Matthew 21:1–22 Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem

[Study Aired September 15, 2025]

Our study for today is based on Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The study also highlights Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. Finally, the study ends with Jesus cursing the fig tree which produced no fruit. 

The Triumphal Entry

Mat 21:1  And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
Mat 21:2  Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 
Mat 21:3  And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

Two cities are mentioned here in verse 1 – Jerusalem and Bethphage. Jerusalem here represents the church system of this world while Bethphage, which means house of figs, signifies the house of the Lord’s elect. 

Jer 24:1  The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
Jer 24:2  One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
Jer 24:3  Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

It is from the house or the assembly of the Lord’s elect, that the Lord is sending out His witnesses (the two disciples sent) to untie us (the ass and her colt) from our Babylonian captivity where we were in bondage to the flesh, to lead us to Christ. The ass and her colt represent the Lord’s elect in every generation. The coming of the two disciples is the coming of the Lord to us, His elect, to deliver us from our captivity to Babylon. We were the wild ass used to the wilderness of the church system of this world.

Jer 2:24  A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

Hos 8:9  For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.  

The loosing of the ass and his colt by the Lord’s disciples was to bring them to Christ. It is through the message of the elect to us when we were in captivity in Babylon or the churches of this world, that started the process of our being  released from our bondage to the flesh to meet the Lord. The reason we are being untied is because the Lord has need of us. My brothers and sisters, this is what the Lord is telling us today, that is, He has need of you and me!!  Are you weary or discouraged or depressed because of what you are going through? Then this is the message for you – the Lord has need of you in this age!! Let the Lord grant you the grace to avail yourself for Him. 

Mat 21:4  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 
Mat 21:5  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

Verse 5 is a quote from Zechariah 9:9. The daughter of Zion signifies the church of the Lord’s elect.  

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 

It is through the church of the Lord’s elect that the Lord is coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. The Lord sitting on an ass and a colt means that the Lord’s coming to us is through His elect (the ass and the colt), who are going about their master’s business in meekness. In the fullness of time, the Lord will come with His elect in a pageantry manner when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 
Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

What verse 5 implies is that because the Lord is coming to us through His elect in a meek or humble manner, it is very easy to miss out on His coming. Many have missed out on His coming. However, if you are called and chosen as His elect, you will surely hear the voice of the Shepherd through His elect.

Joh 10:25  Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. 
Joh 10:26  But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 
Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  

Mat 21:6  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 
Mat 21:7  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 

The Lord’s disciples in this age are those who are doing what He commands. In other words, as our expression of our love toward our Lord, we are given to obey Him in everything. On the other hand, as our Father, His love towards us is expressed through His giving. 

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 
Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

It is significant to note in verse 7 that the disciples put their clothes on the ass and the colt. The disciples who untied the ass and the colt represent the Lord’s elect. The clothes put on the ass and the colt symbolize the Lord’s righteousness which is given to us through faith in the Lord’s words spoken through His elect. 

Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 
Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

Mat 21:8  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 
Mat 21:9  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 

The very great multitude represents the people of this world including our brothers and sisters in Babylon. Their joyful celebration in welcoming Jesus and His disciples is a foretaste of the whole of creation who are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God in the fullness of time. The multitude saying that blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord reflects the expectation of the people of the world that when the sons of God are manifested, they shall be delivered from their bondage to corruption. 

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. 

The multitude spreading their garments in the way for Jesus and His disciples was an expression of their submission to Him and His disciples as shown in the story of Jehu’s coronation as king. All the captains with Jehu took their garments and put them under him to show their submission to Him when Jehu told them that the man who came to him told him that the Lord has anointed him as King.  In the fullness of time, when the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, the whole world would submit to us until the appointed time of their rebellion. 

2Ki 9:11  Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication. 
2Ki 9:12  And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. 
2Ki 9:13 Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. 

Some of the multitude cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way, as observed during the feast of tabernacles. During the feast of booths or tabernacles, the people of Israel were to rejoice before the Lord for seven days with branches of palm trees, boughs of goodly trees, etc. The world shall celebrate our victory with the Lord when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. The seven days of celebration represent the complete period of our rulership, until the devil is released to deceive the world.

Lev 23:33  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Lev 23:34  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. 

Lev 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. 

Mat 21:10  And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 
Mat 21:11  And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 

The Lord’s coming to us while we were in the church system of this world or Babylon is depicted by Jesus’ triumphant entry to Jerusalem. It is worth noting that the whole of the city was moved by Christ’s coming. This is to let us know that everything within us which can be moved, shall be moved by Christ’s coming. 

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 
Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

At that time, we were just like the multitude and could only see our Lord Jesus as a prophet just like the woman at the well who met Jesus. However, during her discussion with Christ, Jesus revealed Himself to her as the Messiah. In a similar vein, as we continue in Him, we shall know Him as He is.

Joh 4:19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 
Joh 4:25  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 
Joh 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Mat 21:12  And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Mat 21:13  And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 

Our body is the temple of God. Therefore, Jesus coming to us in Babylon with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness is to cleanse our temple, that is, our hearts and minds, so that we can communicate with Him in truth and in spirit. 

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 

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

This cleansing of the temple by Jesus is recorded in all the four Gospels. Here in John’s version of the account, we are given more information regarding the cleansing process of our temple.  

Joh 2:13  And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 
Joh 2:14  And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 
Joh 2:15  And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
Joh 2:16  And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 
Joh 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. 

Jesus used a scourge of small cords to drive out all that offend in our temple. This scourge of small cords represents the judgment of our old man or flesh, and it is the same as His coming to us with the spirit of His mouth. The coming of Jesus into our lives is to judge us so that our temple shall be cleansed by the destruction of our flesh. This is a process resulting in our bodies being offered as living sacrifice to the Lord.

Mal 3:1  “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 3:2  But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 
Mal 3:3  He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. 
Mal 3:4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. 

One of the deeds of the flesh highlighted by the cleansing is our propensity to peddle the word of the Lord which we see in the church system of this world, which we were part of when the Lord came to us. Indeed, we were a den of thieves as described by the Lord when He came to us to start the cleansing process of our hearts and minds through His judgement.

2Co 2:17  For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. (ESV) 

1Ti 6:3  If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 
1Ti 6:4  he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 
1Ti 6:5  and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 
1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain, 

Prayer is our communication channel with the Lord. It is a two-way channel where we speak to the Lord, and He also speaks to us through His word. That is why the Lord’s coming is not only with the spirit of His mouth which speaks of His judgment, but His brightness, as He illuminates His word for us to understand. It is therefore important that our hearts and minds are cleansed so that the communication link with the Lord will be established. 

Mat 21:14  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 

The blind and the lame coming to Jesus in the temple is another of saying that when the Lord came to us, we were blind and lame. That is to say that we were spiritually blind to the things of the Lord and that our walk was not pleasing to Him. The Lord healing the blind and the lame means that it is when the Lord comes to sit in our temple that we are given to see and walk in a way that pleases Him. 

Mat 13:11  And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 

Mat 21:15  And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, 
Mat 21:16  And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? 
Mat 21:17  And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. 

The chief priests and the scribes symbolize our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world. We were part of this church system at a stage of our walk with Christ. The chief priests and the scribes were jealous and envious of the wonderful work that Jesus did and the children crying out hosanna to the son of David. We know that jealousy and envy constitute some of the works of the flesh. This implies that during our walk in the churches of this world, we were ruled by our flesh.

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 
Gal 5:20  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 
Gal 5:21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

It is important to interrogate Jesus’ statement that out of the mouth of infants and babies, you have perfected praise. This verse was quoted from Psalm 8:2 as follows:

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

In previous studies, we realized that the children of whom Jesus said that the kingdom of Heaven belongs to them refer to the Lord’s elect. It is the humility of children which the Lord references when He said we should be like children. One of the key characteristics of the Lord’s elect is that they are humble and therefore represent children. That is why the kingdom of Heaven belongs to them. 

Mat 18:2  And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 
Mat 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

Babies and sucklings refer to children and therefore the Lord’s elect. The statement that out of the mouth of babies and sucklings you have perfected praise means that it is the Lord’s elect who have perfected praise. According to Strong’s Dictionary, perfected in verse 16 means to complete. Therefore it is the Lord’s elect who complete praise. In the Bible, there is one thing that we are to complete. As we suffer in this age through the Lord’s judgment, we are completing what remains of Christ’s suffering.  

Col 1:24  And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ’s sufferings on behalf of his body, the church. (GNB)

Praise is a form of worship and therefore when we offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord through the judgment of our old man or flesh, we are perfecting our worship of the Lord, and it is this form of worship which silences the adversary.

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

In verse 17, Jesus left Jerusalem and lodged in Bethany. According to Thayer’s Dictionary, Bethany means house of dates or house of misery. As He is, so are we. We must leave Babylon (Jerusalem) and suffer with Christ in the assembly of His elect.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

Mat 21:18  Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 
Mat 21:19  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 
Mat 21:20  And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 

In the Bible, trees represent people, as shown in the following verses:

Jer 7:20  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched. 

Mar 8:24  And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 

There are some specific trees that are used in the Bible to refer to the Lord’s people. Some of these trees are cedars of Lebanon, palm trees, vine trees, fig trees, etc. as shown in the following verses:

Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 

Eze 15:6  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

Joe 1:7  He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. 

Based on these verses, we can say that the fig tree Jesus saw on His way to Jerusalem, represents the Lord’s people who had gone astray. Specifically, we are talking about the church system of this world or Babylon. Babylon is like the fig tree, having leaves, which to a casual observer may seem to be doing well. However, they are not producing fruit. In other words, it is impossible for our brothers and sisters in Babylon to produce the fruits of the spirit. This fruit of the spirit is produced through the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh. At a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we were like this fig tree. We were not able to produce the fruits of the spirit, until Christ came into our lives with His judgment.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  

The Lord cursing the fig tree that it bears no fruit implies that the church system of this world shall never bear fruits. That means that our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world shall never bear the fruits of the spirit as long as they continue to worship in Babylon. 

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Psa 137:2  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 
Psa 137:3  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 
Psa 137:4 How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? 

It is instructive to note that after Jesus cursed the fig tree, it withered. What this means is that we become worse off in Babylon. As shown in verse 20, it was only the disciples who were able to see that the tree which was cursed had withered. Those within the church system of this world are not able to see their nakedness. It is the Lord’s elect who are given to see our deplorable state in Babylon. 

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.   

Mat 21:21  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 
Mat 21:22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. 

Jesus used the withering of the fig tree to show His disciples how to walk by faith. It is not about how big our faith is. It is about applying the faith that the Lord has given to us. The more we apply our faith, the more our faith grows. In verse 22, we must understand that it is the sum of the Lord’s words that gives us direction. We know from the word of the Lord that whatever we ask must be in accordance with His will. In other words, if we ask believing, according to His will, we shall surely receive. 

1Jn 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 

Psa 119:160  The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. (ESV)

May His name be praised. Amen!!

Jer 1:1-10 I Have This Day Set Thee Over The Nations and Over The Kingdoms

[Study Aired November 22, 2020]

Jer 1:1  The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
Jer 1:2  To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
Jer 1:3  It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jer 1:6  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7  But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The title of this study, taken from our tenth verse, is first true in “this present time” within if we are given that gift. If we are granted the “gift… in this present time” (Eph 2:8 and Rom 8:18) to rule over the nations that are within us, then, and only then, will we also be given to rule the outward physical nations of this world (Rev 2:27).

To demonstrate and display the Lord’s enduring mercy, the holy spirit has seen fit to tell us when each prophet gave his prophecy.  Doing this demonstrates that He is working all things after the counsel of His own will regardless of which king is on the throne and regardless of what we do. The reason for letting us know when the prophets prophesied is to let us know that both the good and the evil kings of Israel and Judah are all within our own flesh and are serving as nothing more than instruments in His hand to cause His glory to be declared throughout the world, just as He did with the wicked Pharaoh, who was oppressing His people:

Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

The Lord spoke to His people through the prophet Isaiah beginning in the reign of Uzziah and ending in the reign of Hezekiah:

Isa 1:1  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Let’s take note of the Lord’s longsuffering mercy. King Solomon’s reign was approximately 1,000 years before Christ. King Solomon was granted great wisdom, yet he apostatized and married hundreds of wives out of the nations around him. The reign of Uzziah was nine wicked Jewish kings later and approximately 200 years after King Solomon’s reign. Some were less wicked than others, but there were ‘none that did good, no not one.’

Psa 14:2  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Psa 14:3  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Jeremiah informs us that his prophecy begins “in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. What we are not told right here in Jeremiah is that one of the most evil kings ever to rule over Judah, King Manasseh, was the father of King Amon (2Ki 21:18). His reign was the longest of any king of Judah, spanning 55 years between the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Manasseh, according to both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud, was the king who had the prophet Isaiah “sawn asunder”.

The so-called ‘faith chapter’, chapter 11 in the book of Hebrews, alludes to just such an event:

Heb 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Here is a short summary of King Manasseh’s reign:

2Ki 21:1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2Ki 21:2  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
2Ki 21:3  For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
2Ki 21:4  And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
2Ki 21:5  And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
2Ki 21:6  And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
2Ki 21:7  And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
2Ki 21:8  Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
2Ki 21:9  But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

He is considered by many to be the most wicked of all the kings of Judah, and yet his rule endured 55 years, signifying the great mercy, grace and faith the Lord has shown toward us.

Both Manasseh and Amon, his son, were extremely evil kings. King Amon was assassinated by his own servants. It was the assassination of King Amon, after only two years on the throne, which occasioned the ascent of King Josiah to the throne of Judah. The story of King Amon’s ascension to the throne includes the great mercy the Lord extended to his father, wicked king Manasseh:

2Ki 21:16  Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
2Ki 21:17  Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
2Ki 21:18  And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
2Ki 21:19  Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
2Ki 21:20  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did.
2Ki 21:21  And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
2Ki 21:22  And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD.
2Ki 21:23  And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.
2Ki 21:24  And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

Jeremiah’s prophecy began in the thirteenth year of King Josiah’s reign. So, 55 years of King Manasseh, and two years of King Amon’s reign, plus 13 years into the reign of Josiah, gives us 70 years since the time the prophecy of Isaiah ends. That is as long as the Babylonian captivity and is a precursor to that event.

It is very instructive to note what very few know or acknowledge is that the Lord brought Judah’s most wicked king, King Manasseh, to repentance, typifying the great mercy being shed upon all of us. His sins are all we hear about him. I can remember how shocked and surprised I was when I first had my eyes opened to these words several years back:

2Ch 33:1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
2Ch 33:2  But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
2Ch 33:3  For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
2Ch 33:4  Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
2Ch 33:5  And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
2Ch 33:6  And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
2Ch 33:7  And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
2Ch 33:8  Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
2Ch 33:9  So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

However, the Lord dragged King Manasseh to repentance:

2Ch 33:10  And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
2Ch 33:11  Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, [all his rebellious lying false doctrines] and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
2Ch 33:12  And when he was in affliction [in Babylon], he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
2Ch 33:13  And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.
2Ch 33:14  Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.
2Ch 33:15  And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
2Ch 33:16  And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, [In type he began to be crucified with Christ and to die daily in His service] and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.
2Ch 33:17  Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.

Like their fathers before them, Judah wanted to serve God, but they wanted to do so on their own terms. Their terms permitted what the Lord did not permit. Their terms permitted them to fit in with the nations around them by keeping the traditions of those nations and claiming to do so to the Lord. This what our Lord thinks of such an arrangement:

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

Mankind, typified by Judah, was of that same nature even after the crushing and repentance of King Manasseh:

2Ch 33:18  Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.
2Ch 33:19  His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
2Ch 33:20  So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

King Manasseh, like King Nebuchadnezzar many years later, led the Lord’s people into great evil. Yet the Lord, in His mercy, typifying and signifying His mercy towards each of us, saw fit to bring both these extremely wicked men to repentance before they died.

So the king who initiated so much apostasy within Judah, and the Gentile King who was used to punish the Lord’s people for their sins, both come to see themselves as the “chief of sinners”, and they both serve as “types of us” if we are granted repentance in “this present time” (Rom 8:18):

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

This all places Jeremiah’s prophecy about 640 years before Christ.

Jeremiah’s prophecy continued from the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign, through the reign of Jehoiakim “unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive into Babylon in the fifth month” of Zedekiah’s 11^th year.

It is interesting to note that most of the prophets are raised up by the Lord within the last 100 years of the Jewish nation. This fact typifies how “knowledge… [is] increased… in [our] last days”:

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

In giving such a witness to His people, and at the same time hardening their hearts, the Lord is giving Himself the occasion He is seeking to bring physical Israel to an end as a nation, both within us and outwardly. Judah and Jerusalem are now a type and a shadow of “Babylon the great the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth”:

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an [spiritual] harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
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.

The “faithful city” becoming a murderous harlot in Isaiah 1:21 is “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth… drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”

Such is the atmosphere of the people who claim the Lord’s name in the time of this prophecy of Jeremiah, 70 years after the end of the prophecy of Isaiah.

Jer 1:1  The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
Jer 1:2  To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
Jer 1:3  It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

The fact this “carrying away of Jerusalem captive” was in “the eleventh year of Zedekiah” indicates the confusion and chaos of the Lord’s nation of that time (you can check out this link for the significance of the number eleven: The Number Eleven). The fact that it took place in “the fifth month” indicates that sending each of us off into Babylon as captives of that false lying system is actually a work of the Lord’s chastening grace (here is the link for the number five: The Number Five). It is while we are rebelling against Him and His ways, and while we are enslaved in Babylon, that we are made aware that the Lord’s grace “chastens us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live godly lives in this present age.

Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

This is how we are to be conduct our lives when we come out of Babylon:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [Greek: paideuō, ‘chastening’] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Our next verses demonstrate that the Lord knows whom He has chosen as His firstfruits “while we are yet sinners”:

Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

These words are in complete accord with the scriptures which Jeremiah knew so well:

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Isa 46:9  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isa 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

While we are admonished against laying our hands on a novice, because he will tend in his immaturity to become puffed up, nevertheless, when the holy spirit humbles some of us in our youth, then we are to acknowledge Christ in that person:

1Ti 3:2  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1Ti 3:3  Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1Ti 3:4  One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
1Ti 3:5  (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
1Ti 3:6  Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
1Ti 3:7  Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

While instructing Timothy to be careful about ordaining a novice, this is what Paul tells us of Timothy himself in the very next chapter:

1Ti 4:12  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

It should be obvious that being “a novice” has more to do with being new to the doctrines of Christ and being new to the Word, than it does with one’s age, because we are also told this about Timothy’s background and his history:

2Ti 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
2Ti 1:6  Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

However, our flesh just naturally resists the Lord’s calling:

Jer 1:6  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7  But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

Moses’ flesh had this same reaction to the Lord’s calling, but for a different reason:

Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

To which the Lord responded:

Exo 4:11  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

It was not the devil who makes us to be dumb, deaf, blind or seeing. In whatever condition we find ourselves, it is all a work of the Lord’s hand after the counsel of His own will:

Act 4:25  Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

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:

Truth is truth regardless of the messenger of that Truth. If the Lord lays His hand upon us, nothing we can do will stop Him from using us, because He is working all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). If we are “the called according to His purpose” then everything we experience, good or evil, will be made by our Lord to work together for our good (Rom 8:28). For that reason, we should…

Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

These words are true within, and they will be true outwardly as well if we are given a part in that “blessed and holy first resurrection. At “this present time” (Rom 8:18) the kingdom of God is within us only and so, too, are all the enemies of His kingdom which is within us.

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

Mar 7:21  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

How are we to do war with the nations of the enemies of the Lord’s people within us?

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Our commission to “revenge all disobedience” will be given to us only after our own obedience has been fulfilled. In other words, it will not be in “this present time”, and it will only be given us if we are the first to do warfare with and overcome all the enemies of “the kingdom of God [which] is [at the] present time… within [us]”.

Here are those inward enemies, and here are the weapons of our warfare in this age:

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood” is not meant to be understood as denying that we are to “crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts [and] put off the old man”:

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Col 3:9  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

What we are being told is that if we fail to realize there is a spiritual realm which controls the natural realm, then we are vastly unaware of and vastly underestimating our enemy.

Paul listed four of our spiritual enemies:

1)  Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities…

This is the Greek word with its definition from which this English word ‘principalities’ is translated:

G746
ἀρχή
archē
ar-khay’
From G756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concrete) chief (in various applications of order, time, place or rank): – beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.

Our “chief” enemy is not our flesh, as much as it is he whom our flesh unwittingly worships. When we worship ourselves and tell ourselves that we, with our free will, have chosen to love and obey the Lord, we are in spiritual reality worshipping “the dragon, that old serpent the devil and Satan”:

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

Rev 13:4  And they [“all men, small and great, rich and poor, free and bond”, Rev 13:16] worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Our flesh is indeed our enemy, but we need to acknowledge that it is only when we are deceived by “the god of this world” that our flesh continues to dominate our lives even as we think we are serving the Lord and doing many wonderful works in His name:

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

When the Lord turns us over to Satan for the destruction of our flesh, as the book of Job demonstrates, we are helpless against that “principality”.

2) Against powers:

This is the Greek word translated as ‘powers’:

G1849
ἐξουσία
exousia
ex-oo-see’-ah
From G1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, that is, (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence: – authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.

It is the Lord’s hand which has “formed the crooked serpent, the devil. He did not fall from perfection, and there is no “great controversy” between the Lord and the serpent He created to be “the destroyer”:

Job 26:13  By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

In the book of Job, Satan did exactly what the Lord sent him to do to Job. He could do nothing more, and He could do nothing less:

Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

Both our flesh and its ‘god’…, “the god of this world”, were “made to be taken and destroyed”:

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

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

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

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Satan’s power, against which we struggle, is given him of God. There is no power but of God:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Our flesh is born under unbelief, under the power of our father the devil, under the Lord’s wrath:

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

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

The false doctrine which teaches that Satan was created in spiritual perfection and that he chose to go bad, is a lie. The Truth is… “He was a murderer from the beginning” because the Lord’s own hand had formed him to be a “crooked serpent… the waster to destroy”.

Job 26:13  By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Satan is “the god of this world” only because the Lord has given Him that power, and “the powers that be are ordained of God”, even “the basest of men”:

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Luk 4:6  And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

3) Against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

We all begin life as unbelievers in total darkness with the wrath of God abiding upon us, as we saw earlier in:

Joh 3:35  The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

“He that believes not” is in darkness, and the great red dragon, that old serpent the devil, is the god of all unbelievers whether or not they acknowledge him as such. We are all in the bondage and in the darkness of this world by default. We are powerless against our darkened flesh, and only the Lord can deliver us from this hopeless position and our corrupt composition:

Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

4) Against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The word ‘places’ is in italics because it is not in the Greek. The Greek simply reads “…spiritual wickedness in the heavens”. The Greek word translated as “high places” in this verse is:

G2032
ἐπουράνιος
epouranios
ep-oo-ran’-ee-os
From G1909 and G3772; above the sky: – celestial, (in) heaven (-ly), high.

As we have seen, “the kingdom of God is within [us] to such an extent that we are told that we are being made to sit with Christ in the heavens:

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places [G2032, epouranios] in Christ Jesus:

Both the “raised us up together [and the] made us sit together” are in the aorist tense, meaning that a process is taking place which is purifying our heavens where we are being seated with Christ. It is few ‘Christians’ indeed who recognize that “the heavens” are in need of being purified as the scriptures teach with these words… “spiritual wickedness in high places”, and as we are plainly told in:

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves [must be purified] with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

We are the “heaven itself” into which Christ is entering and purifying us as His heavenly tabernacle… His heavenly “temple of God”:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’

The battle before us is not a carnal battle, and the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. All powers in heaven and on earth are the creations of our Lord for the purpose of working out His plan to “reconcile all things unto Himself.”

There is no “great controversy” between God and the devil. The devil, just as we are, is nothing more than “clay in the Potter’s hand”, doing exactly what ‘the Lord’s hand and His counsel determined before to be done.’

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Col 1:16  For by him [Christ, verse 18] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him [Christ] should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

It is through “the Lord and His Christ” that Christ, who is both Lord and Christ, will bring about the “reconciling of all things unto Himself”, because it was Christ Himself who was sent into the world “that the world through Him might be saved”, and it is Christ Himself who tells us:

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

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

It is with the goal of reconciling all of mankind to God that Jeremiah, as a type of who we are as “the Lord’s Christ”, is told:

Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The prophet Jeremiah did this in type and in shadow. We, as the Christ of Christ, do these things both inwardly, now “in this present time” (Rom 8:18), and we will do these things outwardly in the thousand-year reign and in the great white throne judgment reigning over all men of all time:

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father [Jer 1:10].

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.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

That is our study for today. Next week we will learn how urgent our testimony is to this world, both within and outwardly, through these words:

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

Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 107

(Key verses: Genesis 49:8-12)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Judah

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Rom 3:1 What advantage then hath the [spiritual] Jew? or what profit is there of [spiritual] circumcision?
Rom 3:2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them [that is the spiritual Jew] were committed the oracles [the Word] of God.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

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

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

—————

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

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

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 78

“The judgments” Part I

March 22, 2015

For the study today, we are going to focus on an obscure concept hidden in scripture. While the verse we are studying today will not directly reveal it’s meaning in English, we are going to look at the original words recorded and the other place which they are used in scripture.

The verse we are going to study today is:

Exo 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Exo 22:28  Thou shalt notH3808 revileH7043 the gods,H430 norH3808 curseH779 the rulerH5387 of thy people.H5971

“Rulers and gods”

The first part of this verse tells us that we are not to revile gods, and the word “revile” here means to lightly curse. That is on contrast to the word used as “curse” in the second half of the verse which means to bitterly curse.

H7043

qâlal

BDB Definition:

1) to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to be slight, be abated (of water)

1a2) to be swift

1a3) to be trifling, be of little account

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to be swift, show oneself swift

1b2) to appear trifling, be too trifling, be insignificant

1b3) to be lightly esteemed

1c) (Piel)

1c1) to make despicable

1c2) to curse

1d) (Pual) to be cursed

1e) (Hiphil)

1e1) to make light, lighten

1e2) to treat with contempt, bring contempt or dishonour

1f) (Pilpel)

1f1) to shake

1f2) to whet

1g) (Hithpalpel) to shake oneself, be moved to and fro

Part of Speech: verb

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

Same Word by TWOT Number: 2028

So, we are told not to quickly, swiftly or lightly curse the gods. However, if the Lord will have us be fully committed to Him it may seem a little odd that we aren’t to lightly curse these gods.

The reason I say this is a light curse is because the majority of the time this word revile is used as curse or cursed.

H7043

qâlal

Total KJV Occurrences: 88

curse, 17

Gen_8:21, Lev_19:14, Deu_23:4, Jos_24:9, 2Sa_16:9-11 (4), Neh_13:2, Psa_62:4, Psa_109:28, Pro_30:10, Ecc_7:21, Isa_8:20-21 (3), Jer_15:10

cursed, 17

Lev_20:9, Lev_24:11, Lev_24:14, Lev_24:23, Jdg_9:27, 1Sa_17:43, 2Sa_16:5, 2Sa_16:7, 2Sa_16:13, 2Sa_19:21, 1Ki_2:8, 2Ki_2:24, Neh_13:25, Job_3:1, Job_24:18, Ecc_7:22 (2)

light, 7

1Sa_18:23, 1Ki_16:31, 2Ki_3:18, 2Ki_20:10, Isa_49:6, Eze_8:17, Eze_22:7

Gen 8:20  And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Gen 8:21  And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

God did not utterly curse the ground for man’s sake, but knew there would come a time where the ground was not going to be cursed.

That “reviling” or “light curse” is different than what we see we are told not to do to rulers which are over us.

H779

‘ârar

BDB Definition:

1) to curse

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to curse

1a2) cursed be he (participle used pr in curses)

1b) (Niphal) to be cursed, cursed

1c) (Piel) to curse, lay under a curse, put a curse on

1d) (Hophal) to be made a curse, be cursed

Part of Speech: verb

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

Same Word by TWOT Number: 168

Strong’s defines it as:

H779

‘ârar

aw-rar’

A primitive root; to execrate: –  X bitterly curse.

“Arar” can be found in verses examples such as:

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

This bitter curse is one that endures and is not lightly made.

Having said all of that, what are we to make of “not reviling the gods”, and not “cursing the rulers” of thy people?

“GOD, God, LORD or Lord”

In order to find out what we are being told we must evaluate who the “gods” are who we are not to lightly curse.

In the Old Testament, we have different words in the KJV which tell us who we are talking about in reference to the English words God, GOD, Lord, or LORD being translated from Hebrew.

This study is NOT about the different names of God in the Old Testament and which of them  is the “name of God”, but this study is about how to figure out the emphasis placed on the word being used in any given Old Testament verse.

Exo 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods(H430), nor curse the ruler of thy people.

“Elohim” is used in Hebrew to describe both false gods and the “one true God”.  Elohim is sometimes translated as “god or gods” while other times it is translated as “God”. Those forms of the English word are not to be confused with “GOD” and we’ll see why in a moment.

However, we know from the sum of the Word that the God/GOD of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ.

A few examples of Elohim being used can be found in Genesis.

Gen 1:26  And God (Elohim) said, LET US make man in our image, after OUR likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

We can see Elohim being used in the plural sense here and speaking about “God”. However, we can see another example of the same word being used to describe false gods and the singular form of “God”.

Exo 20:1  And God(H430) spake all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2  I am the LORD(H3068) thy God(H430), which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods(H430) before me.

God refers to Himself and then names Himself “LORD” Elohim. This would make sense when we connect the New Testament explanation of who Jesus is.

Deu 10:17  For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

1Ti 6:13  I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
1Ti 6:14  That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1Ti 6:15  Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

We are being created in the very image of GOD and our LORD.

Psa 82:6  I have said, Ye are gods(H430); and all of you are children of the most High.

Joh 10:33  The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Joh 10:34  Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
Joh 10:35  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
Joh 10:36  Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
Joh 10:37  If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
Joh 10:38  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

When we see that we are not to revile the gods, we can conclude that we are being told not to revile those whom the Lord calls His children.

While we can apply this verse to “false gods”, we have been told by Jesus Himself that we indeed are “gods”.

The clarification and confirmation of the proper thinking on this verse comes when we look at the end of the verse.

Exo 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods(H430), nor curse the ruler (H5387) of thy people.

H5387

nâśı̂y’  /  nâśi’

Total KJV Occurrences: 130

prince, 56

Gen_23:6, Gen_34:2, Num_7:11, Num_7:18, Num_7:24, Num_7:30, Num_7:36, Num_7:42, Num_7:48, Num_7:54, Num_7:60, Num_7:66, Num_7:72, Num_7:78, Num_17:6, Num_25:14, Num_34:18 (2), Num_34:22-28 (7), Jos_22:14, 1Ki_11:34, 1Ch_2:10, 1Ch_5:6, Ezr_1:8, Eze_7:27, Eze_12:10, Eze_12:12, Eze_21:25, Eze_30:13, Eze_37:24-25 (2), Eze_38:2-3 (2), Eze_39:1, Eze_44:3 (2), Eze_45:7, Eze_45:16, Eze_45:22, Eze_46:2, Eze_46:4, Eze_46:8, Eze_46:10, Eze_46:12, Eze_46:16-18 (3), Eze_48:21-22 (3)

princes, 40

Gen_17:20, Num_1:16 (2), Num_1:44, Num_7:2-3 (3), Num_7:10 (2), Num_7:84, Num_10:4, Num_17:2 (2), Num_17:6, Num_27:2, Num_31:13, Num_32:2, Num_36:1, Jos_9:15, Jos_9:18-19 (3), Jos_13:21 (3), Jos_17:4, Jos_22:14, Jos_22:30, Jos_22:32, 1Ch_4:38, 1Ch_7:40, Eze_19:1, Eze_21:12, Eze_22:6, Eze_26:16, Eze_27:21, Eze_32:29, Eze_39:18, Eze_45:8-9 (2)

captain, 12

Num_2:3, Num_2:5, Num_2:7, Num_2:10, Num_2:12, Num_2:14, Num_2:18, Num_2:20, Num_2:22, Num_2:25, Num_2:27, Num_2:29

chief, 9

Num_3:24, Num_3:30, Num_3:32 (2), Num_3:35, Num_4:34, Num_4:46, 1Ki_8:1, 2Ch_5:2

ruler, 3

Exo_22:28, Lev_4:22, Num_13:2

rulers, 3

Exo_16:22, Exo_34:31, Exo_35:27

vapours, 3

Psa_135:7, Jer_10:13, Jer_51:16

prince’s, 2

Eze_45:16-17 (2), Eze_48:22

clouds, 1

Pro_25:14

governor, 1

2Ch_1:2

The word “ruler” as used in Exodus is mostly translated as “prince” throughout the Old Testament.

Gen 23:5  And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
Gen 23:6  Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.

And:

Num 1:16  These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.

The reason I mentioned princes and not all the other words translated in English is because 1) there are a lot of them, and 2) prince gives us a clear understanding of who it is we are talking about.

A prince is a king in training.

When we see that Jesus is LORD of Lords and KING of Kings, and then connect the first part of this verse with the “gods” being referenced, then we know that the focus of this verse are the people around you whom the Lord has placed in authority over you.

“Yahweh” or “Adonai”

“Elohim” aren’t to be confused with “Yahweh” or “Adonai”.

Anytime you see the word GOD or LORD in all caps in the KJV, it is referring to the “Yahweh” of the Old Testament, but as we have learned from the “sum of thy Word”, “Yahweh” is Jesus Christ in the Old Testament and Israel was not made aware of this Truth.

That understanding did not come unto Jesus Christ brought it to us.

Joh 5:36  But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
Joh 5:37  And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

There are other verses that speak to this Truth, but that is out of the scope of this study.

Finally, when we see the word “Aondai” we see it in the form of “Lord”.

A good way to see how all these English words were translated from Hebrew in the KJV is to read Joshua 7:6-7.

Jos 7:6  And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD (Jehovah, H3068) until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
Jos 7:7  And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord (Adonai, H136) GOD (Yahweh,H3069), wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!

I was unable to find any reference to “God” at the end of Joshua 7:7, so I am not sure what inspired the KJV translators to use the word “God” towards the the end of this verse.

Regardless of that, you can see that the KJV translators tried to help us understand when a particular word was being used as God or Lord by using upper and lowercase letters to designate the Hebrew word.

The focus of the study today was to show that when the Lord tells us not to revile the “gods” or curse the rulers of the people, we were being told to not resist or curse those whom He alone, in His soverniety, has placed over us.

There are many examples that can be used, but Joseph was placed under the care of many different rulers before he finally became as the Pharaoh except for the power of the throne.

We too can learn from this that the Lord has a plan for our good but we must recognize that He knows better how to achieve the end goal of that plan than we do for ourselves.