of God. In the church or camp of the elect, the word of God is a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet. However, to the people of the world, including our brothers and sisters in Babylon, the word of the Lord is darkness. This darkness serves as a chasm between the people of God and the people of the world such that one cannot cross easily to the other.

Psa 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

1Sa 17:3  And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

Exo 14:21  And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 
Exo 14:22  And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, but it was the Lord who caused the sea to roll back so the Israelites walked on dry ground. So, Moses’ hand here is the hand of the Lord which caused the east wind to make a way for the people of Israel through the Red Sea. The east wind here represents the Lord’s judgment of our sea of flesh which results in the destroying of its influence in our lives, making us walk through this world unhindered to serve the Lord.

Jer 18:17  I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.

Psa 48:7  Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.

The crossing of the Red Sea was a type of baptism just as the passing of Noah’s ark through the flood was also a type of baptism.

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 
1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 

1Pe 3:20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 
1Pe 3:21  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 

This baptism signifies that we were dead as we passed through the “Red sea” but have been made alive as we come out of the “Red Sea.” Being alive means we no longer wallow in the mud of sin but are now ready to serve the Lord with good conscience as a result of the resurrection of our mortal bodies by the Spirit of Christ.

Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 
Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 

Exo 14:23  And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 
Exo 14:24  And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 
Exo 14:25  And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

The destruction of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen signifies the destruction of the old man or the beast within us. Verses 24 and 25 show us clearly that it is all the work of the Lord. The Israelites did not play a part in the destruction of Pharaoh’s army.  This is to demonstrate to us (the Israelites) how to war, that is, depend entirely on the Lord alone in our battles with the flesh.

Deu 1:30  The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; 

2Ch 20:17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

Exo 14:26  And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 
Exo 14:27  And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 
Exo 14:28  And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. 

This water, which saved us on one hand, also destroyed Pharaoh and his Egyptian army. The Egyptians being overthrown in the midst of the sea signifies that it is in this age of the dominance of the flesh (Sea) that the old man (Pharaoh and his army) will be overthrown in the lives of all those called and chosen (Israelites). Later in the lake-of-fire age, the old man (Pharaoh and his army) shall be overthrown in the lives of all humanity.

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.  

Exo 14:29  But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 
Exo 14:30  Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. 
Exo 14:31  And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses. 

Through this experience of crossing the Red Sea, the people of Israel saw the great works of the Lord and believed in the Lord and His servant Moses. The whole experience of the crossing the Red Sea brings to remembrance the fact that it is the Lord who raised the storm by causing Pharaoh and his army to pursue the Israelites after leaving Egypt. This caused the Israelites to come to their wits’ ends and as a result cried desperately to the Lord for help, and He heard them and brought them to their desired haven.

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

These things which happened to the Israelites were written for us to show us the pattern of how the Lord works so that we may have hope in Christ that He will not leave us alone!! If He had done it for the Israelites, then He will surely do it for us upon whom the ends of the world are come!! 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.

[The author may be reached at abarnes @ semcapitaladvisors. com for questions or comments.]

“The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.”

[Study Aired March 1, 2021]

God is exalted in our earth [“the land“] through judgment (Jer 22:29) which is how we will learn to trust Him (Eph 1:12, 2Co 1:9) and understand that He creates light and darkness and uses them both to demonstrate “his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering” (Rom 2:4) through a process that is being worked within our heavens where He brings us through the fiery trials of this life (1Pe 4:12, Act 14:22). He does this so that “after that ye have suffered a while” God can “make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1Pe 5:10, Psa 107:27-31). In this study we will look at what occurs in “the land” [our “earth, earth, earth“], and, Lord willing, we’ll see and continue to be convinced as we pass “through to search it” that it “is an exceeding good land” for what it can ultimately produce (Gen 3:6).

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

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

2Co 1:9  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 

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

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 
Psa 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, [make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you”] so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness,[Rom 2:4] and for his wonderful works to the children of men! [Eph 2:10]

Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 

It is after the storm has passed that we will learn how to “be still, and know that I am God”. This is the same one God who is being “exalted among the heathen” and who is being “exalted in the earth” among the gentile within us (Col 1:27). We must be brought to our wits’ end in order to learn of His faithfulness and that He is “the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus.” That is the process we are not to despise (Rom 11:22, Rom 2:4-11), and it is the only way by which we can come to learn how to patiently possess our souls which are being fashioned by God so that we can one day show the same mercy which He has shown to us to rest of His creation (Psa 46:10, Luk 21:19, Rom 11:30-31).

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory [Rom 2:4] of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue [Act 14:22] in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God [2Co 12:9].

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

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 
Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 
Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 
Rom 2:7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 
Rom 2:8  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 
Rom 2:9  Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 
Rom 2:10  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 
Rom 2:11  For there is no respect of persons with God. 

Psa 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 

Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls. 

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God [equals “Tribulation and anguish” and God’s wrath abiding on us (Joh 3:36)], yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 

Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy [obtained by the “glory, honour, and peace” that is given as a gift from God] they also may obtain mercy.

The initial making known of this mystery that is among the gentile world is within me (Col 1:27, 1Jn 2:16), and that world is being destroyed daily and overcome by the brightness of His coming (2Th 2:8) to the end that, through the destruction that comes about by chastening and scourging or judgment in a life that has been admonished to be armed with the mind of Christ (Heb 12:6-7, 1Pe 4:1), I can learn to discern good and evil and come to be able to rightly divide the strong meat which will continue to nourish us (Heb 5:14) on our journey through the wilderness where the LORD goes before us and fights for us. He divides the Red Sea (Exo 14:14-19) and overcomes all the enemies within us which He has set there to be bread for us which will strengthen our hearts to do battle (Eph 6:12). 

[“The Red Sea represents the world within and without, the powers and principalities that we war against and overcome through Christ”]

Exo 14:14  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 
Exo 14:15  And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:[Php 3:14] 
Exo 14:16  But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: [Heb 5:14] and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 
Exo 14:17  And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 

[This hardening of our hearts causes anguish that our old man must endure, represented by Pharaoh, and it leads to “glory, honour, and peace” within once the Lord overcomes those powers and principalities we wrestle against within (Rom 2:9-10)]

Exo 14:18  And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen [Rom 9:17] .
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 [Isa 45:7]:

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

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 

Receiving Bread is critical to the overcoming process, and is the reason we are told not to despise this process of judging the giants in our land that God put there for our benefit. We despise God’s goodness by saying we can’t overcome those giants (Num 13:33), when in fact it is those very  struggles and battles which will produce the bread we need to continue to strengthen our hearts (Psa 104:14-15) so that His love will not fail or wax cold. It will in many when the iniquity of the world abounds more and more and people begin to rebel against the Lord in unbelief, not recognizing His sovereignty over all the conditions of the earth that He is working according to the counsel of His own will (Rom 2:4, Heb 13:10, Mat 24:12-13, Num 14:6-9, Eph 1:11-12).

Num 13:33  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight [2Co 4:18].

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: [Joh 20:29] for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

Psa 104:14  He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; 
Psa 104:15  And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.

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

[This is akin to saying we despise the “bread whichstrengtheneth man’s heart“, the giants that we must acknowledge our in our land, and then confidently declare that we can overcome through Christ so they can be bread for us (2Co 7:11)]

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle [The bread God freely gives to those who have been given eyes to see (Rev 1:3)].

Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold [Num 14:10].
Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Num 14:6  And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: 
Num 14:7  And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. 
Num 14:8  If the LORD delight in us [If we are bound to the altar where we receive the bread of life (Psa 118:27)], then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. 
Num 14:9  Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not [Rom 2:4). 
Num 14:10  But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel [‘just as in this rebellion with Korah and all the congregation’ (Num 16:2, Num 16:19)] 

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Being the first to trust in Christ is a tremendous honour that comes at a great cost that we are told to count (Luk 14:27-28), meaning we must know that it involves our fulfilling His will throughout our life (Mat 12:50) which is our reasonable service (Rom 12:1-2), being made possible through Christ through whom we can endure all things even until the end (Mat 19:27-29, Mat 24:13). If we are bound to the altar nothing can separate us from this process that requires that we go through so much training that is often administered through afflictions, or persecutions or tribulations. All of those things — the afflictions, persecutions and much tribulation — bear witness and make it evident to us in our heavens that we are being worked with as a bride of Christ being prepared to rule under Him (Rev 19:7-9). That preparation is being accomplished by continually bearing about in our bodies the scars of Christ that show that we belong to Him (Gal 6:17).

Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 
Luk 14:28  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 

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

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. 

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

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Gal 6:17  From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

The land which the Israelites of old were passing through to obtain was “an exceeding good land” that Joshua, who represents Christ, told the people they could inherit (Num 14:7). Christ has called and chosen us to be faithful until the end of this life and given us “exceeding great and precious promises” (2Pe 1:1-4), which confirms that, through our Lord, overcoming is exactly what is going to happen (Joh 8:36, Rom 8:35-37).

Num 14:7  And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.

2Pe 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 
2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 
2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

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

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword [2Sa 12:10]?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things [2Pe 1:3]we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Audio Links

Video Links

Awesome Hands – part 61

“The Sanctuary”

July 23, 2014

Often times, it is immediately after being given a victory that we become discontented with the Lord.

We become anxious children who want what we want and do not at all recognize the blessing.s we have been given by our loving Father.

In the study today, we are going to see how we are exactly like the Israelites as they complain again against what the Lord is doing with them in their walk with Him.

“All things mean all”

Exo 15:17  Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
Exo 15:18  The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.
Exo 15:19  For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

As we live out each and every day, the Lord uses all we experience, think, hear and see as teaching tools to bring us closer to Himself.

Unlike earthly parents, the Lord does not tire in His ability to correct us and teach us in order to bring us to Himself.

Deu 8:5  Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.

Pro 13:24  He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. (means quickly or right away)

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

In this example of the Israelites today, we will see one of those teaching methods on full display.

The Lord has just delivered the Israelites from an almost certain death and this miracle of deliverance works two fold.

On the one hand, you have the Israelites celebrating this victory in the Lord.

Exo 15:20  And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
Exo 15:21  And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

On the other hand, and as we will discover, the Lord often times brings a trial to us quickly after delivering us from a trial or temptation which has given us more Faith in Him. He builds our Faith up just to have it tried in the next fiery trial.

Jacob received a blessing of Isaac only to have Esau pursue him to kill him.

Gen 27:41  And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
Gen 27:42  And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.
Moses was found floating in the river and would have certainly died but instead he was rescued and taken in as one of the Pharaoh’s sons.

Exo 2:9  And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.
Exo 2:10  And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
Exo 2:11  And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
Exo 2:12  And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, only to have the Egyptians follow them to the edge of sea.

Yes, it is true that Jacob stole Esau’s blessing. Yes, it is true that after all that Moses was blessed with by the Egyptians, he then looks on his brethren and their burdens and kills an Egyptian because he smote one of Moses’ people.

Yes, it is true that the Israelites after all they have seen in the form of miracles, STILL cry out to the Lord in disbelief and doubt.

I ask you frankly, WHY did any of these people do these things?

Jacob was and is used MIGHTILY by the Lord. Moses was USED to deliver God’s people with the ROD that was placed in his hand by the Lord Himself. The tribes of Israel are used all throughout the Old Testament to exact God’s judgment on the inhabitants of the lands they are sent to.

The Lord works with His servants, His people, His shephards, His teachers, His apostles, His evangelists in a very similar process of revealing what is flesh and then purging that natural mind form them.

Why then do any of these people the Lord is working with do things which “on the surface” cause us to buck at the idea of “stealing our brothers birth right,” murder, and cause war with just about everyone we come in contact with?

The answer is found here in the story of Exodus 15, and the answer is that the LORD has caused these things to be so.

The Lord is working ALL THINGS after the counsel of His own will and those “all things” always, ALWAYS include using His people to do things that we naturally question.

Why would someone God is working with be CAUSED to sin against Him and His people, their brothers and sisters?

“Three days in the wilderness”

So, we find ourselves walking among the Israelites in the wilderness.

Exo 15:22  So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
Exo 15:23  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
Exo 15:24  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

We find ourselves here in the wilderness with the doubting Israelites. How could the Israelites being led by Moses and Aaron, be so stupid as to murmur against the Lord and His servant? I speak as a fool.

See, it is the Lord alone who has brought us up against His wall, the wilderness of Shur (meaning wall), where we find no water.

Then it is the Lord who sends us to Marah (meaning bitter), to the bitter/brackish water. This water is bitter because it is roughly 1/10th salt according to current day filtering of the waters of the Sinai Peninsula.

The result of this process of deliverance and then guidance through the wilderness is:

Exo 15:25  And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

This process is none other than the water of life being given to us by the Tree of life.

Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

How can I state that this is the process of the water of life being given to us by the Tree of Life and then use Revelation 10:8-11 as an example of that since it is talking about a “little book”?

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

What is this mystery of God and who are these prophets?

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Eph 5:33  Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
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.

1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
1Ti 3:16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
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.

What then does this whole story of the Israelites coming to the wall, finding bitter water, having it sweetened and then being proved, have to do with the verses we just read?

There are some scholars that say this “tree” which was showed to Moses was used as a sort of filtering process to filter out the salt of this water in order to make it sweet.

Yet still, there are others who say that it is what it sounds like and there was a tree that was used somehow to be cast into the water to make it sweet similar to taking tea leaves and putting them in water to get the benefits of the leaves.

Regardless of what the physical process was for this sweetening, what we are admonished with is that Jesus Christ Himself is cast “into the water” causing it to become water which springs up water of everlasting Life and this is done both to and VIA HIS CHURCH.

We are called out of Babylon. In order to be called out, we must be IN HER first. Once called out of her, we are given our ordinances, our statues and our “provings”.

We are given His commandments and His statutes so that the DISEASES which were sent to the Egyptians do not come upon us to UTTER DESTRUCTION in this age. We are HEALED of THEM.

We are shown mercy, a redeemed and peculiar people.

Exo 15:25  And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
Exo 15:26  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
Exo 15:27  And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Let us see if we hear the voice of our True Shepherd.

Joh 4:5  Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Joh 4:6  Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
Joh 4:7  There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
Joh 4:8  (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Joh 4:9  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
Joh 4:10  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:11  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Joh 4:12  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Joh 4:13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water (Jacob’s well) shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be IN HIM a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Joh 4:15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

After all that Jesus tells this woman at the well, who we see typified in you and I and also in the Israelites who are brought to this same place spiritually, He then poses a “proving” to her.

He tells her, “whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again,” which is the water from Jacob’s well.

She then is told she can have water which will never leave her thirsty and she ASKS for it.

What then is Jesus’ ANSWER to her? He “proves” her.

Joh 4:16  Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Joh 4:17  The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
Joh 4:18  For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Joh 4:19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

Jesus answers this woman with Truth because she has answered Jesus in Truth. It takes a humble and meek spirit, one that realizes just who it is we are talking to (she is talking to a prophet), which is able to ADMIT their faults, their nakedness, their short comings and failings.

“Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet”.

I asked earlier, “Who is it that is a prophet?” Jesus is certainly a prophet as well as many other things.

I quoted from Revelation what the Spirit of prophecy is.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
So who has the TESTIMONY of Jesus? Who is able to say, “I have the water of Life springing up from WITHIN me and here it is!?”

Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev 7:17  For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

The Lord feeds “them” and leads them to à fountains of waters ß. We are led to His body where He dwells.

Rev 8:10  And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Rev 8:11  And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev 11:6  These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

His prophets have fire in their mouths and when they prophecy they have power of the waters of free flowing life to turn them to blood!

Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

Sounds like the singing that happens when the Israelites are freed from the destruction of the red sea.

Rev 16:4  And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Rev 16:5  And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Rev 16:6  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Rev 16:7  And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

This is all the judgment of the Lord.

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Yes indeed, we are the PILLARS in the temple of God, the temple of Truth, and Jesus comes on a cloud.

Judgment begins at His house, at His pillars, which lead to the Holy of Holies.

1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

Jesus Christ comes sitting on a white cloud, a cloud of great witnesses. That cloud of great witnesses has been taught how they “should behave thyself in the house of God”.

How are they and we to act?

Exo 15:26  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
Exo 15:27  And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

When we put on the armor of God, when we go to the field of war to make war while having the living waters flow within us, we do so to ANNIALATE and utterly destroy the false doctrines, the “half” truths, and anything that is NOT the mind of Christ contained within the entire sum of the Word.

When we are soldiers of Christ, soldiers of the anointing, we take no prisoners and make no compromises. We hearken diligently to the VOICE of the Lord … which is the VOICE OF MANY WATERS.

Just as was done to Israel, so too will we see the twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees. This is the moment the Lord is setting up His foundation, Himself which has been laid, into our hearts and minds and brings His judgment to us.

The water which is bitter, which God makes sweet for us to swallow, is one which will work the judgments of God on the inside  (of the cup) and produce the death of the old and newness of Life of the new man … day by day.

Audio Links

Video Links

Awesome Hands – part 60

“The Horse and his Rider”
July 9, 2014

In the previous study, we left off with the Israelites both fearing and believing the Lord as the destroyed Egyptians washed up on the shore of the Red Sea.

In the study today, we are going to visit the Israelites as they joy and sing unto the Lord, and very shortly after being delivered, we will see that they once again murmur against the servant of the Lord.

Take heed, because the Israelites are “us”.

“He is become my salvation”

Exo 15:1  Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
Exo 15:2  The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Exo 15:3  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

The baptism of the red sea is the first experience of us truly being given a measure of faith of the Lord.

Just as a babe must learn to crawl, then walk and eventually run, we start off this part of our walk being given a bit of Faith to know the Lord is fighting on our side.

In the beginning of Exodus 15 we see the horse and his rider being thrown into the sea.

It is right after the Egyptians were utterly overthrown that this happens. So, I want to look a little closer at this type and shadow of what happens in our walks regularly as Egypt is conquered in our lives little by little, giant by giant, city by city.

Exo 15:1  Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Exo 15:21  And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Of course, the direct reference found in chapter 15 of the “horse and his rider” would be that of the Egyptian and their chariots which were pursuing after Israel.

For us, there are also admonitions of what these riders and their horses represent and just what the Lord is doing with His people as He works out this war in their lives.

The Lord knows the beginning from the ending, and with that in mind, we can know that the Lord is working a work in us for our good but also for the good of others around us.

Here is another mentioning of the “horse and his rider” which bears out how the Lord uses Israel and Judah for His purposes.

Jer 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 51:18  They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Jer 51:19  The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.
Jer 51:20  Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
Jer 51:21  And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
Jer 51:22  With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
Jer 51:23  I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
Jer 51:24  And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:25  Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

As we can see and read, the Lord uses His people to bring His visitation upon brutish knowledge, graven images, molten images, work of errors with no breath or life in them, and He does this with “the portion of Jacob” who is not like “them”.

Why is the “portion of Jacob” not like them? The portion of Jacob is the “former of all things” found in Jer 51:19.

The “former of all things” is found in another place in Jeremiah and adds a little more detail to what we are witnessing.

Jer 10:16  The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
Jer 10:17  Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
Jer 10:18  For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
Jer 10:19  Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
Jer 10:20  My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
Jer 10:21  For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
Jer 10:22  Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
Jer 10:23  O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Jer 10:24  O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
Jer 10:25  Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

What does this mean for us today?

What we have just read in both places in Jeremiah is a contrast of two different peoples, but with the contrast there is also a comparison, a “measuring stick” that can be easily missed.

The contrast is obviously between the “portion of Jacob” and “Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea” found in Jer 51:24. The comparison or measuring stick is against Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Thus saith the Lord …. Woe is me for my hurt ….my wound is grievous ….this is a grief I must bear … my tabernacle is spoiled …..my cords are broken ….my children have left and are not ….none stretch forth my tent and set up the curtains”

What we are being told in these examples is that the “portion of Jacob” is just like their counterparts “in times past,” like the “former of all things” of which they are being compared.

In addition to that, it is “with thee / the portion of Jacob” found in the verses in Jeremiah mentioned above which the Lord uses to bring His judgments to “them”.

The only way that can happen is that the “portion of Jacob” has to be rescued from their previous bondage of the “former things” in order to be used in this way. We must obtain mercy to show mercy, in other words.

Isa 10:20  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Isa 10:21  The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

Jer 31:7  For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

Mic 2:12  I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

Mic 5:7  And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
Mic 5:8  And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

Isa 46:3  Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

1Pe 1:21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1Pe 1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

“A habitation prepared”

This is all to say that the Lord has the Israelites come through the Red Sea experience to be born into a life of protection by the Lord.

Exo 15:2  The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

The red sea experience is an event in our lives that happens over and over in the sense that we are able to LOOK BACK at it (the Egyptians dead on the shore), and then re-live that experience in our hearts and minds so that we do not repeat the steps that it took to get us to the “red sea doubt” which we had in the Lord.

In not so many words, the Lord gives us the ability to recall what it is He has done for us in dragging us to Himself and in doing so our Faith is increased because of the past deliverances we have witnessed.

Keeping those events in mind causes us to put on His mindset found “in the heavens.”

Exo 14:31  And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

Exo 15:4  Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
Exo 15:5  The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
Exo 15:6  Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
Exo 15:7  And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
Exo 15:8  And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
Exo 15:9  The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
Exo 15:10  Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Exo 15:11  Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Exo 15:12  Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

The “right hand” of the Father is where Jesus Christ sits, and we are seated in the heavenlies with Christ.

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

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

Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

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

The “rod” is also representative of the power of God.

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

Jer 51:19  The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.

Exo 15:13  Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
Exo 15:14  The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
Exo 15:15  Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
Exo 15:16  Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.
Exo 15:17  Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
Exo 15:18  The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

The “habitation of God”, which Israel is being led into, is also the “holy habitation” and the “mountain of thine inheritance”, the Sanctuary.

This temple is not one made with hands, unless of course you are speaking about the spiritual “awesome hands” of God.

Mar 14:58  We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I peak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Act 7:48  Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Act 7:49  Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Act 7:50  Hath not my hand made all these things?
Act 7:51  Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Notice “fear and dread” falls upon all those that see this happening with the people of God, INCLUDING the people of God themselves which we SAW with the ending of chapter 14.

They are the first ones to have fear come upon them as set forth in the pattern which we all must follow. However, one fear leads to belief and the other leads to destruction.

The “horse and his rider” which are thrown into the sea perish and are replaced with the one who comes riding on a white horse.

In the next study we are going to continue to read this chapter of Exodus and show that even though the Lord starts His work in us, there is a long process being worked in His people, until that work is finished.

The fire must burn everything thoroughly and completely and there will be much purified before we are perfected. Israel in this chapter will be a proof of just that to us.

Audio Links

Video Links

Awesome Hands – part 58

“The Lord of the north”
June 11, 2014

As we start this study today, we have been gathered together by the work of the Lord in our lives for whatever purposes He has gathered us together.

When we think about that, we can compare those thoughts to what it might have been like for the Israelites as the Lord worked it in their lives to be where we find them in Exodus 14, the focus of this study.

Where we find the Israelites is firmly in the palm of the hands of our mighty Lord.  The Hebrew word “yad” is mentioned six different times in this chapter alone in verses Exodus 14:8, 14:16, 14:21, 14:26, 14:27 and 14:30.

What we can know from this simple observation is that the Lord wants to show us the power that He possesses to control the reins and the bridle of our mouths i.e. our hearts.

Mat 15:11  Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

Psa 32:9  Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

Psa 39:1  To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.

Isa 30:27  Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

Isa 30:28  And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

Jas 3:2  For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

Indeed, the Lord is causing all things to work after the counsel of His own will and we can glean a little bit more about His will as we examine what He causes the Israelites to experience and do in Exodus 14 and throughout the scripture.
“Pihahiroth”

Exo 14:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 14:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.
Exo 14:3  For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
Exo 14:4  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

There are many revealing things contained within these four verses but I am only going to be able to cover them briefly due to time constraints. I encourage you to study these things to see if they be so as you are able to find time.

First, we are told that the Lord tells Moses to speak to the children of Israel to encamp at the third and final location before finally crossing the Red Sea.

At the end of chapter 13 we are told the 1^st and second locations together.

Exo 13:20  And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

Succoth is interesting because this is the first stop the Israelites made when the left Egypt. This is also where Jacob made booths for his cattle and built a house for himself.

Gen 33:17  And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

Yes, isn’t it interesting that the first place we find refuge as Israelites is where Jacob first builds his house after he had “seen the face of Esau as though he had seen the face of God”.

Gen 33:10  And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

Jacob then journeys on to buy a piece of a field and erects an altar to God. The Israelites encamp in Etham which means “with them: their plowshare”.

The likeness in what Jacob and his sons do in Shalem in Gen 33/34 and the Israelites now finding themselves in the same place is that their second stopping point in Etham is that they are given God’s commandments while being in relative peace.

“Shalem” means “complete, safe, peaceful, perfect, whole, full, at peace”. Of course the sons of Jacob slew a whole town there due to Dinah being defiled, but God leads them from there to journey on to Bethel all the while protecting them. Jacob his house bury their false idols under an oak and they make their journey.

Gen 35:3  And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

Now, in Etham God leads His people day and night through the wilderness to their third place of rest in Pihahiroth.

Exo 14:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

I covered those points to bring us to where we now can see that God has undoubtedly led the Israelites to where we find them.

Where we find them is in the land of judgment, and for us today, this is a type of where our old man is brought directly to the judgment seat of God.

I named this study “The Lord of the north” but our God is the One True God, and among other things,  He is a God of judgment and biblically speaking, judgment comes from the north.

Where does judgment begin? It begins at house of God. What does Bethel mean? It means “house of God”, which is this third stop for Jacob and his house that we are comparing today.

In this type and shadow of where we find the Israelites, they are now “over against Baalzephon” in Pihahiroth.

Baalzephon means “the master or Lord of the north” and is actually another name given to Zeus by the Greek Hellenes, but this is where we find the Israelites? So, what can we glean from this?

Just look at what the Lord has caused in that He is going to bring final judgment on the King of Egypt i.e. our old man.

He brings the Israelites “over against the Lord of the north” and He does so as to:

Exo 14:3  For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

Pharaoh will think that Israel has been brought to the base of this mountain and on the shore of the sea to be destroyed by him. The Truth however for the “god” on the throne of God (a type and shadow) is that the Pharaoh is being brought to “the Lord of the north” to be destroyed!

Exo 14:4  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured (H3513) upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

After all that has happened with the plagues and the death of the first born to cap it off, the Lord is once again going to harden the Pharaoh’s heart to follow after the tribes of Israel.

I find it quite revealing that Jacob was pursued by his twin brother Esau in what looked like a certain peril to Jacob and his entire house with him. Now, fast forward many hundreds of years and you find the tribes of Israel facing the SAME situation of being pursued to their apparent destruction.

Thankfully, the Lord doesn’t change. He is Faithful.

These stories were played out to show us, the Jews which are one inwardly, that no matter the amount of time that passes, no matter the circumstances, the Lord has proven to us that He will deliver us.

In fact, the Lord BRINGS us to place of deliverance to DELIVER US. He literally causes us to be where we NEED to call out to Him in our distresses so that He “will be honoured upon Pharaoh”. So what does that mean?

H3513

kâbad  /  kâbêd

BDB Definition:

1) to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honourable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honoured

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to be heavy

1a2) to be heavy, be insensible, be dull

1a3) to be honoured

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to be made heavy, be honoured, enjoy honour, be made abundant

1b2) to get oneself glory or honour, gain glory

1c) (Piel)

1c1) to make heavy, make dull, make insensible

1c2) to make honourable, honour, glorify

1d) (Pual) to be made honourable, be honoured

1e) (Hiphil)

1e1) to make heavy

1e2) to make heavy, make dull, make unresponsive

1e3) to cause to be honoured

1f) (Hithpael)

1f1) to make oneself heavy, make oneself dense, make oneself numerous

1f2) to honour oneself

Part of Speech: verb

A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

Look at the times it is used other places:

H3513

kâbad  /  kâbêd

Total KJV Occurrences: 115

honour, 23

Exo_14:17-18 (2), Exo_20:12, Num_22:17, Num_22:37, Num_24:11, Deu_5:16, Jdg_9:9, Jdg_13:17, 1Sa_15:30 (3), 2Sa_6:22, 2Sa_10:3, 1Ch_19:3, Job_14:21, Pro_3:9, Pro_4:8, Isa_29:13, Isa_43:20, Isa_58:13, Dan_11:38 (2)

heavy, 16

1Sa_4:18, 1Sa_5:6, 1Sa_5:11, 2Sa_14:26, 1Ki_12:10, 1Ki_12:14, 2Ch_10:10, 2Ch_10:14, Neh_5:18, Job_33:7, Psa_38:4 (2), Isa_6:10, Isa_24:20, Isa_59:1, Lam_3:7

honourable, 13

Gen_34:19, Num_22:15, 1Sa_9:6, 1Sa_22:14, 2Sa_23:19, 2Sa_23:23, 1Ch_4:9, 1Ch_11:21, 1Ch_11:25, Isa_23:9, Isa_43:4, Isa_58:13, Nah_3:10

glorify, 7

Psa_22:23, Psa_50:15, Psa_86:9, Psa_86:12, Isa_24:15, Isa_25:3, Jer_30:19

glorified, 6

Lev_10:3, Isa_26:15, Isa_66:5, Eze_28:22, Eze_39:13, Hag_1:8

glorious, 5

Deu_28:58, 2Sa_6:20, Psa_87:3, Isa_49:5, Isa_60:13

hardened, 5

Exo_8:15, Exo_8:32, Exo_9:34, Exo_10:1, 1Sa_6:6

honoured, 5

Exo_14:4, Pro_27:18 (2), Isa_43:23, Lam_1:8

honoureth, 4

Psa_15:4, Pro_12:9, Pro_14:31, Mal_1:6

heavier, 3

Job_6:3, Pro_27:2-3 (2)

promote, 3

Num_22:17, Num_22:37, Num_24:11

sore, 3

Jdg_20:34, 1Ch_10:3 (2)

chargeable, 2

2Sa_13:25, Neh_5:15

many, 2

Nah_3:15 (3)

abounding, 1

Pro_8:24

afflict, 1

Isa_9:1

boast, 1

2Ch_25:19

bring, 1

Pro_4:8

dim, 1

Gen_48:10

get, 1

Exo_14:17

glorifieth, 1

Psa_50:23

glory, 1

2Ki_14:10

grievous, 1

Gen_18:20

grievously, 1

Isa_9:1

harden, 1

1Sa_6:6

heavily, 1

Isa_47:6 (2)

honourest, 1

1Sa_2:29

more, 1

Gen_34:19

nobles, 1

Psa_149:8

prevailed, 1

Jdg_1:35

rich, 1

Gen_13:2

stopped, 1

Zec_7:11

I want to focus in on a few key verses which deal directly with the topic we are discussing today. Those verses are:

hardened, 5

Exo_8:15, Exo_8:32, Exo_9:34, Exo_10:1, 1Sa_6:6

Exo 8:14  And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
Exo 8:15  But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

Exo 8:32  And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

Exo 9:34  And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

Exo 10:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him:

The Hebrew word used here as hardened is the same Hebrew word used to “be honoured upon Pharaoh”.

Exo 14:4  And I will harden(H2388) Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured (H3513) upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so
The Hebrew word used as “harden”, which is found in the same verse is a DIFFERENT Hebrew word and means to “fasten upon, to seize, to be strong”.

In other words, the Lord is going to strengthen the Pharaoh’s heart so that the Lord can make known the abundant power He has over all the nations of the  world. This is the honour, the glory and the richness that this process brings out to everyone.

As a perfect example of that, we will finish up this part of the study with the last example found which is listed as “hardened” but many other times as “honoured” or “glorified”.

The verses is 1 Sam 6:6, but I want to read it in context to give as a grasp of what the Lord is working in Exodus 14, and by extension, in us to this very day.

1Sa 5:9  And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
1Sa 5:10  Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
1Sa 5:11  So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
1Sa 5:12  And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Continuing in chapter 6:

1Sa 6:1  And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
1Sa 6:2  And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
1Sa 6:3  And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
1Sa 6:4  Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
1Sa 6:5  Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
1Sa 6:6  Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
1Sa 6:7  Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
1Sa 6:8  And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
1Sa 6:9  And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.

And the confirmation verse that proves this was a work of the Lord:

1Sa 6:12  And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.

The point of this story is to bring about the end result of the people of God turning or “preparing” their hearts towards God. That is accomplished ONLY BECAUSE the Lord put them in the situations that they were in which required supernatural intervention.

1Sa 7:3  And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

Indeed, the Lord is going to need a sacrifice to bring about freedom as a result. In the case of this story in Samuel, the Philistines were going to be healed of the emerods by providing a sacrifice.

There is also the number 5 mentioned, twice which witnesses to the grave of God but ALSO to the fact that this whole lesson is about the “completeness of the flesh” i.e. the work the Lord is working in us all to bring about the ushering in of the new man as the old man is slain.

Jacob stopped in Succoth, then Shalem, then on to Bethel to show us this process. The tribes of Jacob go to Succoth, Etham and then Pihahiroth to show us the Lord doesn’t change and He takes His people through this same process.

What this process concludes with is that the old man pursues us to what appears to be utter destruction only to be the one who is destroyed.

Before that happens though, we have the old man who is given a puffed up and glorified “honorable” heart that what he is doing is what needs to be done. Only problem is, that this link of logic and reasoning leads to his destruction.

What happens as a result is that the new man is brought to live by having a “new heart” in that the Lord provides deliverance as we prepare our hearts unto the Lord.

In the next study, we are going to continue in the 14^th chapter of Exodus and come to the climax of the work the Lord does for us in the “first baptism” of the Red Sea.